Marie Kemlyne Félix falls short of Top 20, but her Miss World 2026 run leaves a mark
Dominican Republic’s Joheirry Mola Dominguez was crowned Miss World 2026 on Saturday at a 75th-anniversary finale in this coastal Vietnamese city, edging out more than 100 contestants from around the world. Haiti’s representative, Marie Kemlyne Félix, did not advance to the Top 20, but her monthslong run through the competition drew attention back home for the platform she built long before she reached the stage.
Marie Kemlyne Félix, 25, was crowned Miss World Haiti on June 7 and arrived in Vietnam carrying a project she founded well before her pageant career: “Inspire-Toi d’Elles”, described as Haiti’s first ecosystem dedicated to the empowerment and well-being of women and girls. The initiative aims to help women develop their potential, build financial independence and draw inspiration from older generations of Haitian women.
That project became her entry in Miss World’s “Beauty With a Purpose” category, the pageant’s platform for contestants to showcase humanitarian work. Félix advanced to the Top 6 for the Americas and Caribbean region in that category, competing against representatives including Paraguay and Venezuela.
She also took part in the Vietnam Beauty Fashion Fest XVII and the Top Model final on Aug. 27, one of several tracks contestants can use to reach the Top 40. She remained listed in the Americas and Caribbean bracket of the Miss World public voting competition throughout the run-up to Saturday’s final.
Félix’s result falls short of what she have aimed from the start. Still, her Beauty With a Purpose showing and the reach of Inspire-Toi d’Elles gave Haiti a presence in the competition’s storyline independent of the final ranking.
Mola Dominguez, a 24-year-old teacher and journalist from Santo Domingo, becomes only the second Dominican woman to win the Miss World title, following Mariasela Álvarez’s win in 1982. Spain’s Elisabeth Reynés Alabern finished first runner-up and Malaysia’s Taanusiya Chetty was named second runner-up.
