Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo: 5 Things You Don't Know

USMagazine, Thursday, December 20, 2012, 11:30am (PST)

Meet the new Miss Universe 2012!

Boston University sophomore Olivia Culpo was crowned Miss Universe 2012 Wednesday night. Miss USA since June, the Cranston, Rhode Island native, 20, was the first American to win the Miss Universe title since 1997.

PHOTOS: Stars' pageant pasts

"What an honor! This night was a dream come true," she tweeted after her win. "Thank you everyone for your support tonight!! USA finally did it!"

As Culpo celebrates her victory (and moves into her luxury apartment in NYC), Us Weekly uncovers 5 things you don't know about the new Miss Universe.

PHOTOS: Miss Universe 2012 bikini bodies -- top 16

1. She's a cellist. Culpo is the middle child of five, and her parents, Peter and Susan, are musicians. Culpo was a member of the Boston Youth Symphony, and performed at Boston Symphony Hall and Carnegie Hall.

2. She won her first pageant, Miss Rhode Island, last year wearing a rented $20 gown with a hole it! "It still looked cute, but nobody would have known that I rented it for twenty dollars," she told GQ magazine in June.

3. She didn't always have rock-hard abs! Her younger brother told the Associated Press that Culpo was "really chubby and sort of weird when she was younger." And her father agreed, calling her the "nerdiest" of his children.

PHOTOS: 12 best dressed stars of 2012

4. She's just like Us! "Ryan Gosling's like my crush," she told GQ magazine in June. And she thinks Brad Pitt needs to step up his style. "I keep thinking about his beard . . ." she said.

5. She may take a year off at Boston University. "I am still enrolled in school, so right now I just plan on taking a year off, but I don't really know where this year is going to take me," Culpo told Metro. "I definitely want to finish my college degree, but I'm not sure where yet. I'm thinking I'll come back to Boston though."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Miss Universe 2012 Olivia Culpo: 5 Things You Don't Know