Tennessee State University alum and member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Juanita Brown Ingram has been crowned this year’s Mrs. Universe.
The TSU alum and Chatanooga native is not new to pageantry. She is the first African-American woman to compete and win the title of Mrs. Indiana United States in 2007 and has since gone on to compete and become the first African-American Ms. World International 2012, and has Mrs. Great Britain World 2011, Mrs. UK Universe 2013, and Mrs. UK International 2014 (placing Top 3 at Nationals).
She was also acknowledged her as one of the Top 7 Black Women in Pageantry to turn Beauty into Business in Madame Noir.
Ingram received her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Tennessee State University and her MBA and Jurist Doctorate from the University of Memphis. She is a US licensed attorney and a former adjunct professor of Business Law and was the recipient of the 2021 NAACP Ruby Hurley Image Award.
Ingram is a woman of many talents as she is an award-winning attorney, filmmaker, author, fashion philanthropist, and actress.
She is also a wife and a mother currently living in Singapore, and formerly residing in London and Taiwan.
Ingram founded Purpose Productions Inc. in 2018, which is a women-led production company with a mission of creating content that celebrates authentic BIPOC narratives while empowering women and youth through film. On Juneteenth 2021, she launched Purpose Streaming, a streaming platform dedicated to content that inspires, informs, and empowers through BIPOC-centric content.
The newly crowned Mrs. Universe ran on the platform “dress for success,” a platform that she says she lives by and is a nod to her service work. She is the founder and current Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Dress For Success Greater London, an organization that helps disadvantaged women become economically independent by styling them and giving them interview attire, career training, and support. She recently opened a Dress For Success office in her hometown Chatanooga, Tennessee.
In an interview with FOX Chatanooga, Ingram shared words of encouragement for any young ladies interested in pageantry. “I think pageantry with purpose a very powerful, so to all the young ladies who are interested in doing that I say go for it,” said Ingram. “Prepare and just be your absolute best self.”
