Surprised Aussie beauty wins Miss Universe

20-year-old, blue-eyed Australian Jennifer Hawkins who said she never expected to win was named Miss Universe.

A 20-year-old, blue-eyed Australian who said she never expected to win was named Miss Universe 2004 in a two-hour pageant in this Andean capital watched by hundreds of millions of television viewers around the world.

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Jennifer Hawkins, 5-feet-11-inches (180 centimeters) tall, smiled as the outgoing titleholder, Amelia Vega of the Dominican Republic, slipped the crown on her head Tuesday night at a convention center on the northern outskirts of Quito.

The finalists were announced after 10 semifinalists paraded in swimsuits before the crowd.

Shandi Finnessey of the United States, a 25-year-old graduate school student who has published a children's book, took second place, while Miss Puerto Rico Alba Reyes, 22, an aspiring doctor, came in third among 80 beauty queens who represented their respective countries. Some 7,500 spectators who paid hundreds of dollars for seats cheered as Hawkins walked down the runway, smiling, waving and looking stunned by her victory.

At a news conference afterward, she arrived with Donald Trump, owner of the Miss Universe parent organization.

"I want to present to you the new Miss Universe. She's spectacular," Trump said. "Jennifer is the most beautiful Miss Universe I have seen in many, many years."

Hawkins, appearing nervous, said she "had no idea this was going to happen to me. It was completely beyond my imagination. "I have a lot to learn about being Miss Universe, but I'm going to give it my all," she said.

Besides Miss USA and Miss Puerto, the other finalists were Miss Paraguay Yanina Gonzalez, third runner-up, and Miss Trinidad & Tobago Danielle Jones, fourth runner-up. Reyes also was chosen Miss Photogenic Tuesday night. Hawkins is involved in modeling and dancing and said she choreographs a dance team that tours Australia. She said her interests are surfing, wakeboarding, camping with family, watching football with her father, reading, movies and going to see the Australian ballet.

"We're all so proud and so excited for her," her mother Gail said in Sydney, Australia. ""I just wish I was there to give her a big cuddle. It's really hard to believe. I wonder if it's sunk in with her yet. I don't think she realizes the attention she has gotten here."

Showing a free spirit, a smiling Hawkins professed her love for the beach and outdoor sports.

In a pageant question on what period in history she would prefer to live if she had her pick, Hawkins quickly answered "this time," given the abundant opportunities that exist for women.

The winner, who describes herself as "vivacious," takes home an undisclosed year-long salary as Miss Universe, an ample wardrobe and a $45,000 scholarship at a New York film school and will participate in events to benefit charitable organizations.

Presenters had said more than 600 million people around the world would watch the pageant, which is produced jointly by US tycoon Donald Trump and NBC Television.

In the days prior to the contest, Miss Bolivia Gabriela Oviedo caused a furor after she called herself a tall white woman and not one of the short Indian peasants for which she said her nation is widely known.

Several Bolivians called for her resignation over the remarks, for which Oviedo later apologized.