Former Miss Universe Lupita Jones has ended her 30-year run as the director of Nuestra Belleza México. Making history as the first Mexican to be crowned Miss Universe, the model was at the helm of the popular pageant until changes were made in 2023. The pageant stopped being televised and started being broadcast only on social networks and soon the name changed from “Mexicana Universal” to “Miss Universe.”
Events took a startling turn when Anne JKN, the new owner of the Miss Universe brand, announced Jones’s departure as the Mexican director. JKN stated that the objective of the franchise is to renew its brand in Mexico with a fresh approach. This decision marks a new chapter not only for the Miss Universe pageant, but also for Lupita Jones.
Lupita Jones’s career began in 1991, when the young model from Mexicali was crowned the most beautiful woman in the world, being the first Mexican to achieve such a victory. Following her reign, she founded Nuestra Belleza Mexico where she successfully continued to produce winners of Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International. In 2010, Ximena Navarrete from Guadalajara was crowned “Miss Universe,” marking one of her greatest achievements.
In 2017, Lupita lost the support of Televisa and began a pilgrimage that took her to various television networks, where she failed to root her new project. The last Miss Universe was in 2021 and faced challenges due to lack of visibility on television, ultimately causing controversy.
Recently, Lupita faced accusations of mistreating contestants, including two former winners. Despite these obstacles, the actress Andrea Meza was able to win the 2021 Miss Universe pageant. This year, the national contest was not broadcast live on television and could only be viewed on social media platforms.
Despite the setbacks, the annual Miss Universe pageant will be held in Mexico the following year. Lupita Jones will not be organizing this event, rather it will be led by former Miss Mexico Cynthia de la Vega, who was introduced by the new owner of the “Miss Universe” license in Mexico, businessman Raúl Rocha Cantú.
The announcement of Jones’ successor comes with an intriguing backstory, as Jones removed de la Vega from her reign as director “Our Beauty Mexico 2010”, a decade earlier. This development certainly intensifies the impending chapter in the Miss Universe pageant.