Miriam Quiambao

Miriam Quiambao is a beauty queen from the Philippines who has competed in the Miss Universe pageant.

She was supposed to represent the Philippines in the Miss World 1999 pageant in London, but the organizers of the Binibining Pilipinas (Miss Philippines) Pageant (Miss Philippines Pageant) decided to send her to the Miss Universe 1999 pageant in Trinidad & Tobago instead due to citizenship problems with the original pageant winner Janelle Joy Delfin Bautista. Quiambao finished first runner-up in the pageant, which was won by Mpule Kwelagobe of Botswana. Quiambao also took home the Clairol Herbal Essences Style Award-the first and, so far, the only Asian to do so.

In Miss Universe, she finished second overall in the preliminaries, with a score of 9.52 behind to Miss South Africa Sonia Raciti. In the semifinals, she finished second in the swimsuit competition with a score of 9.32 and in the evening gown competition with a score of 9.42. Spain's Diana Nogueira dominated both competitions with scores of 9.33 and 9.45 respectively. However, Nogueira only ended up as 2nd runner-up. Many believe that had Quiambao answered the final question with a little more confidence, she would have been Miss Universe 1999.