MIAMI (Le Floridien) — Haiti has selected its representative for the 75th Miss Universe competition. Tatenda Josephina Rameau, a Haitian-American actress, writer, producer and journalism graduate student, has been confirmed as Miss Universe Haiti 2026 and will carry Haiti’s colors onto the international stage this November in Puerto Rico.
Rameau earned the title following the Miss Universe Haiti competition held Sunday, August 23, at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex in Miami. Representing the arrondissement of Les Cayes, she succeeds Melissa Queenie Sapini, Miss Universe Haiti 2025.
The selection brings Haiti’s Miss Universe campaign once again to South Florida, where this year’s national competition was organized amid the continuing security crisis in Haiti.
All the contestants who participated in the Miami competition were Haitian Americans, with each representing the region of Haiti from which her family comes.
Tatenda Rameau Confirmed as the Winner
Rameau’s crowning was followed by some confusion over the competition’s results.
The Miss Universe Haiti organization subsequently acknowledged that a human error had occurred during the initial announcement of the results. After reviewing the scores, the organization confirmed Rameau as the official winner of Miss Universe Haiti 2026, while Angélique François, who represented Haiti’s Northwest region, was named first runner-up.
The organization apologized to the candidates, their families and supporters for the error.
With the matter resolved, Rameau now officially holds the title and will represent Haiti at Miss Universe 2026.
Who Is Tatenda Rameau?
Rameau was born in Syracuse, New York, to a Haitian mother and Jamaican father and has lived in the United States, France and Ghana.
Her background extends well beyond beauty pageants. She is an actress, writer and producer and is pursuing a master’s degree in journalism at Georgetown University after graduating from Wellesley College.
Rameau has also worked in writing and communications, including speechwriting, and has been involved in projects combining storytelling, culture and community engagement.
Through her initiative “Found in Translation,” she has sought to use storytelling and the arts to amplify voices and encourage cultural exchange, including connections between Haiti and its diaspora.
She also brings previous pageant experience. Rameau competed in the Miss District of Columbia 2026 competition, where she finished among the top contestants.
Following her Miss Universe Haiti victory, Rameau reflected emotionally on her family, particularly her grandmother, Marie Lucien Rameau.
“I feel amazing,” she told Local 10 after the competition. “I feel like my grandmother, Marie Lucien Rameau, is here with me in spirit.”
Haiti Heads to Puerto Rico
Rameau will now prepare for the 75th edition of Miss Universe, scheduled for November 24, 2026, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
She will compete against representatives from around the world for one of international pageantry’s most recognized titles.
Haiti has previously enjoyed notable success at Miss Universe. Gerthie David finished as first runner-up in 1975, while Raquel Pélissier achieved the same distinction decades later at the Miss Universe 2016 competition.
Rameau will now attempt to add another chapter to that history.
Her selection also comes at a particularly difficult moment for Haiti. The country continues to struggle with insecurity, political instability and economic hardship, while Haitian communities abroad face their own challenges.
Lulu Orange, director of the Miss Universe Haiti pageant, emphasized that reality during the Miami event, describing Haitians as resilient despite the difficult circumstances facing the country.
For Rameau, the next several months will be devoted to preparing for the international competition and presenting Haiti before a global audience—not only through pageantry, but also through the culture, history and identity she will carry with her to Puerto Rico.
On November 24, the question will be whether Tatenda Rameau can follow in the footsteps of some of Haiti’s most successful Miss Universe representatives—and perhaps take the country one step further by bringing home its first Miss Universe crown.
