Kentucky Teen Beats 115 Others to Take Home Miss World Title

A Kentucky woman took home the title of Miss World 2010, beating out 115 other contestants to win the coveted title.

Alexandria Mills, 18, was crowned the new Miss World in the finale ceremony for the 60th annual show Saturday.

“It’s a cliché but this is really a dream come true,” Mills was quoted as saying of her win. “I can’t believe it’s happening to me. My time has come. I’m loving it!”

According to a biography on the Miss World website, Mills, a recent high school graduate, has aspirations of becoming a teacher.

"I've never met a stranger and enjoy meeting new people," she says in the bio.

For the final, she was wearing a shimmering ivory-colored dress slit up the leg.

Mills’ victory came amid a reported controversy however, as critics claimed her biggest rival, Miss Norway, Mariann Birkendal, was cheated out of the title due to difficult relations between her home country and the show’s host country, China.  According to a report from the U.K.’s Daily Mail, China was furious after the Olso-based Nobel Peace Prize committee awarded the prize to Chinese dissident Liu Xiabo earlier this month.

Following behind Mills, Miss Botswana, Emma Wareus, landed the first-runner up spot, followed by Miss Venezuela, Adriana Vasini. Miss Ireland, Emma Britt Waldron, was named third runner up, followed by Miss China PR, Xiao Tang in fourth and Birkendal in fifth place.