Mills, an 18-year-old from the southern US state of Kentucky, wept as outgoing Miss World Kaiane Aldorino of Gibraltar placed the tiara on her head and led her to a diamond-shaped throne marking the pageant's 60th anniversary.
The 1.75-metre (5'9") beauty in white -- a professional model listed with the Elite Models agency -- waved to the cheering crowd at the 2,000-capacity Beauty Crown Theatre in the resort town of Sanya on Hainan island.
During the two-hour competition, which annually draws a global television audience of about one billion, Mills said her month spent touring China with the other 114 Miss World hopefuls had made a "big impact" on her life.
Botswana's Emma Wareus was second, and Venezuela's Adriana Vasini placed third in the pageant, which was first held in 1951.Read more