Miss Grand US Virgin Islands
Beauty pageant in US Virgin Islands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Miss Grand US Virgin Islands is the national beauty pageant responsible for selecting representatives of the United States Virgin Islands to compete in the international contest, Miss Grand International.[1] The title was first introduced in 2014, when Wilma Echandy, a 24-year-old Stateside Puerto Rican, was appointed to represent the territory at the Miss Grand International competition in Thailand.[1] Under the directorship of Brian Javier, the first Miss Grand US Virgin Islands contest happened in 2024.[2]
| |
| Formation | March 25, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters | Miami |
| Location | |
Official language | English |
National director | Brian Javier |
Current Titleholder | Gisselle Burgos |
Parent organization |
|
| Affiliations | |
| Website | grandusvirginislands.store |
From 2014 to 2015, the franchise for designating representatives of the United States Virgin Islands to Miss Grand International was held by the pageant Miss US Paradise,[1] directed by Cyndee Frontal. During this period, the principal winners of Miss US Paradise were primarily assigned to the Miss World competition, while the franchise also enabled representation at Miss Grand International.[3] In 2017, the license was transferred to Chantel Martínez, founder of Miss Grand United States, and in 2018 it passed to Lulu Orange, organizer of Miss Universe US Virgin Islands.[4]
Since the first participation in 2014, the pageant has recorded a single placement at the international level: in 2024, Samantha Keaton achieved a Top 20 position at Miss Grand International.[1][5][6][7]
History
The United States Virgin Islands made its debut at Miss Grand International in 2014 when the director of Miss US Paradise, Cyndee Frontal, acquired the license and subsequently appointed a Puerto Rican American model, Wilma Echandy, to compete internationally in Thailand,[1] but Echandy went unplaced.[1][8] In the following year, former Miss World United States Virgin Islands 2013, Petra Cabrera, was assigned by the same licensee to compete and also was unplaced.[9][5] The partnership between Miss US Paradise and Miss Grand International was later terminated in 2016.
After an absence in 2016, the license was purchased by the Miss Grand United States director, Chantel Martínez, who assigned the first runner-up of Miss Grand United States 2017, Brianna Key, to join the 2017 international stage in Vietnam.[10] The license was then transferred to the Miss Universe US Virgin Islands in the following years and the vice-miss of such a contest was sent internationally.[4]
Edition
The first edition of the Miss Grand United States Virgin Islands pageant was held on March 25, 2024.[2]
| Edition | Date | Venue | Entrant | Winner | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | March 25, 2024 | CUZ Miami Venue, Doral, Florida, United States | 8 | Samantha Keaton[a] | [2][13] |
- Notes
International competition
The following is a list of the United States Virgin Islands' representatives at the Miss Grand International contest.
| Year | Representative | National qualification | Competition performance | National director | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Placement | Other awards | |||||
| 2014 | Wilma Echandy | Queen of Puerto Rico 2012 | Unplaced | N/a | Cyndee Frontal | [1][3] |
| 2015 | Petra Cabrera | Miss U.S. Paradise World 2013 | Unplaced | N/a | ||
| 2016 | No representative | |||||
| 2017 | Brianna Key | 1st runner-up Miss Grand United States 2017 | Unplaced | N/a | Chantel Martínez | [6][10] |
| 2018 | Morgan Evans | 1st runner-up Miss Universe U.S. Virgin Islands 2018 | Unplaced | N/a | Lulu Orange | [4][7][15] |
| No representatives from 2019 to 2022 | ||||||
| 2023 | Heather Thompson | Finalist Miss Grand United States 2019[16] | Unplaced | N/a | Brian Javier | [17][18] |
| 2024 | Samantha Keaton | Miss Grand United States Virgin Islands 2024 | Top 20 | N/a | [13][19] | |
| 2025 | Giselle Burgos | 4th runner-up Miss Grand United States 2024 | Unplaced | N/a | [20] | |
| 2026 | Brianna Stern | Appointed | TBA | TBA | ||
Winners' gallery
Wilma Echandy
Miss Grand US Virgin Islands 2014
Petra Cabrera
Miss Grand US Virgin Islands 2015
Heather Thompson
Miss Grand US Virgin Islands 2023
Samantha Keaton
Miss Grand US Virgin Islands 2024 (Dethroned)
Shriya Boppana
1st runner-up Miss Grand US Virgin Islands 2024
Giselle Burgos
Miss Grand US Virgin Islands 2025
National finalists
The following list is the national finalists of the Miss Grand US Virgin Islands pageant, as well as the competition results. Eight contestants competed in the pageant's first edition held in Doral, Florida, the United States.[21]
| ||||||||||||
Year Represented |
2024[13][21] |
|---|---|
| Barrett | Emma Knapp (Withdrew) |
| Christiansted | Shriya Boppana (1st RU) |
| Cinnamon Bay | Sonika Komal (Top 5) |
| Coral Bay | Samantha Keaton (Winner) (Dethroned) |
| Frederiksted | Brianna Lopez |
| Kingshill | Rebecca Arianna |
| Red Hook | Kathyria Burgos |
| Reef Bay | London Tucker (2nd RU) |
| Saint Thomas | Alayzia Christopher (Top 5) |
| Water Island | Layel Hamchou (Withdrew) |
| Total | 8 |
