PH's Annabelle McDonnell is Miss Charm International 2023 1st runner-up
Brazil's Luma Russo made history by becoming the first-ever Miss Charm, while the Philippines and Indonesia placed second and third, respectively.
The inaugural Miss Charm competition was originally scheduled in 2019, but was postponed multiples times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And finally, on February 16, the event pushed through with 38 international candidates gathering in Hoa Binh Theater in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
The top 3 finalists, which included Luma, Annabelle McDonnell of the Philippines, and Olivia Tan of Indonesia, were revealed by a draftsman who drew a portrait of the ladies on stage.
For the final question and answer portion, they were asked what the meaning of life is for them and what they live for.
Annabelle answered: "The meaning of life is to be of help to one another. It is all about putting the community first oneself. I've learned this growing up as an orphan and I've certainly learned this more being with the Vietnamese people tonight. I think that the purpose of my life is to be of help to one another."
She continued, "In the struggles of the youth I see myself and I relate to them. I hope with my success here tonight, they see themselves in me and they believe in themselves more because of me."
Annabelle placed first-runner up in the Miss Universe Philippines 2022, where Celeste Cortesi won.
The 22-year-old beauty queen from Misamis Oriental was appointed as the delegate to the Vietnam-based pageant a month after the said pageant.