She Entered Her First Pageant at Age 37. Months Later, She Was Crowned Mrs. World (Exclusive)
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On Jan. 29, Chanita Seedaket Craythorne of Thailand was crowned the winner of this year’s Mrs World pageant
Her international achievement came months after she won at the regional level and qualified for Mrs. Thailand World 2025, which was Craythorne’s first time competing in a pageant
Prior to becoming a titleholder, Craythorne served as a government official, worked in politics and became an organizational leader for the global charity Save the Children
It’s been a whirlwind journey to the crown for Chanita Seedaket Craythorne, this year’s winner of the Mrs. World pageant.
The Thailand delegate was crowned at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino on Thursday, Jan. 29, besting first and second runners-up Mrs. America and Mrs. Sri Lanka. Craythorne’s achievement as an international titleholder is made all the more impressive by the fact that one year ago, she’d never previously walked a pageant stage.
She made her debut at age 37 when she successfully competed at the regional level in May 2025. Two months later, she won the Mrs. Thailand World pageant. From the local round to her recent win on the global stage, Craythorne, now 38, tells PEOPLE it’s been “an amazing ride.”
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“It was kind of like a rollercoaster,” she adds. “This is my first time [competing].”
Craythorne boasted a full resume of accomplishments even before she added Mrs. World to her list. Raised in Thailand and educated in the United Kingdom, she has experience working both in the public and private sectors. She acted as a government official at the Thai Ministry of Commerce, and later joined the political world as a spokesperson for the leader of the opposition in the parliament.
Now, the mom of one has fully leaned into her philanthropic inclinations and works as a brand and media coordinator for Save the Children. Her work for the global charity organization actually inspired Craythorne to enter pageantry in the first place.
“A friend of mine phoned me and said, ‘I would like you to join Mrs. Thailand World.’ The first thing I did [was laugh], because I never knew of the platform before. Then I researched it to learn about the Thailand version and the World version — what they actually do or have been doing, what they advocated for,” she recalls.
She soon realized that competing would offer Craythrone an opportunity to speak about the intersection of motherhood and mental health, something that her work with Save the Children has made her quite passionate about. Pageants allowed her to turn the topic into more than just a passion; it also became her platform as a contestant.
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Standing on the Mrs. World stage, once the judges narrowed it down to the top six finalists, Craythrone — a mother herself — jumped at the opportunity to talk about the well-being of parents. The emcee asked what she would choose if she could have any superpower, and she delivered her answer confidently: “Happy mothers. I’d like all the mothers to be happy,” she responded.
“It’s something I truly am very passionate about,” Craythrone tells PEOPLE days after her win. “Regardless of how difficult this pageantry process is, because I’ve never been in it before, that is my advocacy.”
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