Agbani Darego
Darego was elected Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria in 2001. While a first-year student of the University of Port Harcourt, she represented Nigeria in the 2001 Miss Universe competition, held in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. She placed among the top 10 semi-finalists, finishing seventh. She was the only black semi-finalist that year.
In November 2001, Darego traveled to South Africa to compete in the Miss World competition, beating Miss Scotland and Miss Aruba in the final round to become the first black African winner of the title. Her victory in the pageant, hosted by American talk show host Jerry Springer, was widely welcomed in her home country.
Her one year tenure included goodwill trips and scheduled appearances on behalf of the pageant. In addition, the organizers of the competition began preparations to host the 2002 finals in Nigeria, as the pageant is often held in the winner’s home country the subsequent year.
She has modeled for L’Oreal cosmetics, and is now signed with Ford Models.
