Crowning achievement: Miss USA, Olivia Culpo reacts after being named Miss Universe 2012 beside last year's winner Leila Lopes of Angola, right, during the Miss Universe Pageant at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas
Swarmed: Miss Culpo is surrounded by contestants after being crowned Miss Universe 2012
Costume change: Miss Culpo went from sexy to elegant as she switched from the swimsuit portion of the night to the evening gown competition
Following the win, her brother told CBS that she was 'really chubby and sort of weird when she was younger' while her father said Olivia was the 'nerdiest' of his five children.
Family pictures show Olivia goofing around with friends as she gets pushed along in a shopping cart and playing with her siblings Peter, Gus, Sophia and Aurora.
Indeed, her family appears to be taken back by her decision to enter the world of pageants, something they knew nothing about.
Olivia won Miss Rhode Island last year while wearing a $20 rental dress. She then became the first Miss USA winner from Rhode Island when she took the national crown in Las Vegas in June.
She grew up in Cranston as the middle child of five with two professional musicians for parents, Susan and Peter Culpo.
She graduated from St Mary Academy Bay View in 2010 and is a member of the National Honor Society. Her love of Italian led her to spend two summers studying in Milan.
The 20-year-old has played the cello alongside world-renowned classical musician Yo-Yo Ma and performed at Carnegie Hall.
Shop til you drop: Miss Universe Olivia Culpo larks around in a shopping cart
Genetically blessed: Olivia Culpo with her mother Susan at home
Happy holidays: Olivia (left), Aurora and their brother Peter on holiday in Italy when they were young
An American had not won the right to be called Miss Universe since Brook Lee won the title in 1997.
Culpo wore a tight navy blue mini-dress with a sequined bodice as she walked on stage for the competition's opening number.
Later in the night, she strutted in a purple and blue bikini, and donned a wintery red velvet gown with a plunging neckline. Culpo's coronation ends a long losing spell for the U.S. in the competition co-owned by Donald Trump and NBC.
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Culpo was good enough during preliminary competitions to be chosen as one of 16 semifinalists who moved on to compete in the pageant's finale.
Her bid lasted through swimsuit, evening wear, and interview competitions that saw cuts after each round. She won over the judges, even after tripping slightly during the evening gown competition. Telecasters pointed it out but also noted her poised recovery.
She told the Today show on Thursday that with the heels and gown she was wearing it was inevitable she tripped and was lucky not to 'fall flat on her face'.
She also said that in her new role as Miss Universe, she would be using her ability to travel internationally to raise awareness of HIV/Aids.
Hosts with the most: Andy Cohen and Giuliana Rancic co-hosted the event, but who can forget the larger-than-life personality who owns the competition - Donald Trump
You're hired! Donald Trump and Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo
Crowned: Olivia Culpo elevated her status from Miss USA to Miss Universe last night in Sin City
Minutes before Miss Culpo was crowned on Wednesday night, she was asked whether she had she had ever done something she regretted.
'I'd like to start off by saying that every experience no matter what it is, good or bad, you'll learn from it.
'That's just life,' she said. 'But something I've done I've regretted is probably picking on my siblings growing up, because you appreciate them so much more as you grow older.'
Miss Philippines, Janine Tugonon, came in second, while Miss Venezuela, Irene Sofia Esser Quintero, placed third.
All the contestants spent the past two weeks in Sin City, where they posed in hardhats at a hotel groundbreaking, took a painting lesson, and played pranks on hotel guests by hiding in their rooms.
Walk this way: 20-year-old Culpo competes in the swimwear section of the competition
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