Who is the most beautiful, talented and altruistic woman in "the world"?

She speaks the ancient language of the Vikings. Her career ambition is to become a criminal lawyer. She is twenty-one years of age. She loves to hike, camp and play the piano. She has a passion for children. Her motto is, "You are what you do." And her mother shared the same title as the representative for her nation in 1983.

Can you guess?

Her name is Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir.

And her previous title?

Miss Iceland.

According to a panel of nine former winners of the competition, including Ann Sidney, Miss World 1964 from England and the Chairman of the competition, Mrs. Julia Morley (who has also run the Mister World bi-annual competition since 1996), Miss Iceland took the cake and was the icing too in this year's competition.

On Saturday, December 10th, 2005, Unnur Birna, an anthropology and law student and part-time policewoman, was crowned Miss World 2005.

The Miss World 2005 competition took place on the tropical resort island of Hainan in Saina, China. This was the third year the event took place in a vacation spot that has become a favorite in southern China. Hainan Island began hosting the Miss World Pageant in 2003. The pageant was founded in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. 2005 marked the 55th Miss World competition.

Miss World 2005, Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir

Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir entered the Miss Iceland competition to honor the memory of her late grandmother who made many of the dresses worn by contestants over the years.

Miss Iceland got great advice from her mother (seen left), who was crowned Miss Iceland in 1983.

Unnur Steinsson made it to the Top Five in the global contest that year.

Unnur Steinsson's daughter said:

My mum gave me some advice for how to behave, and it seems to have worked.

She told me to be myself, not be fake in any way, and to relax.

I am so pleased that she was able to be here to see me win the title.

The last Miss Iceland to win the Miss World competition was Linda Petursdottir in 1988.

In 1994, Petursdottir became a successful businesswoman when she opened Badhusid - Iceland Spa & Fitness. Today, this ladies-only health spa, where women come to rejuvenate their body, mind and soul, is the largest spa in Iceland.

The year Linda won the Miss World competition, Unnur Birna's grandmother made Petursdottir's gown.

1985 was the first year Miss Iceland won the Miss World competition.

Her name? Hofi Karlsdottir.

Hofi was Miss Iceland, Queen of Europe and Miss World for 1985.

Only four other nations have won as many or more times as Iceland. Jamaica and Sweden have also both won three times. The United Kingdom has won four times. And India and Venezuela have won the Miss World competition five times since 1951.

The agenda for Miss World 2005 in 2006 will be explicitly altruistic, as it has been since its inception in 1951.

Throughout the coming year, Unnur Birna will serve as a goodwill ambassador and charity fundraiser for children's causes.

The 21-year-old Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir beat over 100 other women in this year's contest. These beautiful, talented women include:

ALBANIA - Suada SHERIFAJ
AMERICAN VIRGIN ISLANDS - Kmisha-Victoria COUNTS
ARGENTINA - Emilia IANNETTA
ARUBA - Sarah Carolina JUDDAN
AUSTRALIA - Dennae BRUNOW
BAHAMAS - Ordain MOSS
BARBADOS - Marielle Chetham ONYECHE
BELGIUM - Tatiana SILVA BRAGA TAVARES
BOLIVIA - Viviana MENDEZ RIVERO
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA - Sanja TUNJIC
BOTSWANA - Tshegofatso Abigail Tumisang ROBI
BRAZIL - Patricia REGINATO
BULGARIA - Rositsa IVANOVA
CANADA - Ramona Rina AMIRI
CHINA PR - Ting Ting ZHAO
CHINESE TAIPEI - Su-Jung HSU
COLOMBIA - Erika QUERUBIN
CONGO DEMOCRATIC REP. - Nelly DEMBO OSONGO
COSTA RICA - Leonora JIMENEZ MONGE
CROATIA - Maja CVJETKOVIC
CYPRUS - Orthodoxia (Doxia) MOUTSOURI
CZECH REPUBLIC - Lucie KRALOVA
DENMARK - Trine LUNDGAARD
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Elisa ABREU DE LOS SANTOS
ECUADOR - Marielisa MARQUES GUTIERREZ
EL SALVADOR - Alejandra Mirian CARCAMO RAMOS
ENGLAND - Hammasa KOHISTANI
ESTONIA - Laura KORGEMAE
ETHIOPIA - Seble MEKONNEN
FRANCE - Cindy FABRE
GEORGIA - Salome KHELASHVILI
GERMANY - Daniela RISCH
GHANA - Inna Mariam PATTY
GIBRALTAR - Melanie CHIPOLINA
GREECE - Aikaterini STIKOUDI
GUADELOUPE - Meryta MELINA
GUATEMALA - Maria Ines GALVEZ CLOSE
GUYANA - Jasmine Samoy HERZOG
HONG KONG CHINA - Chui Chui IP
HUNGARY - Tunde SEMMI-KIS
ICELAND - Unnur Birna VILHJALMSDOTTIR
INDIA - Sindhura GADDE
INDONESIA - Lindi Cistia PRABHA
IRELAND - Aoife Mary COGAN
ISRAEL - Keren SHACHAM
ITALY - Sofia BRUSCOLI
JAMAICA - Terri-Karelle GRIFFITH
JAPAN - Erina SHINOHARA
KENYA - Cecilia Murugi MWANGI
KOREA - Eun-Young OH
LATVIA - Valerija SEVCUKA
LEBANON - Lamita FRANGIEH
LIBERIA - Snoti FORH
MACEDONIA FYRO - Milena STANIVUKOVICH
MALAWI - Rachel LANDSON PHIRI
MALAYSIA - Emmeline Wei Shu NG
MALTA - Ferdine Irma FAVA
MARTINIQUE - Moana-Sarann ROBINEL
MAURITIUS - Meenakshi Shivani PUTTY
MEXICO - Dafne MOLINA LONA
MOLDOVA - Irina DOLOVOVA
MONGOLIA - Khongorzul GANBAT
NAMIBIA - Leefa Shilkwa LEEFA
NEPAL - Sugarika K.C.
NETHERLANDS - Monique PLAT
NEW ZEALAND - Kay Margaret ANDERSON
NICARAGUA - Valeria GARCIA DAVILA
NIGERIA - Omowunmi AKINNIFESI
NORTHERN IRELAND - Lucy Avril EVANGELISTA
NORWAY - Helene TRAASAVIK
PANAMA - Anna Isabella VAPRIO MEDAGLIA
PERU - Fiorella Maria CASTELLANO GARCIA
PHILIPPINES - Carlene AGUILAR
POLAND - Malwina RATAJCZAK
PORTUGAL - Angela Maria FONSECA SPINOLA
PUERTO RICO - Ingrid Marie RIVERA SANTOS
ROMANIA - Raluca VOINA
RUSSIA - Yulia IVANOVA
SCOTLAND - Aisling Nuala FRIEL
SERBIA & MONTENEGRO - Dina DZANKOVIC
SINGAPORE - Shenise Wong Yan YI
SLOVAKIA - Ivica SLAVIKOVA
SLOVENIA - Sanja GROHAR
SOUTH AFRICA - Dhiveja SUNDRUM
SPAIN - Mireia VERDU TREMOSA
SRI LANKA - Nadeeka Samanmali PERERA
ST LUCIA - Joy MATTY
SWAZILAND - Zinhle Marcia MAGONGO
SWEDEN - Liza BERGGREN
SWITZERLAND - Lauriane GILLIERON
TANZANIA - Nancy Abraham SUMARY
THAILAND - Sindie JENSEN
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO - Jenna-Marie ANDRE
TURKEY - Hande SUBASI
UGANDA - Praise Juliet AKANKWATSA
UKRAINE - Yuliya PINCHUK
UNITED STATES - Lisette DIAZ
URUGUAY - Daniela TAMBASCO MARFETAN
VENEZUELA - Berliz Susan CARRIZO ESCANDELA
VIETNAM - Huong Giang VU
WALES - Claire EVANS
ZAMBIA - Precious Kabungo MUMBI

2005 Miss World Contestants

A number of countries missing from the pageant:

AFGHANISTAN
IRAN
IRAQ
KOREA
PAKISTAN
PALESTINE
SAUDI ARABIA

Now that will be real progress, when we see a woman represent these worlds.

In Saina, the women were divided into six groups: The Asia Pacific Group, The Northern Europe Group, The Southern Europe Group, the Americas Group, the Africa Group and the Caribbean Group.

Miss Iceland was part of the Northern Europe Group.

The public was invited to vote for the favorite in each group.

According to the pageant's official web site:

Voting was intense in what is thought to be the World's largest text vote. In a first this year, people in more than 200 countries were being invited to place votes for their favourite contestants in the finals of Miss World 2005. This set the contest on a roll, with each girl realising the importance of gaining support from the public.

Contestants featured in one of six 'Vote For Me' TV specials where invited viewers to cast votes via an individual number for worldwide SMS voting or IVR. The shows gave an opportunity for each contestant to tell a little about themselves and canvas votes. Points were then awarded according to an effective formula which ensured that votes from all countries equated, regardless of the size of population, voting medium or overall number of votes.

Among the finalists Vilhjalmsdottir beat were:

Miss Italy Sofia Bruscoli, who was awarded the title of Miss South Europe;

Miss Tanzania Nancy Abraham Sumary, who was named Miss Africa;

Miss Korea Eun-Young Oh, who was crowned Miss Asia Pacific.

Other top finalists included:

Miss Puerto Rico Ingrid Rivera Santos
Miss Mexico Dafne Molina Loma
Miss Tanzania Nancy Abraham Sumary

Miss Puerto Rico, Ingrid Maria Riviera Santos was crowned first runner up this year, and an ambassador for the Caribbean.

Miss Mexico, Dafne Molina Lona was voted the pageant's second runner up. She will serve as Miss World Americas ambassador over the coming year.

AFP Photographer Peter Parks and others captured the magic of the evening in Hainan.

Vilhjalmsdottir takes over Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia's 2004 reign.

Miss World 2004 of Peru spent the past year working to improve children's education.

On Saturday night, Miss World 2004 crowned Miss Iceland in front of nearly two billion people.

Miss World 2004, Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia

Miss World is second only to the Olympics in terms of international participation.

Unnur Birna will serve as a goodwill ambassador and charity fundraiser for children's causes throughout next year.

The beautiful, green-eyed brunette said:

In the coming year I want to do just as much as I can to help.

I would love to do what I can do for charity and for the children of the world.

The pageant's 55th winner will also likely profit from numerous modeling and acting contracts.

Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir's profile on MissWorld.tv, the official 2005 Miss World Web site, states:

Unnur was born in the Capital Reykjavik but grew up in a small town called Seltjarnarnes. In Iceland you can see a tremendous icecap, several glaciers, spouting geysers, steaming solfataras, volcanoes (hopefully dormant), raging rivers and magnificent waterfalls, a multitude of birds and cavorting whales.

Iceland can boast of many offbeat sports and attracts many visitors, as summers are surprisingly warm and winters not as cold as you might expect.

For the past year Unnur has been studying anthropology at the University and next fall she will commence her studies in Law as she plans to graduate as a lawyer as well as an anthropologist.

She is chairman of the college social club and teaches dance, she also enjoys acting, singing, all types of dancing, snow-boarding, hiking, camping, horsemanship and has a special talent for choreography and playing the piano.

During her summer holidays this year, Unnur was working as a police officer at the airport.

Her favorite motto is "You are what you do" or "You are what you make".

Other Winners

Miss Iceland was not the only winner on Saturday night.

Kmisha-Victoria Counts Photo Credit: MWO

Miss America Virgin Islands Kmisha-Victoria Counts won the talent contest for her sweet soul singing.

Miss Korea won the cherished title, Beauty With A Purpose.

This award commemorates her humanitarian fundraising and charity work.

Miss World 2005 Swimsuit Beauty Winner Yulia Ivanova from Russia

Russia's Yulia Ivanova won the bathing suit contest.

To learn more about the Miss World 2005 competition, please explore the official web site at:

Miss World 2005 - Iceland's Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir Photo Credit: MWO

Congratulations to all the contestants who are beautiful and talented, and who all have a greater purpose.

Inspire & Be Inspired.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "for the betterment of children" living!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King, Rugged Elegance, LLC