Who is Alma Cooper, the US’s contestant at Miss Universe 2024?

Michigan native Alma Cooper will be one of a record 127 women competing for the Miss Universe tiara this week, as the 73rd edition of the prestigious international beauty pageant takes place in Mexico City.

Beauty queen, Army officer, Stanford scholar: meet Miss USA Alma Cooper

Cooper stamped her ticket to Mexico back in August, when she earned the United States' spot at Miss Universe by winning Miss USA at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The 22-year-old was crowned by her predecessor as Miss USA, Savannah Gankiewicz, after triumphing in the national contest ahead of Kentucky’s Connor Perry and Oklahoma’s Danika Christopherson.

Born in Okemos, Michigan, in March 2002, Cooper graduated with honors from the United States Military Academy, and is now studying for a master’s degree in statistics (data science track) at Stanford University, where she is part of the Knight-Hennessy scholarship program. Currently a second lieutenant in the US Army, Cooper is the first active-duty Army officer to win the Miss USA crown.

“As the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro-Latina woman and an officer of the United States Army, I am living the American dream,” Cooper said during this summer’s Miss USA event. “If there’s anything my life and my mother taught me, it’s that your circumstances never define your destiny.”

Miss USA No. 3 in 2024

Cooper is the third woman to bear the Miss USA crown this year. Gankiewicz had finished as first runner-up in the 2023 contest, but was promoted after winner Noelia Voigt resigned from the role in May, citing mental health concerns.

Miss Universe 2024: when, where, how to watch

The Miss Universe 2024 grand final is to be held on Saturday November 16, at the 22,000-capacity Arena Ciudad de México. Scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, the event will be hosted by former Miss Universe Olivia Culpo, alongside the TV presenter Mario Lopez.

Viewers in the US will be able to watch the event live on Apple TV (English-language coverage) and on Telemundo (Spanish-language coverage).

Only 30 members of the initial Miss Universe field will be involved in this weekend’s final show. The remaining contestants will be eliminated during a preliminary competition in the Mexican capital on Thursday.

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