Lo Colby Crowned Miss International Queen 2026, Making History for the U.S.

We have some very exciting news to share from Pattaya, Thailand: Lo Colby has officially been crowned Miss International Queen 2026, bringing the international title back to the United States for a second consecutive year.

Colby was crowned on Saturday, September 19, at Tiffany’s Show Pattaya Theatre, where she competed against representatives from 26 other countries. Thailand’s Theerachaya Pimkitidaj was named first runner-up, while Japan’s Saki Iwai finished as second runner-up. Colby also took home the Best in Talent award during this year’s competition.

For those who have been following Colby’s journey with us, this is the next chapter in a story we first covered back in March, when she was crowned Miss International Queen USA 2026 and earned the opportunity to represent the United States on the international stage. Now, that journey has taken her all the way to the crown.

And what a historic crown it is. Colby succeeds fellow American Midori Monét, who was crowned Miss International Queen 2025. That makes 2026 the first time in Miss International Queen history that the same country has won the title in consecutive years.

Colby’s victory also carries a deeply personal connection to this particular competition. A Thai-American transgender woman born and raised in Hawaii, Colby is the daughter of a Thai immigrant. Her trip to Thailand for Miss International Queen marked her first visit to her mother’s homeland, while her mother was in the audience in Pattaya after more than three decades away from Thailand.

That connection makes seeing Colby take the international stage as a trans woman especially meaningful. Her career has spanned drag performance, content creation, entrepreneurship and beauty, alongside advocacy focused on creating greater economic opportunities for LGBTQ+ people. Her work has particularly emphasized employment, financial empowerment and pay equity for LGBTQ+ communities.

This year’s Miss International Queen 2026 competition also marked the 20th anniversary of the pageant, which was founded in 2004 as an international platform for transgender women. The 2026 edition carried the theme “The Evolving Legacy: Empower Every Voice” and introduced the World Equality Forum, bringing representatives from participating countries together for conversations around equality, social issues, and corporate responsibility.

For Colby, that global stage now comes with a crown, a historic second consecutive victory for the United States, and an opportunity to continue using her visibility in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

Congratulations to Lo Colby on becoming Miss International Queen 2026! We’re wishing her an incredible reign and can’t wait to see where this next chapter takes her.

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Featured Image: Image Courtesy of Project Publicity. All rights reserved to Miss International Queen.