Miss Asia Pacific International

Miss Asia Pacific International
Formation	4 December 1965
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	Manila
Location	Philippines;
Official language	English
President	Atty. Eva Psychee Patalinjug
General Manager	Kristine Caballero Aplal
Website	Official website
Formerly called	Miss Asia; Miss Asia Pacific; Miss Asia Pacific Quest;

Miss Asia Pacific International is one of the oldest international beauty pageants, based in Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 1965 as Miss Asia and later renamed Miss Asia Pacific in 1984, followed by Miss Asia Pacific Quest in 1985 when Latin American and Pacific countries were included. In 2005, it was renamed to its current title, Miss Asia Pacific International.

The current titleholder is Janelis Leyba of the United States, who was crowned Miss Asia Pacific International 2024 on 7 October 2024 at Newport Performing Arts Theater in Pasay, Philippines.^[1] She is the first American to win the title, marking the comeback of the pageant.^[2]

History

The pageant was established in 1965 as the Miss Asia contest. The first titleholder was Angela Filmer from Malaysia.^[3]^[4] She was crowned by incoming first lady Imelda Marcos on December 4, 1965. The initial edition of the contest included participants from 18 countries.^[5]

The pageant's name was changed to Miss Asia Pacific in 1984 and Miss Asia Pacific Quest in 1985 when participants from the Americas and the Pacific region were included. In 2005, it was renamed Miss Asia Pacific International to allow participants from all countries. The pageant was not held in 1990 due to the Luzon earthquake, in 1991 due to the Mount Pinatubo eruption, in 2004, from 2006 to 2015, and from 2020 to 2023.^[5]

In 2005, Leonora Jimenez Monge from Costa Rica was dethroned after participating in the Miss World contest. The title was then passed to the first runner-up, Yevgeniya Lapova from Russia.^[6] The pageant was then suspended after the conclusion of the 2005 edition.^[7] It resumed 12 years later in 2016, with Tessa le Conge from the Netherlands winning the title.^[8]

The last titleholder before the hiatus was Chaiyenne Huisman from Spain, who was crowned on October 9, 2019.^[9]

Due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, no competitions were held from 2020 to 2023. The pageant returned in October 2024, with Eva Patalinjug as the new President^[10] and Kristine Caballero-Aplal as General Manager.^[11]^[12]^[13]

Titleholders

Year	Edition	Country/Territory	Miss Asia Pacific International	Location	Entrants	Ref.
1965	1st	Malaysia	Angela Filmer	Manila, Philippines	18
1968	2nd	Taiwan	Macy Shih	Quezon City, Philippines	12	^[14]
1969	3rd	South Korea	Seo Won-kyoung		13	^[15]
1970	4th	India	Zeenat Aman		15
1971	5th	Guam	Flora Baza		15
1972	6th	Australia	Janet Coutts		14
1973	7th	India	Tara Anne Fonseca	Manila, Philippines	14
1974	8th	Australia	Susie Currie		16
1975	9th	Papua New Guinea	Eva Regina Arni		18	^[16]
1976	10th	Singapore	Jacqueline Stuart		17	^[17]
1977	11th	Indonesia	Linda Emran		17	^[18]
1978	12th	Thailand	Siriporn Savanglum		15
1979	13th	Turkey	Ayla Altas		15
1980	14th	Australia	Lorraine Gaye McGrady		16
1981	15th	Sri Lanka	Bernadine Rose Ramanayake	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	16
1982	16th	Philippines	Maria del Carmen Ines Zaragoza	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	14
1983	17th	Philippines	Gloria Dimayacyac	Manila, Philippines	14
1984	18th	Turkey	Melek Gurkan	Christchurch, New Zealand	19
1985	19th	Israel	Nurit Mizrachi	Wan Chai, British Hong Kong	31	^[19]
1986	20th	New Zealand	Helen Mary Crawford	Hung Hom, British Hong Kong	32	^[20]
1987	21st	Panama	Cilinia Prada	Wanchai, British Hong Kong	30
1988	22nd	Thailand	Preeyanuch Panpradub	Hung Hom, British Hong Kong	32	^[21]
1989	23rd	Philippines	Lorna Legaspi	Tsim Sha Tsui, British Hong Kong	31	^[22]
1992	24th	Israel	Tali Ben-Harush	Manila, Philippines	24
1993	25th	Philippines	Michelle Aldana	Pasay, Philippines	23
1994	26th	Peru	Jessica Guiulfo Tapia	Cebu, Philippines	26
1995	27th	South Korea	Yoon Mi-jung	Benguet, Philippines	27
1996	28th	Costa Rica	Gabriela Aguilar	Subic, Zambales, Philippines	27
1997	29th	Thailand	Worarat Suwannarat	Davao City, Philippines	25
1998	30th	Costa Rica	Kisha Alvarado	Pampanga, Philippines	25
1999	31st	Colombia	Juliana Andrea Arango	Quezon City, Philippines	25
2000	32nd	India	Diya Mirza Handrich	Quezon City, Philippines	23	^[23]
2001	33rd	Peru	Luciana Luisa Farfán	Makati, Philippines	19
2002	34th	South Korea	Kim So-yoon	Manila, Philippines	25
2003	35th	Russia	Tatyana Nikitina	Pasay, Philippines	25
2005	36th	Costa Rica	Leonora Jiménez (Dethroned)	Guangzhou, China	51
2005	36th	Russia	Yevgeniya Lapova (Assumed)^[6]	Guangzhou, China	51
2016	37th	Netherlands	Tessa Helena le Conge	Palawan, Philippines	40	^[24]
2017	38th	Brazil	Francielly Ouriques	Pasay, Philippines	42	^[25]
2018	39th	Philippines	Sharifa Akeel^[26]		51	^[26]
2019	40th	Spain	Chaiyenne Huisman		54	^[9]
2024	41st	United States	Janelis Leyba		33	^[1]

Countries/Territories by number of wins
Countries/Territories	Titles	Year(s)
Philippines	5	1982, 1983, 1989, 1993, 2018
South Korea	3	1969, 1995, 2002
India		1970, 1973, 2000
Thailand		1978, 1988, 1997
Costa Rica		1996, 1998, 2005^A
Australia		1972, 1974, 1980
Peru	2	1994, 2001
Turkey		1979, 1984
Russia		2003, 2005^B
Israel		1985, 1992
United States	1	2024
Spain		2019
Brazil		2017
Netherlands		2016
Colombia		1999
Panama		1987
New Zealand		1986
Sri Lanka		1981
Indonesia		1977
Singapore		1976
Papua New Guinea		1975
Guam		1971
Taiwan		1968
Malaysia		1965

List of runner-ups

Year	Runner-ups
Year	First	Second	Third	Fourth
1965	Ester Cheryl da Silva Ceylon	Resurreccion Vianzon Philippines	Not awarded
1968	Cassandra Stiles Australia	Atsumi Ikeno Japan	Jane Mozo de Goya Philippines	Valisra Trungvachirachi Thailand
1969	Shirley Sha Taiwan	Sandra Jacqueline Van Geyzel Malaysia	Julie Ann Hodge Australia	Frances Margaret Carrick New Zealand
1970	Alice Tiongson Crisostomo Philippines	Yvonne Haunani Young Hawaii	Carolyn Dartnell Australia	Geraldine Welford New Zealand
1971	Carolyn Gomara Masibay Philippines	Hong Jung Ja South Korea	Gayah Tehetchik Israel	Sandra Van Loon Australia
1972	Yvette Marie Alfon Philippines	Dorit Bar Israel	Vivienne Hamilton New Zealand	Srungya Krachangsuk Thailand
1973	Nehama Fass Israel	Lely Herawati Soendoro Indonesia	Chung Kum Ok South Korea	Deborah Seccounbe Australia
1974	Ethel Lau Wai Tak British Hong Kong	Paripola Penson Philippines	Liza Sindoro Indonesia	Debra Josephine De Souza Singapore
1975	Bernadette Paille Tahiti	Jane Reilly Australia	Darlene Schwenkey Samoa	Linda Kaur Malaysia
1976	Maea Atger Tahiti	Anna Adrianne Bredemeyer India	Anna Luisa Delgado Philippines	Michelle Ann Glass Australia
1977	Marianne De Souza India	Helen Ng Singapore	Yifat Netzer Israel	Rio Diaz Philippines
1978	Epifania Lagman Philippines	Hannah Ekerling Israel	Julie Ann Croft Australia	Hisako Tanaka Japan
1979	Maureen Mary Lestourgeon India	Lorraine Espiridon Schuck Philippines	Lajiah P. R. Sharma Singapore	Tracy Christopherson Australia
1980	Rose Maria de Vera Philippines	Annie Chen Chiau Chuin Singapore	Cara Pollock New Zealand	Mina Coldas Turkey
1981	Kimberly Ann Carey Guam	Corrine Gail Carvalho Hawaii	Kang Hae Suk South Korea	Beatrice Hawkins Malaysia
1982	Rosa Maria Misa New Zealand	Tippawan Aukkraphun Thailand	Sharon de Jong Sri Lanka	Mi Il Kim South Korea
1983	Dorit Kadosh Israel	Nazan Satchi Turkey	Joanna Johns New Zealand	Siriwan Wangwilai Thailand
1984	Gayle Ann Jones New Zealand	Elsie Oh Swee Ping Singapore	Rinat Hadashi Israel	Suzanne Hoffman United States
1985	Lin Ji Yeon South Korea	Liliana Tapia Castillo Peru	Eva Lai British Hong Kong	Perla Pereira Fruthwirth Guatemala
1986	Lim Suet Kwee Singapore	Sararat Rumruangwong Thailand	Nina Li Chi British Hong Kong	Nilufer Apaydin Turkey
1987	Ana Corina Burgos del Rio Mexico	Toni Jean Frances Peters Australia	Choi Eun-hee South Korea	Niril Elyovich Israel
1988	Elsy Guadelupe Aceves Gurrola Mexico	Revital Mor Israel	Fatma Anil Northern Cyprus	Mi Rim Kim South Korea
1989	Myriam Tuheiava Tahiti	Galit Farber Israel	Gloria Petrovic Canada	Anne Seekaew Thailand
1992	Chutima Nirunsitirat Thailand	Mutya Laxa Philippines	Ingrid Matie Mole New Zealand	Kissarne Watson Australia
1993	Namrata Shirodkar India	Monica Reyes Chile	Maria Teresa Aragon Mexico	Lavianna Tan Poh Ling Malaysia
1994	Karla Contreras Estrada Mexico	Ozlem Mete Turkey	Nathalie Cohen Israel	Vaihere Lehartel Taiwan
1995	Ruchitra Malhotra India	Hsiao-Ping Chen Taiwan	Rocio del Pilar Abed Peru	Previtha Thiyagarajah Malaysia
1996	Marilyn Maristela Philippines	Mirna Sommers Tahiti	Mariel Ocampo Peru	Kenia Melais Panama
1997	Divya Chauhan India	Nancy Veronica Peoma Agnieray Tahiti	Kerry Anita Lucas Australia	Gabriela dela Luz de Heeckeren Lagos Chile
1998	Lourdes Lewis Panama	Priya Nair Fiji	Klara Lisy Australia	Metua Heimoana Tahiti
1999	Anna Tatarintseva Russia	Amy Trott Australia	Wan Wang-Fei Taiwan	Leanne Catherine Sorby New Zealand
2000	Marianela Salazar Guillen Panama	Winter Noel Washington Australia	Alexandra Maria Rivas El Salvador	Kanueng-nit In-orng Thailand
2001	Lisette Villanueva Jiménez Mexico	Wanvisa Kham-daeng-yai Thailand	Karol Inés de la Torre Pinilla Colombia	Darlene Carbungco Philippines
2002	Ksenia Volkova Russia	Tina Chhatwal India	Miriam San Jose Chui Philippines	Aishwarya Sukhdeo Fiji
2003	Shonal Rawat India	Andrea Ovares López Costa Rica	Tracy Freundt Peru	Samantha Wong Wye Yeng Malaysia
2005	Evgeniya Lapova Russia (Resigned)	Zhang Li Yu China (Resigned)	Claudia Ortiz de Zevallos Peru (Resigned)	Jedah Hernandez Philippines (Resigned)
2005	Zhang Li Yu China (Assumed)	Claudia Ortiz de Zevallos Peru (Assumed)	Jedah Hernandez Philippines (Assumed)	Not awarded
2016	Shawanya Tanhomwong Thailand	Ganiel Akrisha Atun Krishnan Philippines	Felicia George Cook Islands	Kim So-yeon South Korea
2017	Acacia Walker New Zealand	Valeria Cardona Honduras	Morgan Doelwijt Netherlands	Ilene De Vera Philippines
2018	Gabriela Palma Brazil	Melania Gonzales Costa Rica (Dethroned)	Misheelt Narmandakh Mongolia (Resigned)	Mariani Nataly Chacón Venezuela (Resigned)
2018	Gabriela Palma Brazil	Misheelt Narmandakh Mongolia (Assumed)	Mariani Nataly Chacón Venezuela (Assumed)	Raquel Van Gool Netherlands (Assumed)
2019	Eoanna Constanza Dominican Republic	Jessica Victoria Cianchino Canada	Carolina Schuler Brazil	Fiorella Cortez Arbenz Costa Rica
2024	Karen Sofia Nuñez Mexico	Selena Ali Belgium	Blessa Ericha Figueroa Philippines	Jennifer Prokop Germany

Continental Queens

Edition	Africa	Americas	Asia	Europe	Oceania
2019	Michele-Ange Minkata Cameroon	Jessica Cianchino Canada	Klyza Castro Philippines	Lauralyn Vermeersch Belgium	Chelsea Martin New Zealand
2024	Chizuruoke Sufficient Arua Nigeria	Gabriela De Paiva Padilla Bolivia	Sophiya Singh India	Selena Ali Belgium	Keshia Lee Llarenas Guam

References

^ ^a ^b Adina, Armin P. (7 October 2024). "Miss Asia Pacific International 2024 is Janelis Leyba of United States". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
^ Concepcion, Eton B. (7 October 2024). "Miss Asia Pacific International 2024 makes a comeback in Manila". Manila Standard. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
^ "I hop it 's a girl, says former Miss Asia Angela..." eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 5 January 1967. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
^ "Kejuaraan basikal sa-Asia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 19 November 1965. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
^ ^a ^b "The evolution of the Miss Asia Pacific International pageant". MSN. 7 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Yevgeniya Lapova: the last winner of Miss Asia Pacific International". The Times of India. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
^ "Laura blazes China beauty trail". BBC News. 13 February 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
^ "Netherlands wins Miss Asia Pacific Int'l 2016; PH finishes 3rd". Manila Bulletin. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Miss Spain Chaiyenne Huisman wins Miss Asia Pacific International 2019". ABS-CBN News. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
^ Adina, Armin P. (29 February 2024). "Eva Patalinjug to deliver Miss Asia Pacific International that 'people deserve'". INQUIRER.net Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
^ "Miss Asia Pacific International suspends 2020 pageant". Inquirer Lifestyle. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
^ "Two beauty queens take over the helm of Miss Asia Pacific International pageant". Inquirer Lifestyle. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
^ "Miss Asia Pacific International returns under new leadership". ABS-CBN News. 19 February 2024.
^ "Macy is Miss Asia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 10 December 1968. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
^ "BACK TO BOOKS' DECIDE TWO BRAINY BEAUTIES". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 25 August 1969. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
^ "Eva Miss Asia". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 26 May 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
^ "SENYUMAN LEBAR SEORANG RATU ASIA". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 5 June 1976. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
^ "Linda dari Indonesia dipilih 'Ratu Asia'". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 14 June 1977. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
^ "亞太小姐名花有主以色列登后座韓國小姐亞軍秘魯小姐季軍香港奪得第四以色列及韓國同奪泳裝晚裝". Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Traditional Chinese). 27 October 1985. p. 1.1. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^ "亞太小姐決賽紐西蘭小姐奪桂冠新加坡泰國小姐亞季利智得三獎項". Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Traditional Chinese). 1 October 1986. p. 1.1. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
^ "88亞太小姐總決賽". Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Traditional Chinese). 25 October 1988. p. 13. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
^ "翁虹未入前五名內菲律賓小姐奪亞太后冠大溪地小姐得亞軍以色列小姐得季軍". Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Traditional Chinese). 25 September 1989. p. 25. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
^ "Dia Mirza reflects on Miss Asia-Pacific win when she refused to wear a two-piece swimsuit". The Times of India. 30 November 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
^ "Netherlands wins Miss Asia Pacific Int'l 2016; PH finishes 3rd | ABS-CBN News". ABS-CBN News. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
^ "Brazil wins Miss Asia Pacific International 2017; Ilene de Vera is fourth runner-up". INQUIRER.net. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Philippines' Sharifa Akeel crowned Miss Asia Pacific International 2018". ABS-CBN News. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2021.

External links

Official website

[:2-1] Adina, Armin P. (7 October 2024). "Miss Asia Pacific International 2024 is Janelis Leyba of United States". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 7 October 2024.

[2] Concepcion, Eton B. (7 October 2024). "Miss Asia Pacific International 2024 makes a comeback in Manila". Manila Standard. Retrieved 7 October 2024.

[3] "I hop it 's a girl, says former Miss Asia Angela..." eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 5 January 1967. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[4] "Kejuaraan basikal sa-Asia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 19 November 1965. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[:1-5] "The evolution of the Miss Asia Pacific International pageant". MSN. 7 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.

[IndiaTimes-6] "Yevgeniya Lapova: the last winner of Miss Asia Pacific International". The Times of India. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2017.

[BBCNews-7] "Laura blazes China beauty trail". BBC News. 13 February 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2017.

[8] "Netherlands wins Miss Asia Pacific Int'l 2016; PH finishes 3rd". Manila Bulletin. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2021.

[:0-9] "Miss Spain Chaiyenne Huisman wins Miss Asia Pacific International 2019". ABS-CBN News. 10 October 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2021.

[10] Adina, Armin P. (29 February 2024). "Eva Patalinjug to deliver Miss Asia Pacific International that 'people deserve'". INQUIRER.net Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 7 October 2024.

[11] "Miss Asia Pacific International suspends 2020 pageant". Inquirer Lifestyle. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2021.

[12] "Two beauty queens take over the helm of Miss Asia Pacific International pageant". Inquirer Lifestyle. 24 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.

[13] "Miss Asia Pacific International returns under new leadership". ABS-CBN News. 19 February 2024.

[14] "Macy is Miss Asia". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 10 December 1968. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[15] "BACK TO BOOKS' DECIDE TWO BRAINY BEAUTIES". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 25 August 1969. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[16] "Eva Miss Asia". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 26 May 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 23 June 2025.

[17] "SENYUMAN LEBAR SEORANG RATU ASIA". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 5 June 1976. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[18] "Linda dari Indonesia dipilih 'Ratu Asia'". eresources.nlb.gov.sg. 14 June 1977. Retrieved 26 December 2022.

[19] "亞太小姐名花有主以色列登后座韓國小姐亞軍秘魯小姐季軍香港奪得第四以色列及韓國同奪泳裝晚裝". Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Traditional Chinese). 27 October 1985. p. 1.1. Retrieved 8 October 2022.

[20] "亞太小姐決賽紐西蘭小姐奪桂冠新加坡泰國小姐亞季利智得三獎項". Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Traditional Chinese). 1 October 1986. p. 1.1. Retrieved 8 October 2022.

[21] "88亞太小姐總決賽". Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Traditional Chinese). 25 October 1988. p. 13. Retrieved 9 October 2022.

[22] "翁虹未入前五名內菲律賓小姐奪亞太后冠大溪地小姐得亞軍以色列小姐得季軍". Wah Kiu Yat Po (in Traditional Chinese). 25 September 1989. p. 25. Retrieved 9 October 2022.

[23] "Dia Mirza reflects on Miss Asia-Pacific win when she refused to wear a two-piece swimsuit". The Times of India. 30 November 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 7 October 2024.

[ABS-CBN-2016-24] "Netherlands wins Miss Asia Pacific Int'l 2016; PH finishes 3rd | ABS-CBN News". ABS-CBN News. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.

[25] "Brazil wins Miss Asia Pacific International 2017; Ilene de Vera is fourth runner-up". INQUIRER.net. 30 November 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2021.

[:3-26] "Philippines' Sharifa Akeel crowned Miss Asia Pacific International 2018". ABS-CBN News. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2021.

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