Miss World 2015 Winner is Mireia Lalaguna Royo From Spain: See Pics and Find Out Who the Other 10 Finalists Were

The annual international beauty pageant took place in Sanya, China on Dec. 19

By Corinne Heller Dec 19, 2015 4:11 PMTags
Mireia Lalaguna Royo, Miss World Spain, Winner 2015JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images

Here she comes, Miss World 2015, Miss Spain!

Mireia Lalaguna Royo, a 23-year-old model from Barcelona, won the international beauty pageant, which took place on Saturday in Sanya, China.

"Just because I am beautiful on the outside does not mean I am not beautiful on the inside, too," she said, after she won, according to the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph.

A total of 114 women competed. Miss Russia, Sofia Nikitchuk, 22, placed second, while Miss Indonesia, Maria Harfanti, 23, came in third place. Miss Jamaica, Sanneta Myrie, 24, and Miss Lebanon, Valerie Abou Chacra, 23, were in the top five.

Other top finalists were Hinarere Taputu, 25, from France; Hillarie Parungao, 24, from the Philippines; Tess Alexander, 24, from Australia; Trần Ngọc Lan Khuê, 23, from Vietnam; Lisa Punch, 23, from Guyana; and Liesl Laurie, 24, from South Africa.

Rolene Strauss, 23, also from South Africa, had won the Miss World 2014 pageant.

JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images

Royo's victory marked the first win for a Spanish Miss World contestant.

In addition to being a model, she is also a college student who is studying pharmacology and hopes to one day set up a business specializing in nutrition to "find alternative health solutions to orthodox medicines," Royo's Miss World website bio states.

"Mireia says that music and travelling are the pillars of her happiness," it says. "A skilled pianist she studied up to grade 8 in Musical Language, Harmony and Piano at the Conservatory of the Lyceum of Barcelona, and she has traveled extensively over Europe and the Far East. In her spare time Mireia likes to run, to read and to go skiing in the winter."

A photo posted by MIREIA LALAGUNA (@mlalaguna) on

During the competition, when asked why she should be crowned Miss World, she said, "I believe in a strong winner, I think I have something inside my heart, that I can show the world."

Another international beauty pageant, Miss Universe 2015, airs live on Sunday on FOX.