Culpo was born in Cranston, Rhode Island to parents Susan and Peter Culpo. She is the middle child of five siblings. Her restaurateur father co-owns businesses around Boston. She was raised in the Edgewood neighborhood of Cranston, and is of Italian descent with some Irish ancestry from her mother's side. Culpo attended St. Mary Academy – Bay View, and later, Boston University, but didn't graduate. She began studying the cello in the second grade, and has played in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, the Rhode Island Philharmonic Chamber Ensemble, the Bay View Orchestra, and the Rhode Island All-State Orchestra. She attended the Brevard Music Center, in Brevard, North Carolina, for two summers, and has performed with the Boston Accompanietta.
After winning the 2012 Miss Rhode Island USA competition on the first pageant she entered, she went on to win the Miss USA pageant on June 3, 2012. On July 6, 2012, the city of Cranston, Rhode Island held a homecoming celebration for Culpo for her pageant win. At an outdoor ceremony held at Cranston City Hall, Mayor Allan Fung presented Culpo with the key to the city.
Miss Universe
Culpo represented the United States at the Miss Universe pageant that was held on December 19, 2012, in Las Vegas, Nevada. She won the competition, becoming the eighth representative from the United States to win the title and the first since 1997. Culpo has also become the first Rhode Islander to win the title. She succeeded outgoing titleholder Leila Lopes from Angola. In January 2013, Culpo visited Indonesia for three weeks and helped crown the winner of Puteri Indonesia 2013 on February 1 in Jakarta. She also visited Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and Bali during her visit. In Jakarta, Culpo hosted a discussion with young Indonesians for the United Nations Population Fund on HIV and youth prevention at the United States Embassy's cultural center of America. On August 25, 2013, Cranston's city council approved a resolution adding Culpo's name to Albert Avenue, which runs the length between Broad Street and Narragansett Boulevard in Edgewood. On September 10, 2013, Culpo walked in the Sherri Hill fashion show held at the Trump Tower in New York City. Culpo was in India from September 27 until October 6. On November 9, 2013, she crowned Gabriela Isler of Venezuela as her successor.
Outside pageantry
Culpo became a social media personality after gaining a significant following on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and has partnered and collaborated with several beauty and fashion brands as an influencer. In August 2017, she opened a restaurant with her family in Rhode Island. Culpo has also featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and appeared on the cover of the 2020 issue alongside Jasmine Sanders and Kate Bock. She also did advertising for L'Oréal, Kipling, and Uberliss. She also appeared in the reality television showModel Squad. In addition, Culpo had roles in the films I Feel Pretty and Reprisal in 2018.
Personal life
From 2013 to 2015, Culpo dated musician Nick Jonas. She was romantically linked to football playerTim Tebow until November 2015. Culpo was in an on-again-off-again relationship with football player Danny Amendola from February 2016 to April 2019. During the summer of 2019, she started dating football player Christian McCaffrey.
