History will be made at Miss Universe 2025 as singer and reality TV star Nguyen Huong Giang will be the first transgender woman representing Vietnam to compete at the pageant. The announcement was made on the official Miss Universe Vietnam account on Instagram. Them report the pageant will be held in Thailand beginning November 21 and explain that Giang is the first trans woman from Asia to represent her country at the pageant, according to GMA News.
PinkNews revealed Giang’s statement on Instagram in which she said being selected is “a door to equality and hope, which is something no other major pageant had chosen to do.” She continues, “Miss Universe has become a stage where, no matter your circumstances, all women are women, lifting each other up and shining together in front of billions.”
The outlet explains that the organization representing Miss Universe Vietnam said it had handpicked “an elite representative” and cited Giang’s “feminine beauty, intelligence, confidence, boldness, and above all, a good heart that never stops trying.”
Giang’s background in the entertainment space is extensive, as she rose to fame through Vietnamese reality competitions in the 2010s, breaking through on Vietnam Idol in 2012 as the show’s first trans contestant and making it to the final four, Them reports. Then she went on to release her first music album Mercury in 2013 and won the third season of The Amazing Race Vietnam the following year.
In 2012, the ban on trans women participating in the Miss Universe was lifted when now-President Donald Trump owned the pageant. Three trans women have vied to be named Miss Universe: Spain’s Ángela Ponce became the first in 2018, followed by Rikkie Kollé and Marina Machete in 2023, representing the Netherlands and Portugal, respectively. No trans woman has yet won the contest, though Machete placed in the top 20 via Them.
Photo courtesy of social media
