Danielle Adewusi has been crowned Miss Universe Nigeria 2026, emerging from a field of 20 contestants to take the national title at a grand finale in Lagos.
Representing Lagos State, Adewusi was crowned on Sunday at Balmoral Hall, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, following several weeks of competition featuring camp activities, advocacy projects, talent showcases and stage performances. President of the Silverbird Group and National Director of Miss Universe Nigeria, Guy Murray-Bruce, presented her with the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony.
According to Silverbird, Adewusi distinguished herself during the competition through her “confidence, intelligence, elegance and commitment to social impact,” ultimately securing the title after the final question-and-answer session.
She will represent Nigeria at the 75th Miss Universe Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 24.
Adewusi brings a background that extends well beyond pageantry. She is a medical doctor who studied Medicine at King’s College London, earning an MBBS and a first-class BSc in Psychology. Her interest in women's healthcare deepened during an Obstetrics and Gynaecology rotation, where she became more aware of the barriers women face in accessing healthcare.
That experience contributed to the creation of Scrub The Stigma, the women’s health organisation she founded in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Its programmes include Educate Lagos and Educate Edo, which provide young people with information about menstrual health and wellbeing.
Her interest in pageantry also has a strong family connection. Her mother, Tonia Okogbenin, won Miss Universe Nigeria in 1991, making Adewusi’s victory a continuation of a family pageant legacy 35 years later.
Despite growing up with that connection, Adewusi has said becoming a beauty queen was not initially her priority. Her focus was on education and medicine.
Her own pageant experience began before this year's victory. In 2023, she competed at Miss Universe Great Britain, finishing among the Top Five contestants. She had always wanted to compete at Miss Universe Nigeria but waited until she had reached important milestones in her medical career and advocacy work.
Adewusi has also gained international exposure through her work as a United Nations Women UK delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women, where she said she developed a good understanding of challenges affecting women across different countries.
Her professional and advocacy experiences have influenced the way she views pageantry. Rather than treating it as separate from medicine, she sees the platform as another means of advancing the causes that matter to her.
The other finalists at Miss Universe Nigeria 2026 included Anita Osikhena of Edo, who was named first runner-up; Myya Jones of Cross River, second runner-up; Oluwafunmibi Ajaja of Ekiti, third runner-up; and Melissa Toghanro of Delta, fourth runner-up.
With the national title secured, Adewusi now turns to the next chapter of her pageant journey as she steps onto the global stage in San Juan as Miss Universe Nigeria 2026 on November 24, bringing with her a story shaped by medicine, advocacy, public engagement and a family history in Nigerian pageantry.
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