Saffron Maya Snook told the Miss Global stage she grew up with brothers and never knew what sisterhood was until this pageant. By the end of the night, the Thai delegate had both: the Miss Sisterhood award, voted by her fellow candidates, and the Miss Global 2026 crown, placed on her head on home soil by outgoing titleholder Nguyễn Đình Như Vân of Vietnam. She bested a field of more than 70 candidates on October 11 at MCC Hall, The Mall Lifestore Ngamwongwan in Nonthaburi, just north of Bangkok.

The Philippines’ Jayvee Lyn Lorejo, who inherited her national title in June after a resignation, finished third runner-up and was named Miss Global Asia & Oceania.

The Late Replacement

Lorejo didn’t win her way to the international stage at a national final. She got there through a resignation. Valerie West of Ifugao had earned the Miss Global Philippines title at Miss World Philippines 2026. On June 18, ALV Pageant Circle, the organization that sends the country’s Miss Global delegate, announced she was stepping down after an internal review of contractual and organizational obligations. Two days later, on June 20, it crowned Lorejo at Seda Vertis North in Quezon City, with Nguyễn on hand to do the honors.

Lorejo, representing the Davao Region, had left Miss World Philippines with the Miss Photogenic award and the Miss Tourism International Philippines title. That title was later reassigned to Michelle Arceo when the Philippines took on hosting that pageant. Away from the stage, she’s a flight attendant. Her advocacy, The Pangga Project, helps meet the basic needs of elderly Filipinos; pangga is a Visayan term of endearment.

At the coronation Q&A, she admitted the opportunity caught her off guard: “Representing our country is something I did not expect.”

Three Rounds to the Top 3

Her road through the final night started with a side door. The judges picked ten semifinalists, and two more spots were filled by vote. Persia took the People’s Choice Award. The delegates’ own vote went to Snook, but she had already made the judges’ ten, so the slot passed to the candidate with the next-most votes from her peers: Lorejo.

The Top 12 then competed in evening gown and a keyword round, in which each delegate had 30 seconds on a randomized word. Lorejo drew “Purpose.” That round cut the field to five: the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Puerto Rico, and the USA.

The five then faced a final speech round and a Thai traditional dress segment presented with Mouawad, the jewelry house. In the speech round, each delegate picked a woman who has shaped society and spoke on one of her quotes.

Lorejo went first, choosing Princess Diana: “I lead from the heart, not the head.” Her answer: “Joining in this beauty pageant, in Miss Global, I make sure that I show my authentic side. I know my purpose and that is to be genuine to all the people around me and to show them kindness and resilience, and I hope I can be an instrument of hope, and be a motivation to all the younger generation that we can be an instrument of change, and we can empower one another.”

Myanmar’s Kyaw Kyaw Eaindra, known as Myo Ma Ma, chose Shakira: “Education is a right, not a privilege, and we need to treat it that way.” Speaking through an interpreter, she said: “Education is very important in every situation. If you will be an educated person, you can be at the top level of your society.”

Snook picked Serena Williams: “Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other.” Her answer: “Starting this journey in Miss Global, I never thought that I will be with the 76 girls from around the world, and I truly appreciate it. I grew up with brothers so I actually don’t know what sisterhood actually is. But since being here, I’ve learned so much from so many women, and if I get to be Miss Global today I will take their essence with me, and inspire and work together to move forward and help the people in need because the next generation need that and I believe that we can all help each other to strive forward for a better future. Thank you.”

Puerto Rico’s Bianca Nicole Miranda chose Mel Robbins: “You are one decision away from a completely different life.” Her answer: “This is the quote that really resonates with me, because when I decided to compete in Miss Global, my life completely changed. I never thought that this organization and this group of women would influence my path and ways and my future. I am extremely glad that I gave myself the opportunity because I didn’t let my fears be bigger than my dreams and that’s exactly what I’m doing right now. Kap khun ka.”

The USA’s Kelly Kirstein chose Maya Angelou: “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” Her answer: “I think this quote perfectly sums up Miss Global. In the song, we outright says that we are unstoppable. We are unbeatable. We are Miss Global. Miss Global is not just a crown, it’s not just a sash, it’s not just a title. It’s a mindset, and all of the wonderful women that you’ve seen on this stage today perfectly represent that. I am so grateful to have met all of them. Thank you.”

That round decided the order: Lorejo third runner-up, Myanmar fourth runner-up, and Thailand, Puerto Rico, and the USA through to a final word round that settled the crown.

The Host Country’s Queen

Snook, 23, known as Saff, is a Thai-British model and digital creator from Bangkok. Her win keeps the crown in Thailand in only the second edition run by Thai-owned TPN Global, and the double honor of the night says something the scorecards don’t: the women she competed against voted for her before the judges did.

She studied at Shrewsbury International School Bangkok Riverside before moving to the University of Sussex in the UK, where she earned first-class honors in marketing and management with psychology. Her thesis, on how artificial intelligence is reshaping marketing at Thai companies selling fast-moving consumer goods (everyday, quick-selling products like food and toiletries), won her course’s Best Thesis Award. She also captained the university’s women’s football team.

Her first turn in the Thai spotlight came on The Face Thailand, the modeling reality competition, where she reached the Top 24 in Season 6. She has since fronted national campaigns for 7-Up Thailand and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7.

Her platform, Born Worthy, rests on the idea that dignity has no preconditions. Through it she has worked with Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, the agency that runs the country’s welfare programs, on welfare and equality initiatives.

The Runners-Up

First runner-up Kelly Kirstein of the USA came to Miss Global with a pageant résumé that predates most of the field. Originally from Mount Clemens, Michigan, she won Miss US Supranational 2015 and reached the Top 20 at Miss Supranational that year in Krynica-Zdrój, Poland, where Paraguay’s Stephania Stegman took the crown. Eleven years later, now Florida-based, she’s a model, actress, and cosplayer with a large following for her costume work, and is studying to become a software engineer. Her national costume, inspired by NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission, went viral during pageant week and doubled as a pitch for women in STEM. She also fosters cats as a volunteer and partners with The Trevor Project, the US crisis-support nonprofit for LGBTQ+ young people.

Second runner-up Bianca Nicole Miranda of Puerto Rico, 25, is from Guayanilla. Miranda took the island’s Miss Global title as a replacement after Gabriela Vázquez resigned, much as Lorejo did. She studied biology and business administration at the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez campus, the town she represented when she won Miss Earth Puerto Rico 2024, and she made the Top 8 at Miss Earth that year. Her environmental platform, Sembrando Vida (“Sowing Life”), pairs ecological work with a love of reading. Puerto Rico already has one Miss Global crown, won by Ashley Meléndez in 2023.

The Philippines at Miss Global

Miss Global began in 2013 in Redondo Beach, California. It’s now run from Bangkok by TPN Global, a Thai pageant company led by Piyaporn Sankosik, which took over the license in 2025.

The Philippines has been one of its most consistent Top 5 finishers, winning once, through Shane Tormes in 2022. Filipinas also finished first runner-up in 2016. Lorejo’s finish is the country’s third third-runner-up placement, after Riza Raquel Santos in 2019 and Pearl Hung in 2023, and it follows Xena Ramos’s fourth-runner-up finish last year behind Vietnam’s Nguyễn.

Next year’s delegate should come from ALV’s new Miss Island Philippines, targeted for March 2027 at Mall of Asia Arena and built to feed Miss Global among seven international pageants.

A Crowded Run of Finals

Miss Global’s final capped a crowded stretch for Filipino delegates on the international circuit. One night earlier, at Miss Grand International, Tanzania won its first crown and the Philippines’ three-peat bid, carried by Angelica Lopez, ended. At Mister Global 2026, the men’s pageant TPN Global staged alongside this one, MJ Ordillano finished second runner-up as Türkiye’s Dilhan Divrikli took the title. And in Cebu, Gabrielle Galapia finished third runner-up as Thailand won Miss Asia Pacific International 2026, making Snook’s crown the second for a Thai delegate in the same run of finals.

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Field Notes: Miss Global 2026 Results

• Miss Global 2026: Thailand, Saffron Maya Snook
• 1st runner-up: USA, Kelly Kirstein
• 2nd runner-up: Puerto Rico, Bianca Nicole Miranda
• 3rd runner-up: Philippines, Jayvee Lyn Lorejo
• 4th runner-up: Myanmar, Kyaw Kyaw Eaindra (Myo Ma Ma)
• Top 12: Tanzania, Thailand, South Africa, Venezuela, Spain, Myanmar, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, USA, plus Persia (People’s Choice Award) and the Philippines (delegates’ vote)
• Special awards:
  • Miss Sisterhood: Thailand, Saffron Maya Snook
  • People’s Choice Award: Persia
• Continental queens:
  • Miss Global North America & the Caribbean: USA
  • Miss Global Latin America: Venezuela
  • Miss Global Europe: Spain, Irene Cabrera
  • Miss Global Asia & Oceania: Philippines, Jayvee Lyn Lorejo
  • Miss Global Africa: South Africa, Chanel Rautenbach
  • Miss Global Middle East: Persia
• Venue: MCC Hall, The Mall Lifestore Ngamwongwan, Nonthaburi, Thailand, October 11, 2026