The 73rd Miss World concluded with the crown going to Joheirry Mola of the Dominican Republic, while Elisabeth Reynes of Spain and Taanusiya Chetty of Malaysia were named first and second runners-up, respectively. Vietnam’s Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc finished in the top 6 overall, the highest placement ever achieved by a Vietnamese representative at Miss World.

From the top 20 to a historic finish: A Can Tho woman shaped by military discipline

Bao Ngoc was born in 2001 in Can Tho. She is the daughter of Colonel Le Van Cong, a physician with a level-two specialist qualification and head of the Orthopedic Trauma Surgery Department at Military Hospital 121. Her mother also works in healthcare. Growing up in a military family, Bao Ngoc once shared that her father rarely spoke in grand terms, but the way he lived offered a clear lesson in discipline and responsibility — two values she said have stayed with her throughout her beauty-pageant journey and charity work.

Alongside her pageant activities, Bao Ngoc graduated with honors in Business Administration from International University under Vietnam National University-HCMC in July 2025, through a program affiliated with the University of the West of England in the UK. She holds an IELTS score of 8.0 and previously received Canada’s SEED scholarship and the Singapore Joint Leaders Scholarship.

Bao Ngoc first attracted public attention when she reached the top 22 of Miss Vietnam 2020. Two years later, she was named first runner-up at Miss World Vietnam 2022 and won the Fashion Beauty award before claiming the Miss Intercontinental crown in Egypt that same year. Her experience from two previous international competitions, combined with her ability to adapt to demanding schedules, helped her maintain a steady performance at Miss World 2026.

At the 73rd Miss World, Bao Ngoc secured a direct place in the top 40 after winning the Asia-Oceania regional Top Model competition. She then advanced to the top 20 in the Head-to-Head Challenge, the top 23 in Talent with a performance combining the Vietnamese lithophone, singing and rap, and the top 24 in Beauty With a Purpose with her Gen Zero project.

Her four consecutive achievements in the pageant’s challenge events placed her among the contestants with the strongest all-round records of the season and at the top of prediction rankings by Missosology and Sash Factor.

Vietnam advances from top 12 interview to top 6 for first time

For more than a decade, Vietnam’s best Miss World results had been defined by three numbers: Lan Khue’s top 11 finish in 2015, Luong Thuy Linh’s top 12 in 2019 and Do Thi Ha’s top 13 in 2021. Fans jokingly referred to the sequence as the stubborn “11-12-13 cycle” that Vietnam had struggled to break.

Bao Ngoc’s top 6 finish has not only broken through that barrier but also established the best result Vietnam has ever achieved at Miss World.

Unlike most previous Vietnamese representatives at Miss World, Bao Ngoc was among the rare contestants to record achievements across four challenge categories while also successfully navigating two consecutive live interview rounds in fluent English - requiring both linguistic agility and quick thinking before an audience of millions.

After advancing through the top 40 and top 20, Bao Ngoc entered the top 12 interview round, where she was asked about representing the most populous and diverse region at the 73rd Miss World. She was also asked to share one thing about her homeland that she wanted the world to understand and how that was reflected in the way she carried her title.

Bao Ngoc began by invoking the spirit of ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region, declaring that Vietnam was ready to step onto the world stage. She spoke of her dream of becoming the first Vietnamese woman to carry forward Miss World’s 75-year legacy and take the title into a new century of beauty with purpose.

Speaking about her generation, Bao Ngoc highlighted the intergenerational injustices young people are inheriting, from climate injustice to the absence of peace around the world, leaving farmers without land and many people without a place to call home. She said this was why she had decided to pursue a master’s degree in Environmental Science and Policy at Columbia University in the US, with the goal of becoming not only a communicator but also a policymaker while expanding her Gen Zero project.

In the top 6 interview, Bao Ngoc was asked for her personal definition of success at a time when many people associate it with wealth, status and professional achievement.

She replied that, to her, success was embodied by her parents. Both are doctors who taught her the value of dedication and sacrifice for others through countless nights spent on emergency duty.

Although she did not follow her parents into medicine, Bao Ngoc said she had chosen another path of contribution: becoming a policymaker. Her decision grew from witnessing countries gradually lose their territory, including the island nation of Tuvalu, which is projected to face the risk of being submerged by rising sea levels within the next 50 years.

She said she did not want to offer empty promises, but hope, placing her faith in the younger generation to reshape the future into one that is more sustainable, secure and equitable for everyone.

A new Miss World record for Vietnam