Riyo Mori ( born December 24, 1986 in Aoi-ku, Shizuoka, Japan ) is a Japanese dance instructor who won the Miss Universe 2007 title in May 2007.
Early life
Mori began dancing at the age of 4. She has studied at Quinte Ballet School of Canada and also is a graduate of Centennial Secondary School in Belleville, Ontario, Canada.
Miss Universe 2007
Mori was crowned Miss Universe Japan on 15 March 2007 and was crowned by outgoing titleholder Kurara Chibana.
As Japan's representative in the Miss Universe 2007 pageant, Mori travelled to Mexico City, Mexico in early May to participate in four weeks of events, rehearsals and preliminary competitions with the other seventy-seven delegates.
In the final competition, broadcast internationally on May 28, 2007, Mori was announced as one of fifteen semi-finalists who would move forward to compete for the title. She achieved the highest score in the swimsuit competition, which advanced her to the top ten and the evening gown competition, in which she placed fourth.
At the conclusion of the competition, she was crowned Miss Universe, becoming the second woman from Japan to hold the title. The first Miss Universe winner from Japan was Akiko Kojima in 1959. Mori is the eighth Asian woman to win the pageant, the most recent being Lara Dutta of India who was Miss Universe 2000.
Mori was the third Japanese woman to place in the top five at Miss Universe in the past five years. Miyako Miyazaki placed fourth runner-up at Miss Universe 2003, and Mori's predecessor Kurara Chibana was first runner-up in 2006.
