Early life

Culpo was born in Cranston, Rhode Island, one of five children of Peter and Susan Culpo. She has two older siblings, Pete and Aurora, and two younger, Gus and Sophie. Their restaurateur father co-owns Boston businesses including Parish Café and The Lower Depths Tap Room. Raised in the Edgewood neighborhood of Cranston, Rhode Island, She is of Italian descent with some Irish ancestry from her mother's side.

Culpo attended St. Mary Academy - Bay View, and later, Boston University. In 2010, she was signed by the Boston modeling agency Maggie, Inc. She began studying cello in the second grade, and played the instrument in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble, the Bay View Orchestra, and the Rhode Island All-State Orchestra. She attended the Brevard Music Center, in North Carolina, for two summers, and has performed with the Boston Accompanietta.

Pageants

Miss Rhode Island USA 2012 and Miss USA 2012

After winning the 2012 Miss Rhode Island USA competition, the first pageant she entered, she went on to win the Miss USA 2012 pageant on June 3, 2012.

On July 6, 2012, the city of Cranston, Rhode Island held a homecoming celebration honoring Culpo for her pageant win. At an outdoor ceremony held at Cranston City Hall, Cranston Mayor Allan Fung presented Culpo with the key to the city.

Miss Universe 2012

Culpo represented the USA at the Miss Universe 2012 pageant that was held on December 19, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. She won the competition and was crowned Miss Universe 2012, becoming the eighth representative from the USA to win the title and the first since 1997. Culpo also became the first Rhode Islander to win the Miss Universe title. She succeeded outgoing titleholder Leila Lopes from Angola.

In January 2013, Culpo visited Indonesia for three weeks and helped crown the winner of Puteri Indonesia 2013 on February 1 in Jakarta. She also visited Yogyakarta, Surabaya and Bali during her visit. In Jakarta, Culpo hosted a discussion with young Indonesians for the United Nations Population Fund on HIV and youth prevention at the United States Embassy's cultural center @America.

On August 25, 2013, Cranston’s city council approved a resolution adding Culpo's name to Albert Avenue, which runs the length between Broad Street and Narragansett Boulevard in Edgewood.

On September 10, 2013, Culpo walked in the Sherri Hill fashion show held at Trump Tower. Culpo was in India from September 27 till October 6. During her visit, she reportedly ran into trouble after doing a commercial photoshoot at the Taj Mahal. On November 9, 2013, she crowned Gabriela Isler of Venezuela as her successor.

During her reign, Culpo traveled to Indonesia, Russia, Ecuador, Morocco, The Bahamas, Canada, England, India, and numerous trips around the United States.

Personal life

In August 2013, she started dating singer Nick Jonas, whom she had met at the 2013 Miss USA competition. In June 2015, Jonas announced they had broken up.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]