Grandma Universe 2023 Crowns 47-Year-Old Singaporean

Laura Lee, a 47-year-old Singaporean entrepreneur, took home the Grandma Universe 2023 crown. A mother of three children and a grandmother to six, she was the youngest of the 18 contestants in the pageant, which ended on Jan. 23 in Hotel Montecito in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Daughter of an electrician father and a housewife mother, she learned the importance of being strong despite facing struggles in life. “We never went hungry, but we were not able to afford any luxuries either. It made me want to be more capable, so I could provide my children with a better life,” Lee told The Strait Times in a vide call.

And that she did. Laura Lee started her own logistics and warehousing company with the money she saved from selling refrigerated food trucks. She also has five more companies that are in the frozen food business, employing 70 people.

She took part in her first pageant, Mrs. Singapore, when she was 44 when she already had five grandchildren at the time. She took home the first runner-up honours for the event. Later that year, though, she won the Mrs. Tourism Queen International Pageant that was held in Thailand.

However, Laura Lee is steadfast that her biggest achievement in life are not her pageantry crowns. “My biggest achievement in life are my three children,” she said.