HCM City (VNA) – The grand finale of Miss Cosmo 2025 was held in Ho Chi Minh City on December 20, drawing wide attention from beauty pageant fans at home and abroad.
Outshining 70 contestants from countries and territories worldwide, Yolina Lindquist, the representative of the US, was crowned Miss Cosmo 2025.
Standing 1.74 metres tall, Lindquist works in community engagement and talent recruitment. She graduated with honours from Southern Illinois University and has held leadership roles in several student organisations. Having travelled to 16 countries, she brings a global outlook to her advocacy work. Lindquist is also the founder of Courage Over Cancer, a platform supporting cancer research and connecting patients.
Throughout the competition, she was regarded as one of the contestants with a strong academic and social background. She won over Vietnamese audiences by greeting them in Vietnamese with simple phrases, and her friendly, approachable manner and positive energy earned her strong public support.
Miss Cosmo 2025 Yolina Lindquist (Photo published by VNA)
The first runner-up title went to Chelsea Fernandez of the Philippines.
As the new Miss Cosmo, Lindquist received the crown along with a cash prize of 100,000 USD, while the runner-up was awarded 10,000 USD and other gifts.
Unlike many traditional beauty contests, Miss Cosmo 2025 did not include a conventional Q&A round for the final two contestants. Instead, they presented community project proposals and engaged in a live debate to demonstrate strategic thinking, reasoning skills and a vision for social impact. Each finalist was given 90 seconds to present her project, 40 seconds to pose a question, and 60 seconds for explanation.
Several additional titles were also awarded. Best in Swimsuit went to Miss Cosmo Brazil 2025, Gabriela Borges. Best Ao Dai was awarded to Miss Cosmo Peru 2025, Kelin Rivera Kroll, while Best Catwalk was claimed by Amys Napoles Ochoa of Cuba.
Miss Cosmo 2025 concluded a journey lasting for nearly two months, marking the second edition of the competition. The inaugural title in 2024 was won by Indonesia’s Ketut Permata Juliastrid.
Vietnam was represented this year by Nguyen Hoang Phuong Linh, who finished in the Top 10. Linh, born in 1999, is Miss Universe Vietnam 2025. She is a graduate of the University of Washington (the US) and currently works as an IT specialist at a leading Vietnamese technology unicorn. She previously served as an IT audit specialist at one of the world’s Big Four auditing firms./.
