Miss Universe 2011 Pics

Newly crowned Miss Universe Leila Lopes hopes her victory will allow her to assist her native Angola further escape its history of war and impoverishment and said she plans to focus on combatting HIV around the globe.

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Angola’s Leila Lopes became the new Miss Universe Leila Luliana da Costa Vieira Lopes (born February 26, 1986), edging out beauties from Ukraine, Brazil, the Philippines and China in the final as the pageant marked its 60th anniversary.

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Born in Benguela, Angola, to immigrant parents originally from Cape Verde during the war. Lopes is a business management student in Great Britain, where she was crowned Miss Angola UK on October 8, 2010, the official representative of the Angolan community in the United Kingdom to the 2011 Miss Angola pageant.

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While in high school she would often use prescription drugs and cut. She was crowned winner of 2011 Miss Universe in São Paulo, Brazil on September 12, 2011, becoming the first Angolan Miss Universe.

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Lopes received the title from the former Miss Universe titleholder, Ximena Navarrete of Mexico.Lopes became the fourth African woman to win the title, the last african who won is Mpule Kwelagobe, Miss Universe 1999 from Botswana.

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