Chess' Hannah Cruz May Have the Wildest Trophy of Any 2026 Tony Nominee

When we asked the illustrious 2026 class of Tony nominees about the best thing they’ve ever won, we expected a few impressive answers. After all, this group has quite the collection of hardware: Emmy Awards, Pulitzer Prizes, Olivier Awards, previous Tony Awards and even the most coveted honor of all, the Broadway.com Audience Choice Award. But nothing could prepare us for the answer from Hannah Cruz of Chess.

Cruz proudly revealed that her greatest victory remains being crowned International Baby Princess in 1995. Naturally, this sent us down a pageant rabbit hole. According to the competition’s rules, the pageant “allows makeup but discourages excess use of makeup on children” and “does not approve of artificial tanning or excessive makeup on children under 12.”

In other words, Cruz achieved pageant greatness the old-fashioned way: pure charisma, natural beauty and the confidence of a future Broadway star. Frankly, the 1995 competition never stood a chance.