In 2024, Li Sixuan was crowned the 47th Miss Woman of the Universe, admired for her sweet and graceful appearance. However, shortly after his victory, his reign was cut short due to legal problems. Li Sixuan was found guilty of falsifying her age and academic qualifications, which led to her imprisonment and revocation of her crown.
According to the competition organizers, Li Sixuan was born in 1997 but on her application she indicated 2000 as the year of birth. More seriously, he submitted a fake degree to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Hong Kong. Using a forged diploma from Columbia University, she successfully enrolled in a master’s degree in Applied Literature and Linguistics from December 2021 to July 2024.
In March 2024, the University of Hong Kong received a complaint regarding the counterfeit diploma. Following an internal investigation, the authorities were informed. Police discovered a blank diploma template hidden in Li Sixuan’s secret drawer during a house search.
During the trial, Li Sixuan admitted to police that she graduated from Zhongnan University of Finance and Economics and Wuhan University Faculty of Law in 2020. Struggling to compete for a master’s degree at the University of Hong Kong, she paid CNY380,000 to a company specializing in forging diplomas. The company set her up with a short online course at Columbia University and then falsified her degree.
Furthermore, after obtaining his master’s degree through fraud, Li Sixuan changed his academic record from “Pass” to “Excellent”.
In May 2025, during the final trial, Li Sixuan appeared exhausted and remorseful, admitting both charges of forgery of diplomas and certificates. His cooperation and truthful confession led to a reduction of one third of his sentence. Ultimately, she was sentenced to 8 months in prison, making her one of the fastest-falling beauty queens in Chinese entertainment history.
The case serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of academic fraud, even for high-profile public figures in the entertainment industry.
Sources: Sina, Sohu
