Sheynnis Alondra Palacios Cornejo (; born 30 May 2000) is a Nicaraguan model and beauty pageant titleholder who won

Miss Universe 2023 Miss Universe 2023 was the 72nd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Gimnasio Nacional José Adolfo Pineda in San Salvador, El Salvador, on 18 November 2023. At the conclusion of the event, Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua was crowned as Miss U ...

. Having previously won

Miss Nicaragua Miss Nicaragua was a Nicaraguan beauty pageant. It was held from 1955 until 2023, when the organization cancelled it for political reasons. Since 2024, Miss Universe Nicaragua selects the Nicaraguan's official representative to Miss Universe. ...

2023, she is the first Nicaraguan to win Miss Universe. Prior to Miss Universe, Palacios competed in Miss World 2021 as Miss World Nicaragua 2020, reaching the top 40.

Early life and education

Sheynnis Alondra Palacios Cornejo was born on 30 May 2000, at Hospital Alemán Nicaragüense in

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

to parents Raquel Guadalupe Cornejo Pichardo and Édgar Arístides Palacios García. Palacios later grew up in the town of

Diriamba Diriamba is a city and a municipality in the Carazo department of Nicaragua, with a population of 65,243 (2022 estimate). It is located 41 km south of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. Geography The city's elevation (just above 500 mete ...

Carazo Department Carazo () is a department in Nicaragua. It covers an area of and has a population of 198,395 (2021 estimate). The capital is Jinotepe. Geography Much of the department consists of a large plain sloping gently down towards the Pacific Ocean. T ...

, and was educated at La Salle Managua Pedagogical Institute in Managua. At the school, she won the Miss Lasallista beauty pageant, beginning her interest in pageantry. Afterwards, Palacios enrolled in the

Central American University Central American University may refer to: *Central American University, Managua *Central American University, San Salvador José Simeón Cañas Central American University (), also known as UCA El Salvador, is a private Catholic university with ...

in Managua, graduating with a bachelor's 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 ...

in 2022. While a university student, Palacios played on her school's varsity volleyball team. In order to pay for her education, Palacios made and sold '' buñuelos'' with her mother and maternal grandmother, for which she was bullied at school. In her youth, Palacios suffered from

anxiety attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a rapid, irregular heartbeat, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confus ...

s, which later inspired her to adopt mental health awareness as her pageant platform. Prior to becoming Miss Universe, Palacios was working as a model, television presenter, and journalist in Nicaragua, and presented a show called ''Entiende tu mente'', which discussed topics related to mental health.

Pageantry

Palacios's first pageant was in 2016, where she won Miss Teen Nicaragua 2016. She went on to represent her country at Teen Universe 2017, where she reached the top six. She later took a break from pageantry until returning to compete in Miss World Nicaragua 2020, which she went on to win. As Miss World Nicaragua, Palacios represented Nicaragua at Miss World 2021. Miss World 2021 was originally planned to be held in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

on 16 December 2021. Two days prior to the pageant's broadcast, several cases of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

were reported amongst contestants and staff. This led to the postponement of the pageant's final show, to 16 March 2022, with only the 40 selected semi-finalists being invited to return to compete. Palacios was selected as one of the 40, but did not advance further. Palacios won

2023 in August 2023, earning the right to represent her country at Miss Universe 2023.

Miss Universe 2023

As Miss Nicaragua, Palacios competed in and won Miss Universe 2023, on 18 November in

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

, El Salvador. Palacios became the first Nicaraguan to be crowned Miss Universe, and the first Nicaraguan to win any 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 ...

. She is also the first Central American to win Miss Universe outright, following

Justine Pasek Justine Lissette "Yostin" Pasek Patiño () is a Soviet-born Polish-Panamanian model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2002. Originally the first runner-up at the Miss Universe 2002 competition, Pasek became the first ever runner-up ...

of Panama who became Miss Universe 2002 following the resignation of original winner

Oxana Fedorova Oksana Gennadyevna Borodina (; née Fedorova, ), known professionally as Oxana Fedorova, is a Russian beauty pageant winner who was crowned Miss Universe 2002 and awarded the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation in 2024. Fedorova began ...

. During her reign as Miss Universe she visited at least 31 countries, becoming the most traveled Miss Universe winner and international beauty queen overall of all time. Palacios visited countries in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Africa. In total, she went to 31 countries, including: United States, Mexico, Indonesia, Qatar, Brazil, Costa Rica, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, China, Philippines, India, Albania, France, Greece, Colombia, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nepal, Peru, Monaco, Jamaica and Bolivia.

Reception in Nicaragua

Palacios's

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 ...

win was controversial in Nicaragua, as pictures of her participation in the

2018–2022 Nicaraguan protests The protests against Daniel Ortega were a series of protests against President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega and actions performed by his government, the dismantling of the opposition, and violence against peaceful protesters. The protests began in ...

against President

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; ; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician and dictator who has been the president of Nicaragua, co-president of Nicaragua since 18 February 2025, alongside his wife Rosario Murillo. He was the 54th an ...

. Palacios's win was celebrated by members of the Nicaraguan opposition, which led to

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

and First Lady

Rosario Murillo Rosario María Murillo Zambrana (; born 22 June 1951) is a Nicaraguan politician and poet, who is serving as co-president of Nicaragua along with her husband, President Daniel Ortega, since February 2025. Before this, she served as the vice ...

denouncing what she called "evil, terrorist commentators making a clumsy and insulting attempt to turn what should be a beautiful and well-deserved moment of pride into destructive coup-mongering." Ortega's government initially expressed "legitimate joy and pride" following Palacios's win at the pageant, but later reportedly prevented two artists from completing a mural dedicated to Palacios in the city of

Estelí Estelí (), officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and Municipalities of Nicaragua, municipality within the Estelí Department, Estelí department. It is the 8th largest city in Nicaragua due to the high urbanization of its ...

. Nicaraguan police also accused Karen Celebertti, the owner of the

franchise, of deliberately rigging beauty contests in favor of competitors critical of the government as part of a coup plot, leading to her retiring from the Nicaraguan pageant industry shortly afterwards. On 13 February 2024, Celebertti announced she would be the new director of talent development for the Miss Universe Organization.

Post Miss Universe

On 16 November 2024, on the final night of

Miss Universe 2024 Miss Universe 2024 was the 73rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico, on 16 November 2024. Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua crowned Victoria Kjær Theilvig of Denmark as her successor at the conclusion of the e ...

, Palacios crowned

Victoria Kjær Theilvig Maria Victoria Kjær Theilvig (; born 13 November 2003) is a Danish model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2024. Theilvig is the first Dane to win the title, and also the first woman with blond hair to win the title ...

as her successsor. On March 15 2025, Palacios revealed that the

Miss Universe Organization 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 Stre ...

has gifted her the Mouawad Force for Good crown as a tribute to her successful reign.

Personal life

In September 2024, she confirmed that she was in a relationship with Carlos Gómez "El Cañón", a former Venezuelan baseball player.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palacios, Sheynnis 2000 births Living people Miss Nicaragua winners Nicaraguan beauty pageant winners Nicaraguan female models Miss Universe 2023 contestants Miss Universe winners Miss World 2021 delegates People from Carazo Department People from Managua