Danielle Adewusi’s emergence as Miss Universe Nigeria 2026 adds a new chapter to a journey that has combined medicine, women’s health advocacy, public speaking and pageantry.
The medical doctor secured the national crown after entering a competition that built on interests she had developed long before her latest pageant victory.
Medicine came first
Adewusi trained as a medical doctor at King’s College London, where she obtained an MBBS alongside a first-class BSc in Psychology.
Her medical education also influenced her interest in women’s healthcare, particularly after an Obstetrics and Gynaecology rotation exposed her to some of the difficulties women encounter when seeking healthcare.
In an August interview before the competition, Adewusi explained that the experience encouraged her to look beyond individual patient care and become involved in wider advocacy.
She grew up around pageantry
Adewusi’s connection to beauty pageants predates her own participation because her mother, Tonia Okogbenin, won Miss Universe Nigeria in 1991.
Despite that family connection, Adewusi said pageantry was not initially her priority because her attention was focused on her education and medical career.
“My priority was excelling in school, studying Medicine and becoming a doctor,” she said.
She eventually came to see pageantry as another avenue through which she could combine her interests in medicine, modelling, public speaking and women’s health advocacy.
Miss Universe Nigeria was not her first competition
The 2026 national title is not Adewusi’s first experience competing in a beauty pageant, having previously participated in Miss Universe Great Britain in 2023.
She finished among the Top Five contestants in that competition before eventually pursuing her long-held ambition of representing Nigeria.
Adewusi said she had wanted to compete at Miss Universe Nigeria but chose to wait until she had achieved significant milestones in her medical career and advocacy work.
Her advocacy focuses on women’s health
Beyond medicine and pageantry, Adewusi founded Scrub The Stigma, a women’s health organisation operating across Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
The organisation runs health education initiatives, including Educate Lagos and Educate Edo, which provide young people with information about menstrual health and general wellbeing.
Women’s healthcare also became the focus of Adewusi’s advocacy campaign during the Miss Universe Nigeria competition, with plans to use her new platform to broaden discussions around healthcare and access to reliable information.
Her advocacy experience has also included serving as a United Nations Women UK delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women, where she said she gained wider exposure to issues affecting women internationally.
She sees the crown as another platform for her work
Rather than viewing medicine and pageantry as competing career paths, Adewusi regards both as avenues through which she can pursue her interest in improving the lives of women and girls.
“For me, medicine and pageantry aren’t separate worlds. They are simply different platforms that allow me to pursue the same purpose: creating meaningful change in the lives of women and girls,” she told The PUNCH.
With her national title secured, Adewusi is expected to represent Nigeria at the 75th Miss Universe Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on November 24.
Her next appearance on the international stage will therefore bring together the different strands of a journey that has moved from medical training and women’s health advocacy to national pageantry.
