Born in Columbus, Georgia, United States, Deshauna Barber turned 27 on December 6, 2016. She represented the country in the 65th edition of Miss Universe.

Barber was a military brat. Both of her parents Darren Barber and Cordelia Barber are military veterans.

US Army Reserve

At age 17, Deshauna joined the U.S. Army Reserve. She was assigned as a quartermaster officer.

From December 2011 to June 2014, Deshauna was an executive officer at Fort George G. Meade, a U.S. Army installation in Maryland, USA. She supervised more than 150 soldiers, managed inventory and ensured the unit’s operational readiness.

From August 2013 to December 2015, Deshauna attended the University to Maryland in College Park, Maryland where she earned a master’s degree in computer and information services and support services. In June 2014, she became a company commander at Fort George G. Meade.

Miss USA 2016

On December 19, 2015, Deshauna won Miss District of Columbia USA 2016 in Washington, D.C., USA. On June 5, 2016, she represented the capital city of the country at Miss USA 2016 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, USA.

It was the first time 52 candidates competed for the title instead of 51, representing the 50 states and the capital city of the U.S. In the end, Deshauna emerged as the winner, making her the first soldier to win Miss USA.

Runner-up to Deshauna was Chelsea Hardin of Hawaii and the second runner-up was Emanii Davis of Georgia. Finishing in the Top 5 were Peyton Brown of Alabama and Nadia Mejia of California.

Miss Universe 2016

On January 30, 2017, Deshauna represented the U.S. at Miss Universe 2016 and competed against 85 other candidates at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Steve Harvey hosted the coronation ceremony with Ashley Graham.

Iris Mittenaere of France won the title. Raquel Pelissier of Haiti and Andrea Tovar of Colombia were the first and second runners-up respectively.

Mary Esther Were of Kenya, Maxine Medina of the Philippines and Chalita Suansane of Thailand finished in the Top 6. Deshauna, Siera Bearchell of Canada and Kristal Silva of Mexico finished in the Top 9.

Mittenaere was crowned by Pia Wurtzbach of the Philippines. On December 20, 2015, the latter competed against 79 other Miss Universe 2015 candidates at The AXIS in Paradise and won the title.

Runner-up to Wurtzbach was Ariadna Gutierrez of Colombia while Olivia Jordan of the U.S. was the second runnre-up. Monika Radulovic of Australia and Flora Coquerel of France finished in the Top 5.

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Wurtzbach turned 27 on September 24, 2016. On January 25, 2017, Mittenaere turned 24.