Veruska Ramirez

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Veruska (Veruzhka) Tatiana Ramírez was crowned "Miss Venezuela Universe" in the Fall of 1997. After undergoing training from Venezuela's famed beauty school, she competed in the Miss Universe pageant.

The Miss Universe 1998 contest was held in Honolulu, Hawaii. Ramírez placed second behind Trinidad and Tobago's Wendy Fitzwilliam, despite being awarded the highest swimsuit score in history (later bettered by Oxana Fedorova of Russia in the 2002 pageant).

Veruska was abandoned by her biological father and grew up with her younger brother without a stable home, working as a waitress at times.^{[citation needed]} In 1997, reigning Miss Venezuela Marena Bencomo visited Táchira State, where Veruska approached her for an autograph. Marena encouraged her to go to Caracas to try for the Miss Venezuela title, where Osmel Sousa granted her the title of Miss Tachira. During the pageant, Veruska competed neck-to-neck against major favorite Christina Dieckmann (later a supermodel) and Daniela Kosán (E! Television hostess). She edged out Christina by just a few points and won the Miss Venezuela title.

New York Post columnist and judge Cindy Adams was particularly fascinated by Veruska's facial beauty.^{[citation needed]}