After winning pageants in her country, Angela Ponce became the first transgender to take part in Miss Universe after Donald Trump, the former owner of Miss Universe banned transgender contestants and threatened trans rights.
“It wasn’t easy. In 2015, I competed in another pageant, Miss World, in Spain, but I found out on the day of the competition that their rules didn’t allow a transgender woman to win. It crushed me. I had to go on and perform, and it felt horrible. But after I got to the Miss Universe final, Miss World changed their rules too. I changed the rules.”—Angela Ponce
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