Evelyn Abena Akuaba Appiah (born June 2, 1993) is a

Ghanaian The Ghanaian people are a nation originating in the Gold Coast (region), Ghanaian Gold Coast. Ghanaians predominantly inhabit the Republic of Ghana and are the predominant cultural group and residents of Ghana, numbering 34 million people as of ...

–American singer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Queen Beauty Universe 2016 and

Miss Grand International 2020 Miss Grand International 2020 was the 8th Miss Grand International pageant, held at the DC Hall in Bangkok, Thailand, on 27 March 2021. Valentina Figuera of Venezuela crowned Abena Appiah of the United States as her successor at the end of ...

. She was appointed as

Miss Grand USA Miss Grand USA, also referred to as Miss Grand United States of America, is an annual female beauty pageant in the United States, founded in 2016 by a Dominican-American businessperson, Chantel Martínez, aiming to select the country representa ...

and became the first Black woman to win the

Miss Grand International Miss Grand International, also known as Miss Grand, is an international beauty pageant franchise that is based in Thailand. It consists of the annual national pageant Miss Grand Thailand, as well as the international competition Miss Grand In ...

crown. She previously represented

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

in two of the

Big Four international beauty pageants The Big Four or the Big League Pageants refers to the four major international beauty pageants for women — Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth. The group was first described by the ''China Daily'' newspaper in ...

but lost in

Miss Universe 2014 Miss Universe 2014 was the 63rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the FIU Arena in Miami, Florida, United States on 25 January 2015. This was the first time in the history of the competition that the pageant was not held during the year the title ...

and

Miss Earth 2019 Miss Earth 2019 was the 19th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, held at the Okada Manila in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines, on October 26, 2019. Nguyễn Phương Khánh of Vietnam crowned Nellys Pimentel of Puerto Rico as her succe ...

Early career

Abena is also a singer who has released several

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, including "Akomah" (2015), "Earth" (2019), "No Hit and Run" (2019) and "No More Hate" (2021). She has worked as a model, appearing in music videos for "

Wake Up in the Sky "Wake Up in the Sky" is a song by American musicians Gucci Mane, Bruno Mars, and Kodak Black. It was released by Guwop and Atlantic Records as the third single from Mane's twelfth studio album '' Evil Genius'' on September 14, 2018. The song w ...

" sung by

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...

Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...

and

Kodak Black Bill Kahan Kapri (born Dieuson Octave; June 11, 1997), known professionally as Kodak Black, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He gained initial recognition following the release of his 2014 songs " No Flockin" and " Skrt", both of ...

, as well as "

El Anillo ; ) is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez. It was written and produced by Edgar Barrera, Édgar "Edge" Barrera, Andrés Castro, Oscar "Oscarcito" Hernández and Jesús "DalePlay" Herrera, while vocal production was handled by Steve ...

" by

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Pageantry

Abena started joining pageants when she won Top Model Ghana in 2013 and represented her country in

Top Model of the World The Top Model of the World is an international search for the ultimate model. The event started in 1993 in Miami, organised by the Globana Group.Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

but she was unplaced. She joined Miss World America 2017 representing New York. After couple of years, she represented

again at

, where she placed in the Top 20 and won several awards. She trained under the Kagandahang Flores camp, a

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

-based pageant camp that trains aspiring beauty queens for local and international pageants.

Miss Grand International 2020

She joined

2020, where she was hailed as the winner and the first African-American to win the title. She eventually crowned as the winner of

by the outgoing titleholder

Miss Grand International 2019 Miss Grand International 2019 was the seventh Miss Grand International pageant, held at the Poliedro de Caracas in Caracas, Venezuela, on 25 October 2019. Clara Sosa of Paraguay crowned Valentina Figuera of Venezuela as her successor at the en ...

, Valentina Figuera of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, on March 27, 2021, at Show DC Hall in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

making her the first woman from the United States to win the crown.

Placements

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Appiah, Abena 1993 births Living people Beauty pageant contestants from Accra Musicians from Accra Models from New York City Musicians from New York City Miss Grand International winners Ghanaian beauty pageant winners Ghanaian female models American beauty pageant winners American female models Ghanaian emigrants to the United States American people of Ghanaian descent Miss Universe 2014 contestants 21st-century Ghanaian women singers