Key Takeaways
- Joheirry Mola of the Dominican Republic won Miss World 2026 in Vietnam, finishing ahead of Spain’s Elisabeth Reynes and Malaysia’s Taanusiya Chetty.
- Thailand’s Suchata Chuangsri, who became her country’s first Miss World in 2025, crowned Mola as her successor.
- Uganda’s Elle Muhoza also drew attention with “The Layers of Life,” a Keesha Abdallah gown whose colored layers represented the stages of a cesarean section.
The Dominican Republic has a new international pageant queen. Joheirry Mola was crowned Miss World 2026 on Saturday, September 5, taking the top prize at the competition's 73rd edition in Vietnam and emerging from a field of contestants representing countries around the globe.
According to People, Mola represented the Dominican Republic and finished ahead of Spain's Elisabeth Reynes, who was named first runner-up, and Malaysia's Taanusiya Chetty, who took second runner-up. Miss World celebrated the new winner on social media after the finale, sharing images of the top three together and a video of Mola smiling and waving from a flower-covered throne as her fellow contestants gathered around her.
The crowning also marked a handoff between two international titleholders. Suchata Chuangsri of Thailand, the reigning Miss World, returned to the stage to crown Mola as her successor.
Chuangsri made history herself in May 2025 when she became the first woman from Thailand to win Miss World, beating a field of 108 contestants at the 72nd edition of the competition in Hyderabad, India. Ethiopia's Hasset Dereje Admassu finished second that year.
Chuangsri's year with the crown included advocacy around breast cancer awareness, a cause connected to her own experience of discovering a breast lump when she was 16. She had received the crown from Krystyna Pyszková of the Czech Republic, the 2023 winner, before returning this weekend to continue the Miss World tradition with Mola.
Mola's eventual victory wasn't the only moment generating attention during the 2026 competition. Uganda's Elle Muhoza turned one of her preliminary appearances into a statement about childbirth with "The Layers of Life," a custom gown created by designer Keesha Abdallah. Its white, yellow, pink, and red layers represented the different layers doctors encounter while performing a cesarean section.
"The concept was inspired by the layers encountered during a C-section and, more broadly, by the extraordinary journey of bringing life into the world," Abdallah explained on Instagram. The designer said each section of the dress represented a different part of that process and emphasized that the colors were "not to represent a particular race."
The latest Miss World crowning arrives amid an eventful year across the international pageant circuit. The broader community has celebrated new winners while also dealing with several high-profile tragedies, including the recent deaths of former Miss Universe Jamaica finalist LaToya Malcolm at 35 and Miss Universe Tegucigalpa runner-up Wualys Aquino at 23.
Former Miss Universe Jamaica contestant Tyra Spaulding also died at 26 in September 2025.
