Lea Salonga chosen Miss Universe judge

Broadway star Lea Salonga has been chosen as one of the seven telecast judges of the 2011 Miss Universe pageant to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 12 (Sept. 13 in the Philippines), as preliminary judges selected the Top 15 semi-finalists for the pageant Thursday night.

Salonga, 40, will be joined by other judges – three-time Indianapolis champion Helios Castroneves, top American broadcast journalist Connie Chung, supermodel Isabeli Fontana, Miss Universe 2003 Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic, and actress/TV producer Vivica Fox and actress Adrienne Aloof, of the hit series “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.’’

Salonga is the fifth Filipino to become a judge in the 60-year history of the world’s most prestigious beauty pageant.

The most recent Filipino judge for the Miss Universe beauty pageant was Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation Chairman Don Emilio T. Yap when the contest was held in Manila in 1994. India’s Sushmita Sen won the beauty pageant.

The first Filipino judge for the contest was the late Gen. Carlos P. Romulo when the Miss Universe contest was held for the first time in Manila in 1974. The late Amparo Munoz of Spain won the contest, only to give up her crown later. Fashion designer Josie Natori became the second Filipino judge in 1989; and later singer-actress Kuh Ledesma in 1991.

Salonga tweeted “Sao Paulo, here I come!” hours after billionaire and pageant organizer Donald Trump and Paula M. Shugart, president of Miss Universe Organization (MUO), announced the judges’ roster for this year’s pageant.

Cited for her achievements in music and theater since the age of 7, Salonga won a Tony Award for her lead performance in the Broadway musical “Miss Saigon” in 1994. Last month, she received the Disney Legend award for the singing voice of the three female lead characters in three Disney films – Aladdin, Mulan, and Mulan II.

Salonga was also appointed “goodwill ambassador” of the United Nations’ Food Agriculture Organization in October 2010.

This developed as preliminary judges ended its four-day preliminary competitions in the beauty pageant and selected the Top 15 semifinalists.

But the results of the competition will be announced during the live broadcast of the beauty contest on Sept. 12, 2011 (Sept. 13, Tuesday morning in the Philippines).

Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup and the 88 other contestants were judged based on personal interview, evening gown, and swimsuit. The personal interviews were conducted for two days, ahead of the preliminary competitions on swimsuit and evening gown.

This year’s preliminary judges were Ana Paula Junqueira, BJ Coleman, Francesca Romana Diana, Jimmy Nguyen, Lara Spotts, Matheus Mazzafera, and Scott Lazerson.

A total of 16 semifinalists are expected to be announced in the finals. Telecast judges will then choose the Top 8 and Top 4 contestants.

But the worldwide fan vote is ongoing until Sept. 12. The winner of the global fan vote will enter the semis.

Local organizers urged Filipinos to vote for Supsup in the global fan vote. Supsup graduated magna cum laude in architecture from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. Later, she topped the board exams for architecture.

Last year, Miss Philippines Universe Ma. Venus Raj was fourth runner-up in the same beauty pageant held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The reigning Miss Universe is Ximena Navarette of Mexico.

So far, the country has produced two Miss Universe winners – Gloria Diaz (1969) and Margie Moran (1973).

Source: Manila Bulletin

Tweet

Read more...