Miss Universe 1954

Miss Universe 1954, the 3rd edition of Miss Universe pageant, was held on 24 July 1954 at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States.

Miss Universe 1954
Winner, Miriam Stevenson, in 1954
Date24 July 1954
PresentersBob Russell
VenueLong Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California, United States
Entrants33
Placements16
Debuts
Withdrawals
Returns
WinnerMiriam Stevenson
 United States
CongenialityEfi Androulakakis
 Greece

There were 33 competitors. Miss USA, 21-year-old Miriam Stevenson won the competition. She was the first American Miss Universe and the first winner to be crowned by the outgoing Miss Universe (who was Miss Universe 1953, Christiane Martel of France).

Stevenson is the first Miss Universe to concurrently hold the Miss USA and Miss Universe titles (future American Miss Universe winners had to step down as Miss USA upon winning Miss Universe beginning in 1965 when Miss USA would be separated to independent production from Miss Universe).

Background
Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue of Miss Universe 1954

Selection of participants

Contestants from 33 countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. One contestant was selected to replace the original dethroned winner.

Kae Sun-hee, the first runner-up of Miss Korea 1954, was appointed to replace Miss Korea 1954 Pu Rak Hi after the latter's visa was rejected in order to enter the United States due to allegations that she has connections with communist groups.[1][2]

The 1954 edition saw the debuts of Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the West Indies, and the returns of Chile, Cuba, Hong Kong, and Israel who last competed in 1952.

Results

Placements
Placement Contestant
Miss Universe 1954
1st runner-up
2nd runner-up
3rd runner-up
4th runner-up
Top 16

Special awards
Award Contestant
Miss Friendship
  •  Greece – Efi Androulakakis
Miss Popular Girl

Contestants
Miss Universe 1954 participating nations and results

33 contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory Contestant Age[lower-alpha 1] Hometown
Alaska Alaska Charlein Lander 18 Fairbanks
 Argentina Ivana Olga Kislinger[5] 22 Temperley
 Australia Shirley Bliss[6] 20 Narrandera
 Belgium Christiane Neckaerts[7] 19 Nodebais
 Brazil Martha Rocha[8] 21 Salvador
Canada Canada Joyce Mary Landry 20 Toronto
 Chile Gloria Leguisos[9] 21 Santiago
 Costa Rica Marian Esquivel 18 San José
 Cuba Isis Finlay[10] 20 Havana
 El Salvador Myrna Ros Orozco[11] 20 San Salvador
 Finland Lenita Airisto[12] 18 Helsinki
 France Jacqueline Beer[13] 21 Bois-Colombes
 Germany Regina Ernst[14] 18 Bremen
 Greece Rika Dialina 22 Heraklion
 Honduras Lilliam Padilla 21 Tegucigalpa
 Hong Kong Virginia June Lee 20 Hong Kong
 Israel Aviva Pe’er[15] 18 Tel-Aviv
 Italy Maria Teresa Paliani 18 Rome
 Japan Mieko Kondo 18 Nagoya
 Mexico Elvira Castillo 19 Mexico City
 New Zealand Moana Manley 18 Auckland
 Norway Mona Stornes 19 Oslo
 Panama Liliana Torre 18 Panama City
 Peru Isabella León Velarde 18 Lima
 Philippines Blesilda Mueler Ocampo[16] 18 Manila
 Puerto Rico Lucy Santiago 23 San Juan
Singapore Singapore Marjorie Wee 21 Singapore
 South Korea Kae Sun-hee 19 Seoul
 Sweden Ragnhild Olausson 19 Stockholm
 Thailand Amara Asavananda 18 Bangkok
 United States Miriam Stevenson 21 Winnsboro
 Uruguay Ana Moreno[17] 22 Montevideo
 West Indies Evelyn Laura Andrade 18 Kingston, Jamaica

Notes
  1. Ages at the time of the pageant

Withdrawals

References
  1. ""Miss Universe" loses her U.N." The Advocate. Burnie, Tasmania. 17 July 1954. p. 2. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Trove.
  2. "Miss Universe entrants prepare for pageant". The Examiner. Launceston, Tasmania. 15 July 1954. p. 22. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Trove.
  3. "Freckled Southener tops Universe field". Nashville Banner. Nashville, Tennessee. 24 July 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Miriam Stevenson (VS) gekozen tot Miss Universe 1954" [Miriam Stevenson (USA) elected Miss Universe 1954]. De locomotief (in Dutch). 26 July 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Delpher.
  5. Martínez, Adolfo C. (16 December 2005). "Murió Ivana Kislinger, una diva sensual". La Nacion (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 23 May 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  6. ""Miss Universe" Contest". Cairns Post. Queensland, Australia. 15 July 1954. p. 5. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Trove.
  7. "Ah, go on, try it". Waco Tribune-Herald. Waco, Texas. 11 July 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Astor, Michael (10 July 2020). "Martha Rocha, 87, Dies; to Brazil, a Beauty Queen Denied a Crown". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  9. "Miss Chile– Miss Universe". The Daily News. Perth, Western Australia. 7 April 1954. p. 9. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Trove.
  10. "Miss Universe pageant brings complications". Belvidere Daily Republican. Belvidere, Illinois. 16 July 1954. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Miss Universe hopefuls arrive". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 13 July 1954. p. 9. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Lehtkanto, Katariina (6 December 2018). "17-vuotiaana maailmalle lähtenyt Lenita Airisto: Lapsuus sodan varjossa" [Lenita Airisto, who left the world at the age of 17: Childhood in the shadow of war]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  13. "Here's Jacqueline– the girl that France chose". The Straits Times. 15 July 1954. p. 2. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via National Library Board.
  14. "Wie wordt miss Universe 1954? Duits meisje Regina Ernst favoriet" [Who will be Miss Universe 1954? German girl Regina Ernst favorite]. De vrije pers (in Dutch). 17 July 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Delpher.
  15. Romano, Elio (30 July 1954). "Israeli entry in Miss Universe contest shows beauty of character". B'nai B'rith Messenger⁩. p. 8. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via National Library of Israel.
  16. Lo, Ricky (12 February 2010). "Misses RP for Miss U pageant, 1952-'63". Philippine Star. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  17. Nemser, Sandra (10 August 1954). "6 Beauties in contest favor "long hair"". Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. p. 10. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via Google News Archive.
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