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Lifelong ballet dancer, Riyo Mori from a village near Mount Fuji won Miss Universe 2007. Mori wore a striking black gown with colored lapels for the final. "My mind went blank," she said of the winning moment. |
Miss Universe: December 2007 Archives
| Former Miss USA 2004 and model Shandi Finnessey has swept the entertainment industry by storm, for a beauty queen. She was born on June 9, 1978 in Florissant, Missouri. In addition to winning beauty pageants, Finnessey has also written a children's book called The Furrtails. The book's aim is to help children appreciate their individuality and understand peers who have disabilities. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Lindenwood University in 1999. Finnessey's first pageant competition was in the Miss Missouri USA 2000 pageant. She finished first runner-up and competed the following year to win second runner-up. She also competed in the Miss Oktoberfest pageant and was again a runner-up. Then in 2002, she won the Miss St. Louis Metro local title in the Miss Missouri system and went on th win the Miss Missouri title. This allowed her to compete as Miss Missouri in the 2003 Miss America pageant, but she did not place. On her third attempt, Finnessey finally won the Miss Missouri USA pageant. She went on to become the first woman from Missouri to win the Miss USA title in 2004. She later placed as first runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant. During her reigns as Miss Missouri USA and Miss USA, Finnessey was involved in many charitable organizations such as the AIDS Foundation, Special Olympics in St. Louis Missouri and the Variety Club Telethon. She also continued to co-host many pageants such as the Miss USA 2005 and Miss Universe 2006 pageants. Since the end of her reign at Miss USA, Finnessey has appeared on several television shows as a co-host including GSN, NBC's reality show The Apprentice, CMT and Dancing with the Stars. |
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