20/07/2026
August 23, 2010. The night a beautiful Black Jamaican girl from Kingston walked onto the Miss Universe stage in Las Vegas and placed SECOND RUNNER-UP — the highest placement any Jamaican has ever achieved at the pageant, finishing ahead of 80 other countries. 👑 Her name is Yendi Phillipps. And on that night the entire Caribbean exploded with pride for one of the most poised, intelligent, and dignified queens our island has ever sent into the world. 🇯🇲
Born and raised in Kingston, Yendi was already a trained classical dancer with the Jamaica National Dance Theatre Company long before she ever wore a tiara. She studied at the University of the West Indies. She was the host of "Miss Jamaica Universe" preparation programmes. She was articulate, gracious, prepared, and fiercely proud of her island. When she walked onto that Vegas stage in the emerald-green Uzuri gown stitched with the gold hummingbird across her torso, she wasn't just competing for herself — she was carrying the dreams of every dark-skinned Jamaican girl who had ever been told that the global stage was not for her. 🌍
Yendi went on to become a beloved television personality, a dance company director, and a mother. But that 2010 pageant night made history. To this day no Jamaican woman has placed higher at Miss Universe. She stood beside Miss Mexico, who took the crown that night, and proved beyond doubt that Black Caribbean beauty belongs on every stage in the world. Drop a 👑 in the comments if Yendi made you proud to be Jamaican that night, and follow Jamaica Untold Stories for more of our queens who put the island on the map.
