Miss World 2005 Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir all set to crown the 2006 winner

Reigning Miss World Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir is a law and anthropology student as well as a part time police officer.

15 February, 2006
MUMBAI, INDIA

As the countdown begins for Miss World contest for the year 2006, to be held in Warsaw on September 30, one beauty queen is all set to preside over the ceremonies. 

She is none other than Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir , a 21-year-old student from Rejkjavik in Iceland, the reigning Miss World. 

Unnur Birna will be watching her probable successors, about 120 of them, who will be in Poland from early September, touring the country as well as participating in various competitions in the run up to the finals of the 56th edition of the pageant.

The 2005 contest was held in Sanya, the capital of China’s Hanian province, for the third consecutive year, where Unnur Birna bagged the crown. During her month-long tour of China in the run-up to finals, Unnur Birna also bought her books along with he and continued her studies.

She is also a dancer as well as a dance teacher, but during her summer vacation Unnur chose to take up the job of a police officer at the airport nearby.

Unnur is a multi-faceted personality -- She was the chairperson of the college social club, loves acting and singing.
Choreography and piano are her other fixations. 

Miss Mexico, Dafne Molina Lona, was the first runner-up, and Miss Puerto Rico, Ingrid Marie Rivera Santos, finished the second runner-up.

Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir’s fashion designer grandmother was the one who spotted her grand daughter’s innate beauty as well as inherent potential.

Birna’s mother Unnur Steinsson contested in the 1983 finals and came fifth and it was her grandmother who had designed her costumes then.

It was her grandmother’s deep desire that she made into a reality when she was crowned Miss World in 2005. No prizes for guessing that the costume she wore was designed by her grandmother.

So law and anthropology student Unnur Birna became the third Miss World winner from Iceland, at Sanya, her predecessors being Hofi Karlsdottir who won in 1985 and Linda Petursdottier, the winner of 1988. 

Birna’s interests range from snow boarding, hiking, camping and horse riding to choreography and dance.

It may be recalled that Aishwarya Rai, who later went on to become a Bollywood actress, became the second Indian woman to win the Miss World title, in 1994. 

After that, Indian beauties bagged four of the next seven Miss World titles, triggering allegations off rigging by corporates to pamper their growing customer base which had its roots in India’s burgeoning urban middle class.

The Miss World pageant is estimated to have had a worldwide television audience of 2 billion, reflecting the contest’s immense popularity.