MANILA – The United States of America’s Abena Akuaba Appiah was named the new Miss Grand International during the pageant’s coronation night held in Thailand on Saturday.
If Appiah looks familiar, that is because she has actually joined other international beauty competitions in the past, the most recent of which is the 2019 Miss Earth pageant held in Manila.
Back then, Appiah represented Ghana and caught several netizens’ attention because of her witty statement during an interview with ABS-CBN News.
“Ang batang malakas kumain… ay laging may gana,” she said, making a play of words between the name of her country and the Filipino word “gana” which translates to “appetite” in English.
Aside from Miss Earth, Appiah also joined the Miss Universe 2014, during which the Philippines was represented by MJ Lastimosa.
On Saturday, Appiah bested 62 other candidates competing for the Miss Grand International crown, including the Philippines’ Samantha Bernardo, who was the first runner-up.
The rest of the runners-up came from Guatemala, Indonesia, and Brazil.