Olivia Culpo
Olivia Frances Culpo (born May 8, 1992) is an American model, actress, influencer and beauty queen. After winning the Miss Rhode Island USA competition, she went on to win Miss USA 2012, and then Miss Universe 2012.
Olivia Culpo
- Model
- actress
- influencer
2012–present
- Miss Rhode Island USA 2012 (Winner)
- Miss USA 2012 (Winner)
- Miss Universe 2012 (Winner)
Early life and education[edit]
Olivia Frances Culpo[1] was born May 8, 1992[2][3] in Cranston, Rhode Island to parents Susan and Peter Culpo.[3] She is the middle child of five siblings.[3] She was raised in the Edgewood neighborhood of Cranston[4] and is of Italian descent with some Irish ancestry from her mother's side.[5]
Culpo attended St. Mary Academy – Bay View, and, later, Boston University, but she did not graduate.[3] She began studying the cello in second grade,[6] and she has played in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble, the Bay View Orchestra, and the Rhode Island All-State Orchestra.[7] She attended the Brevard Music Center, in Brevard, North Carolina for two summers, and she has performed with the Boston Accompanietta.[7][3]
Career[edit]
Pageantry[edit]
After winning the 2012 Miss Rhode Island USA competition on the first pageant she entered,[8] she went on to win the Miss USA pageant on June 3, 2012.[9]
On July 6, 2012, the city of Cranston held a homecoming celebration for Culpo for her pageant win. At an outdoor ceremony held at Cranston City Hall, Mayor Allan Fung presented Culpo with the key to the city.[10]
Culpo represented the United States at the 61st Miss Universe pageant, which was held on December 19, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada. She won the competition,[11] becoming the eighth representative from the United States to win the title and the first since Brook Lee was crowned Miss Universe 1997. Culpo became the first Rhode Islander to win the title. She succeeded outgoing titleholder Leila Lopes from Angola.[12]
In January 2013, Culpo visited Indonesia for three weeks and helped crown the winner of Puteri Indonesia 2013 on February 1 in Jakarta. She also visited Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and Bali during her visit. In Jakarta, Culpo hosted a discussion with young Indonesians for the United Nations Population Fund on HIV and youth prevention at the United States Embassy's cultural center of America.[13]
On August 25, 2013, Cranston's city council approved a resolution adding Culpo's name to Albert Avenue, which runs the length between Broad Street and Narragansett Boulevard in Edgewood.[14]
On September 10, 2013, Culpo participated in the Sherri Hill fashion show held at the Trump Tower in New York City.[15]
On November 9, 2013, she crowned Gabriela Isler of Venezuela as her successor. In doing so, she became the 3rd Miss Universe from the United States to pass the title off to Venezuela, after Shawn Weatherly in 1981 and Chelsi Smith in 1996.
In January 2023 and then again in November of 2023, Culpo co-hosted the Miss Universe 2022 and Miss Universe 2023 pageants.[16][17]
Outside pageantry[edit]
Culpo became a social media personality after gaining a significant following on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. She has partnered and collaborated with several beauty and fashion brands like L'Oréal, Kipling,[18] and Uberliss[19] as an influencer.[20][21] Culpo was also featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue;[22] she appeared on the cover of the 2020 issue alongside Jasmine Sanders and Kate Bock.[23] She also appeared in the reality television show Model Squad (2018). In addition, Culpo had roles in the films The Other Woman, I Feel Pretty, Reprisal, and was cast as female lead in Venus as a Boy.[24]
In August 2017, Culpo opened a restaurant with her family in Rhode Island.[25]
In May 2023, Culpo competed in season nine of The Masked Singer as "UFO." She was eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Personal life[edit]
Culpo has been in a relationship with NFL player Christian McCaffrey since 2019.[26] They announced their engagement in April 2023.[27]