Iris Mittenaere blows kisses to the crowd after being proclaimed Miss Universe. Photo / AP
In the final question to the top three finalists, the candidates were asked to cite a failure in their life and explain what they learned from the debacle.
"I've failed several times in my life," Mittenaere said without elaborating but added that "when you fail, you have to be elevated and you have to try again and keep going ... I have failed before but for me this is the great first opportunity."
Miss Haiti, Raquel Pelissier, a 25-year-old survivor of the devastating 2010 earthquake that destroyed her hometown, was named first runner up while Miss Colombia, 23-year-old, Andrea Tovar, was second runner up.
Andrea Tovar of Colombia, left, Iris Mittenaere of France, center, and Raquel Pelissier of Haiti, pose shortly after being declared the top three finalists. Photo / AP
"I survived the earthquake," Pelissier said in reply to the same question, citing the quake the Haiti government estimated to have killed more than 300,000 people and displaced more than 1.5 million others. "I felt I was failing myself because I was not living my dreams ... But I chose to be a very positive person, and learned a great lesson from it because if I am here today, it is because I am living my dreams."
As he closed the ceremony, the American comedian host declared: "This is Steve Harvey, I got it right," referring in jest to his mistaken announcement of Miss Colombia as the winner in the last pageant in Las Vegas more than a year ago that sparked an uproar.