Francisca Luhong James (born 14 October 1995) is a Malaysian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss Universe Malaysia 2020 Miss Universe Malaysia 2020, the 54th edition of the Miss Universe Malaysia, was held on 5 September 2020 at Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Francisca Luhong James of Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak was crowned by the outgoing titleholder, Shwet ...

. She represented her country at

Miss Universe 2020 Miss Universe 2020 was the 69th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States, on 16 May 2021. At the end of the event, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned Andrea Meza of Mexic ...

, and did not reach the top 21, marking the ''50 years of unplacement'' for Malaysia at

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

since

Josephine Lena Wong Datin Josephine Wong Jaw Leng Fonseka (born 1 January 1952) is a Malaysian former model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Malaysia Universe 1970. She represented her country at the 19th Miss Universe in Florida, United State ...

Miss Universe 1970 Miss Universe 1970 was the 19th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, United States on July 11, 1970. At the end of the event, Gloria Diaz of the Philippines crowned Marisol Malaret of Puerto Rico a ...

Early life and career

James was born 14 October 1995 in

Kuching Kuching ( , ), officially the City of Kuching, is the capital and the most populous city in the States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Sarawak in Malaysia. It is also the capital of Kuching Division. The city is on the Sarawak Ri ...

, Sarawak. She is of mixed heritage from Kayan, Kenyah,

Iban IBAN or Iban or Ibán may refer to: Banking * International Bank Account Number Ethnology * Iban culture * Iban language The Iban language () is spoken by the Iban, one of the Dayak ethnic groups who live in Brunei, the Indonesian provinc ...

, and

Dayak people The Dayak (; older spelling: Dajak) or Dyak or Dayuh are the native groups of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located principally in the central and southern interior of Borneo, each with its ...

. She is the eldest of three siblings and the only daughter of James Mering Bungan and Pauline Japok. She has a degree in

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large population segments. It utilizes various forms of media as technology has made the dissemination of information more efficient. Primary examples o ...

majoring in

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

Pageantry

Miss Cultural Harvest Festival 2015

At 19, James participated in Miss Cultural Harvest Festival 2015, an annual ethnic beauty pageant held during the Sarawak Harvest and Folklore Festival. She was the second runner-up of the competition.

Miss World Malaysia 2016

In 2016, James reached the top five at Miss World Malaysia 2016. She also won Miss Talent, Miss Natural Beauty, and Miss Elegant awards.

Miss World Malaysia 2018

In 2018, James reached the top five at Miss World Malaysia 2018. She also won the People's Choice and Top Model awards.

Miss Universe Malaysia 2020

In 2020, James won

, earning her the right to represent Malaysia at

. The final of Miss Universe Malaysia 2020 was held on 5 September 2020 at Damansara,

Petaling Jaya Petaling Jaya (), colloquially referred to as "PJ", is a city in Petaling District, in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Originally developed as a Satellite city, satellite township for Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, it is part of the G ...

, Selangor. James was the eighth Miss Universe Malaysia from

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

and also the first Dayak woman.

Miss Universe 2020

James represented Malaysia at

, held in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, US on 16 May 2021. She did not reach the top 21, marking the ''50 years of unplacement'' for Malaysia at

since

Controversy

During her reign, James was accused of having previously been a nude model on adult websites, which she denied. This resulted in her being forced to stepdown as the titleholder of Miss Universe Malaysia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Francisca Luhong 1995 births Living people Malaysian female models Malaysian socialites Malaysian beauty pageant winners Miss Universe Malaysia People from Kuching Miss Universe 2020 contestants