From Navy Reservist to Miss Grand USA: The Victoria Oluwakotanmi Story
Nigerian-American beauty queen Victoria Oluwakotanmi has been crowned Miss Grand USA 2026 under unusual circumstances, stepping into the title after the organisation revoked the reign of the pageant’s original winner just over a week after she was crowned.
Oluwakotanmi, 25, had finished as first runner-up at the Miss Grand USA final held in Las Vegas on August 10, watching as fellow contestant Mekayla Li was crowned the winner. Nine days later, the Miss Grand USA organisation announced it was terminating Li’s reign, with reports linking the decision to revelations about an alleged 2024 hit-and-run incident, for which Li has pleaded not guilty to the resulting felony charges, as well as disclosures concerning a previous marriage. Following the organisation’s decision, Oluwakotanmi was elevated to the title on Friday, August 21, as the pageant’s first runner-up.
Announcing her appointment on social media, the Miss Grand USA organisation said Oluwakotanmi would “carry the crown” and “represent the United States” as she begins “an extraordinary new chapter” with the organisation, describing the moment as the start of a journey filled with purpose and opportunity. She will go on to represent the United States at the Miss Grand International pageant later this year.
Oluwakotanmi’s road to the title stretches back further than this year’s competition. She previously competed at the 2024 Miss Grand USA pageant, where she finished as second runner-up and also won the Best in Social Media award. Rather than stepping away from pageantry, she returned in 2026 representing the state of Indiana, ultimately finishing as first runner-up before circumstances thrust her into the top title just over a week later.
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Oluwakotanmi is the daughter of Nigerian immigrants and has spoken publicly about her heritage and her experience growing up in a Nigerian-American household. In past interviews, she has credited her father’s journey to the United States as a major source of inspiration, describing how he arrived in the country roughly three decades ago and initially worked as a dishwasher before going on to earn an advanced nursing degree.
Long before her pageant career began, Oluwakotanmi enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve in March 2019, serving as a Logistics Specialist. She has been associated with the Naval Operational Support Center San Antonio at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, balancing her military service with her studies in chemical engineering at Northwest Vista College. Her entry into pageantry began modestly, with her first competition at the Miss Black San Antonio pageant in February 2020, where, according to a US Navy profile, she wore her prom dress and did her own hair and makeup before ultimately winning the title.
Beyond her military service and pageantry, education and youth empowerment have remained central to Oluwakotanmi’s public work. In 2018, she and her family founded the Oluwakotanmi Promise, a scholarship and mentorship programme established in honour of her late grandmother, who, according to Oluwakotanmi’s public accounts, was denied the opportunity to attend college because of her gender. The initiative supports young people through education, mentorship and other opportunities, and Oluwakotanmi has continued to share updates on its progress, including members of its first cohort who graduated from high school in 2026.
With her new title, Oluwakotanmi now steps onto an international stage, carrying with her a story that spans military service, engineering studies, community advocacy and a pageant journey defined as much by persistence as by an unexpected twist of fate.
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