Miss World In COLOMBIA: María Stella Márquez de Araneta
(born 17 June 1937) (née Márquez Zawadski), often styled as Madame Stella de Araneta, is a Colombian-Filipino pageant director and beauty queen. She grew up in New York City and moved back to Colombia, where she became a pageant titleholder.
As Miss Colombia, she was crowned the first Miss International in 1960. She obtained her Filipino citizenship via naturalization in 1970. Araneta was the former national director of the Miss Universe and current director for Miss International franchises in the Philippines, under the Binibining Pilipinas organization.
She has served as chair of the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Incorporated for fifty years. Araneta was born in Tumaco, Colombia, to Arturo Eduardo Márquez Acevedo, from Tumaco, and Stella Zawadski Navia, from Valle del Cauca. She moved to the United States in 1954. She has two younger sisters. At the time, she was a high school student at Marymount School of New York in Manhattan. Initially, her father, a civil engineer, decided to take her out of school to Colombia on a promise of a temporary vacation.
As a young student, Araneta classified herself as a Gringa, noting that she was completely unable to relate to the Colombian culture, including its national dance, the cumbia. After high school, Araneta enrolled in Marymount College, Tarrytown, New York, to continue her major in both psychology and the French language.
In 1957, she won an honorary prize as a beauty model for Pan American Airlines, though not necessarily a pageant contest. She also represented as Miss Honduras in a local Los Angeles pageant due to its lack of a national entry. During that time, she was sent by the nuns from her school as one of the “court princesses” for the 1957 homecoming event at Loyola Marymount University as a gesture of solidarity among affiliated Catholic schools for women.
During her stay in Colombia, Araneta learned the value of social work and became acquainted with the local Roman Catholic Church there to fund charities.
The first charity she helped manage was named “Banquet of the Millionaires” through the assistance of a famed Catholic priest, Father Rafael García Herreros (1909–1992). Araneta was chosen as the representative of her country in 1958 by winning three local titles: Miss Tumaco, Miss Nariño, and Miss Queen of Spain.
Her victory in the department of Nariño was notable for not having sent a candidate in twelve years, while her travel visa permit to stay in Colombia was limited to two months. During her national competition, she used the Colombian national costume as a Sibundoy Indian princess, wearing a gold headband and a Ruana shawl as a veil.
After winning Miss Colombia in 1959, she was personally congratulated and photographed with former Colombian president Alberto Lleras Camargo. Circular reference]During the Miss Universe 1960 competition, the swimsuit assigned to her during her national competition was a one-piece blue cerulean swimsuit with golden cleavage ornamentation (the other contestants were assigned yellow and pink). Ultimately.
She competed and won the title for Señorita Colombia, gaining her access to become the national Colombian representative in Miss Universe 1960 (Top 15 Placement) as 6th-Runner up, then to Miss International 1960 (winner placement), where she won against Miss India, Iona Pinto of Maharashtra, by a score margin of half a point. She became Miss Colombia in 1959, and competed in the Miss Universe 1960 pageant held in Miami Beach, Florida, placing as a top 15 semi-finalist, in 6th runner-up placement. Accordingly, Colombia sent her again as a national representative through the financial patronage of Max Factor cosmetics.
As part of the promotional entourage group, she was given a tour by Conrad Hilton Sr. of the new renovation at the Beverly Hilton hotel. Hilton Sr. himself, jokingly asked Araneta if she would consider marrying his firstborn son and hotel heir Conrad Hilton Jr. in case he divorces again from Patricia McClintock, which consequently occurred in 1965. Araneta was the former national director of the Miss Universe and current director for Miss International franchises in the Philippines, under the Binibining Pilipinas organization. She has served as chair of the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Incorporated for fifty years.
Miss World In COSTA RICA: Marian Patricia Esquivel McKeown
(Carmen, San José, 6 de septiembre de 1936 – San Pedro, Montes de Oca, 25 de octubre de 2000) Fue una reina de belleza, secretaria ejecutiva y dama de sociedad costarricense, que participó en Miss Universo 1954.
Luego de ganar el Señorita Costa Rica, Esquivel participated in the second edition of the international contest, in which Costa Rica made its first appearance. At the end of the evening, she was placed in the eighth position in the table of fifteen finalists, being the first Costa Rican to achieve it.
Esquivel McKeown was born in the metropolitan district of Carmen, in the central canton of San José, on September 6, 1936, where he lived a large part of his life. Marian fue hija de Rodolfo Esquivel Carranza y May McKeown Mulhall y hermana de Rodolfo Esquivel McKeown, fallecida en 2017. Marian radicó en la Ciudad de México por 3 años y posteriormente, 9 años en Los Ángeles, California. Estuvo marsada con Frederick R. Grant and tuvo three hijos, los cuales nacieron en los Estados Unidos.
Marian participated in the first edition of the national contest Miss Costa Rica, called then Señorita Costa Rica, a contest that would elect the first participant who would represent the country in Miss Universe, competing with 15 other women from society.
Only women who had a good economic and social position could participate, contesting with 18 years age of. Esquivel McKeown, who conquered the jury and the public, due to his beauty and sympathy, with which he won the national contest, it is worth noting that his preparation expenses for Miss Universe, his etiquette and protocol classes were covered by his parents, and thanks to the generous patronage of the Cervecería Ortega.
Para Marian representaba un gran reto representar a Costa Rica por primera vez en el Miss Universo. That year, the contest took place in Long Beach, California, being the second edition of the international contest, where Marian placed among the fifteen semifinalists. Al final de la noche, se colocó en la octava posición; motivo de orgullo para los costarricenses, quienes se sintieron sumamente satisfechos de la participación de su representante, al igual que para la entonces organización Señorita Costa Rica Universo, que cabe mencionar, aún no se encontraba en manos de Teletica.
In 1955, Marian crowned the Honduran Clemencia Martínez de Montis as the new Miss Costa Rica. Marian died in San Pedro, in the canton of Montes de Oca, on October 25, 2000, at the age of 64. It is said that his death was due to natural causes. In 1958, Håkansson met Dallas J. Anderson, an American sculptor studying in Denmark. The couple married in 1964 in Copenhagen and had three children. Håkansson modeled to support the family while Anderson finished his degree.
She had never seen any money from her early work, but had since learned to stand up for herself and, according to her granddaughter, Holland Allebes Anderson, booked jobs for Christian Dior and Hermès.In 1967, the family moved to Utah, where Anderson, who had recently converted to Mormonism, taught at Brigham Young University. Håkansson, adrift as an immigrant in a homogenous suburb, joined the church solely to blend in. In defiance of Mormon doctrine, she continued drinking coffee, hiding hers in a Postum tin.
Miss World In BHAMAS: Sienna
Sienna works as a model as well, and she celebrates her birthday on August 17. Sienna Evans is the reigning Miss Bahamas World, having been selected during a private screening to choose the country’s representative to compete in the 70th Miss World pageant. Sienna works as a model as well, and she celebrates her birthday on August 17. Sienna’s impressive resume includes a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Neuroscience and Human Behavior, which she attained while studying at the Honors College of Florida Atlantic University (FAU). She serves on the board of the National Brain Injury Foundation in The Bahamas.
Additionally, she is the owner of Access Bahamas Medical Labs, a network of biomedical laboratories offering clinic services, concierge service for COVID-19 tests by appointment, and drive-through antigen tests. It is through her labs that she will facilitate her Beauty with a Purpose project – a critical component of the Miss World pageant in which contestants are required to work on a project that helps the people in their home countries, allowing them to use their abilities to make a real and lasting contribution to the lives of the sick and disadvantaged.
Sienna’s project, Access Granted, will center around providing accessible healthcare to all Bahamians. The new Miss Bahamas World is not just a stunning beauty with brains, but she is also very athletic, which makes her a great contender for the Miss World title. Miss World emphasizes the fitness of its delegates, which is highlighted in the pageant’s Sportswoman competition. As an avid tennis player, collegiate softball player, mountain trekker, skier, swimmer, and equestrian, she is more than ready to meet the task.
“This has been a dream of mine for a very long time, and to realize that it has finally become a reality was sheer joy. I don’t take this for granted at all. This is truly an honor and a privilege, and you can be assured that I am going to give it my all to make the people of The Bahamas proud.
”Sienna first competed in the Miss Bahamas Universe pageant at the age of 17, where she placed 1st runner-up.
In the six years that followed, she has grown tremendously and is now ready more than ever before to conquer the world. She says she would like to inspire women to show the world their inner beauty and to embrace the power of self-love and acceptance because only then can we collectively heal the world.
She is the proud owner of Access Medical Bahamas, a network of labs that offer diagnostic testing and clinical services. She describes herself as optimistic, goal-oriented, warm-hearted, giving, and says most of all, she is true to herself… ALWAYS. Sienna Evans is a model and a former beauty queen who is based in the Bahamas.
Miss World in BHUTAN: Tsokye Tsomo Karchung,
born on August 20, 1984, worked as a model, actress. Tsokye Tsomo Karchung is a Bhutanese actress and beauty pageant title holder who won Miss Bhutan 2008 and competed in Miss Earth 2008.
She is also the first Bhutanese woman to be crowned as Miss Bhutan. As an actress, she acted in many Bhutanese films, including ‘My Teacher, My World, Wai Lama Kencho, and Meto Pema. Tsokye made her debut with the movie ‘Sem Gawai Tasha’, which was a big success.
Movie critics praised her performance, and it was well-received by the masses. For the movie, she won the Best Debutant Female award in 2012. This was followed by many successful movies such as Sharchogpa Zamin, Shhh… Galuya Malap, Miss Kota and Drukpa Kuenley.Tsokye holds the record of winning National Filmfare Awards in the category of best actress for four consecutive years. In 2016, she won the award for the movie Wai Lama Kencho, one of her own productions.
She is an active public figure and has become a role model for Bhutanese girls. Tsokye’s latest movie, Thrung Thrung Karm, was released in December 2016. The movie was a recipient (awarded to three top movies) of the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award at the Bhutan Film Awards 2017.
Tsokye was also nominated for the Best Actress Award category. Karchung won Miss Bhutan 2008, beating nineteen other contestants. The win sent her to compete in Miss Earth 2008. Karchung became the first Bhutanese representative to the Miss Earth pageant in 2008. She joined the rest of the delegates from 84 countries in Manila.
She first underwent the official photo shoot and attended a cocktail dinner. The delegates then flew out to Coron, Palawan, one of the tourism wonders of the Philippines, for a three-day trip and returned to Laguna, a province down south of Manila, for more environmental activities. The director of the Miss Bhutan pageant, Karma Tshering, along with Bhutan’s popular singer/actor, Rinchen Namgay, and Tsokye Tsomo’s sister, Euthra Karchung, were present in traditional Bhutanese attire at the grand finale.
Miss World In BOLIVIA: Rosa Pizarro Araoz
The Miss Bolivia is a national beauty pageant in Bolivia. The pageant was founded in 1930, and the first winner, Rosa Pizarro Araoz of Tarija, was sent to compete in Miss Latin America held in Miami, United States.
The Miss Bolivia contest was organized for the first time in 1930 when the Miss Latin America pageant, headquartered in Miami, requested all participating countries to hold the national event to elect the country representatives. In the case of Bolivia, the newspaper El Diario took charge and coordinated with the prefectures and academies of fine arts of each department.
So that, through commissions, each department could proceed with the election of their representative for the national contest, which was sponsored by the Miami National Bathing Beauty Pageant.
The regional competitions happened in Potosí, Lapaz, Oruro, Tarija, Santa Cruz, and Cochabamba. In the national final of Miss Bolivia 1930, held at the Rotary Club on February 15 in Lapaz, the representative of Tarija, Rosa Pizarro Araoz, was named the winner and was awarded by the first lady of Bolivia, Luisa Salinas Vega. Araoz then competed in the Miss Latin America in Miami, United States, where eight Latin countries participated, including Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Panama Canal Zone, Peru, Ecuador, and Nicaragua, of whom the representative of Panama, Melinda Boyd, was elected the winner. In 1959, the contest was managed by Gloria Suárez de Limpias, who was the event’s director until 1979.
Miss World In BOTSWANA: Theresa Randle
Theresa Randle was born in Gary, Indiana, in 1964 and moved to Los Angeles at a young age. Theresa Randle began her performing career by studying dance. Botswana’s pageantry runs parallel with the history of the country. Even though there had been beauty contests conducted in various villages around the country in the early 1960s, the first Miss Botswana beauty contest was held in 1967, conducted as part of Botswana’s independence celebrations.
At the time, it was determined that the colourful first beauty event was going to ‘pick a perfect representative of the nation’s modern womanhood. Theresa Rantao became the winner of Miss Botswana 1967. Earlier in 1964, Veronica Magosi of Lobatse had won the Miss Bechuanaland crown.
In 1965, the crown was won by Lydia Tiyo. Botswana made its debut at Miss World in 1972. Traditionally, the winner of Miss Botswana represents the country at Miss World. The Botswana Council of Women is currently in charge for the organization of organizing the contest.
Pageantry in Botswana started in 1962, which was during the pre-independence period, when the event was referred to as Miss Bechuanaland pageantry. Only in 1967, as part of the Botswana independence celebrations, was the event renamed Miss Botswana. This initiative was spearheaded by the Botswana Council of Women (BCW), which is an organization that promotes the values of women and influences the spirit of volunteerism.
The first Miss Botswana was crowned in 1967, and was won by Theresa Rantao. The Other notable Misses Bechuanaland before independence are Serwalo Gaseitsiwe in 1962, Veronica Magosi in 1964, and Lydia Tiyo in 1965. Since then, to date, there have been other beautiful women promoting the ideal womanhood of the nation, with the last reigning queen being Oweditse Phirinyane, crowned in 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition was not held in 2020.
Miss World In BRAZIL: Dr. Lúcia Tavares Petterle
Dr. Lúcia Tavares Petterle was born on October 31, 1949. She is a Brazilian doctor and beauty queen who won Miss World 1971. Today, she continues with her charity work, helping underprivileged children in her free time by meeting their medical needs and providing care to them.
Miss Brazil World (Portuguese: Miss Brasil Mundo) is an annual national beauty pageant that selects Brazil’s official representative to Miss World. Lúcia Tavares Petterle was born in Rio de Janeiro on October 31, 1949.
She spent her teenage years in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, where her father served in the military. Back in Rio, Lucia began participating in beauty contests for fun, while studying medicine at the University Gama Filho, specializing in endocrinology.
She was elected Miss Tijuca Tennis Club – the last to sign up and with peer pressure – for which she fought and won the Miss State of Guanabara. Representing Guanabara State, she won the Miss Brazilian position in the national pageant, earning her the right to compete as Brazil’s delegate in the Miss World pageant in London.
She became the first woman from her country and the fourth South American woman to win the title. After her reign, she went on to finish her medical studies and became a doctor. The Brazilian representatives began to be sent from the year 1958. with a girl from Pernambuco, Sônia Maria Campos.
Since 2006 who manages the sending of representatives to the international event is the team led by Henrique Fontes (Global Beauties Website director).
The country has so far only an international crown, obtained with the medicine student Lúcia Petterle in 1971. The event excels in originality and social responsibility, having been the first large national beauty contest to include in its official activities evidence of talent, sports, and fashion, in addition to encouraging the practice of philanthropic actions (following its motto, Beauty with a Purpose).
All of this, not to mention the privilege and responsibility of representing Brazil – all its culture and biodiversity – at Miss World, which is currently considered the main beauty contest on the planet, since it was the pioneer worldwide, having its first edition held in 1951.
Miss World In CHINA: Zhang Zilin
Born on March 22, 1984 Weihai, China. Zhang Zilin is a Chinese beauty queen, fashion model, and actress who won Miss China in 2007 and was crowned Miss World 2007, representing China. She is the first Miss World of East Asian origin. In the 2010 BQ Celebrity Score Awards, she was awarded Most Influential Actress.
She studied business at the University of Science and Technology Beijing and started working as a model in 2003 while still in college. She was a talented track athlete growing up and was named Top Model of the Year by New Silk Road in 2007. She has more than 480,000 followers on Instagram.
She gave birth to her first child in 2016 with her husband, Neil Nie, whom she married in 2013. She and Christine Reiler both competed at Miss World 2007. Zhang’s career in modeling and pageantry started in 2003, when she participated in a beauty pageant organized by New Silk Road Modeling Agency. As a first timer in pageantry, Zhang only managed to land herself in the top 10 due to the lack of experience.
However, she was later discovered by the executive manager of the agency, Lee Xiaobai. Since then, Zhang has graced the runways in major fashion capitals of the world, including Paris and Berlin. In 2006, she was shortlisted as one of the top ten professional supermodels during the Chinese Fashion and Culture Awards. After that, she participated in Giorgio Armani’s 2007 Autumn/Winter Collection show in Paris and later earned herself the title of “Top Model of the Year” from the New Silk Road modeling agency.
On December 1, 2007, she was crowned Miss World 2007 at the Crown of Beauty Theatre in Sanya, Hainan. During her reign, she traveled to over 80 cities in 20 countries. Some of these countries are the United Kingdom, the United States, Russia, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Vietnam, and South Africa.
She excels in the Triple Jump and Hurdles and has undergone professional training in the 100 meter Hurdles, having won in the 10th Beijing City Youth Games in 1999; Zhang made her debut in 2011 film The Underdog Knight 2 and 2014 Hong Kong fantasy film The Monkey King; Zhang lent her voice for the 2008 Summer Olympics soundtrack and also appeared in the music video for the same song entitled Beijing Welcomes You.
Miss World In SWEDEN: Kiki Håkansson
Kiki Håkansson was born in Stockholm on June 17, 1929. Kiki Håkansson was born Kerstin Margareta Hakansson and had only been modelling a year when she won the Miss World title in 1951.
Kiki became Miss World in 195, in London. Kerstin Margareta “Kiki” Håkansson, who died Nov. 4 at home in Tacoma, was 22 years old when she became the first Miss World, having celebrated her birthday during the whirlwind week of engagements that preceded the event. When Miss World’s founder, Eric Morley, asked Håkansson if she had any specific birthday wishes, Håkansson replied that she’d been feeling so sorry for the many feral cats she saw on London’s streets, “so I would like to pick up a cat and take him in to have dinner with us,” she later recalled. That night, Morley seated a chunky black-and-white one beside her.
Håkansson’s victory catapulted her into a young adulthood of bustle and glamour. Next thing she knew, she was a model, splashed across the pages of magazines: mowing a lawn in a bikini to sell lawn mowers, or playing basketball with a team of Swedish chimney sweeps to sell…Lord knows what; decades later, she couldn’t recall.
The Miss “The first Miss World, Kiki Håkansson from Sweden passed away peacefully on Monday, November 4th, at her home in California. She was 95. Kiki passed away in her sleep, and according to her children, “she went peacefully, comfortably, and well taken care of”. “Her son, Chris Andersen, described his mom as “real, kind, loving and fun”.
“She had a brilliant sense of humor and wit, and a big heart”, he added in the note sent to Julia Morley that shared the sad news. “We extend our deepest sympathies to all of Kiki’s family, sending our love and offering our prayers at this difficult time”, said Julia Morley. “Kiki was a true pioneer, and it was therefore fitting that Kiki would have her place in history in becoming the first “Miss World.” We will continue through eternity to celebrate the memory of the first ever Miss World, Kerstin (Kiki) Håkansson, who is forever in our hearts”.
After that, she was summoned to Rome to audition for film producer Carlo Ponti and offered a seven-year contract that her father wouldn’t allow her to sign.
And next thing she knew after that, she was marrying a wealthy, alcoholic Norwegian businessman, 12 years her senior—essentially a stranger who, having seen Håkansson’s picture, sent her roses every Saturday for months and then conspired with her father to make her his wife. She remained an effervescent woman who loved to sing and play pranks. But she was also introverted, with few friends.
“My personal opinion is that she would have been much happier and more engaged staying in Denmark or Stockholm,” her son Orell Christian Anderson explained. She habitually declined to go out, to try things: “too stressful,” she would say. For a short time around 1980, Håkansson worked in a stand-alone Fotomat kiosk in a parking lot in Orem, Utah. According to her son, she thought the little booth was beautiful. She loved that it was painted blue and yellow—the colors of Sweden. She loved to wear her blue-and-yellow uniform.
She loved it when people she knew drove up with their film. When Håkansson talked about her days in the Fotomat booth, Anderson recalled, “she used words like ‘peaceful,’ ‘restful,’ ‘no stress,’ And ‘content.’ She was happy there.”
Miss World In BULGARIA: Sonia Vassilieva
Miss World Bulgaria, Bulgarian representatives at Miss World,1988, Sonia Vassilieva, is a national beauty pageant in Bulgaria that selects Bulgarian representatives to compete in two of the Big Four international beauty pageants:
Miss World and Miss International and select five other titleholders to participate in minor international pageants such as Miss Grand International, Miss Asia Pacific, Top Model of the World, Miss Tourism International, and Miss Model of the World. Miss World Bulgaria was established in 1988.
Strahil Ganovski founded and organized the first beauty contest in Bulgaria with international participation and named it “Miss Rodina” in 1988.
That was the first time in the history of Bulgaria that the country sent a representative to the Miss World contest.
Additionally, the first and only Bulgarian at two of the largest and oldest international pageants in the world Miss World and Miss Universe – Miss World Bulgaria 2015 and Miss Universe Bulgaria 2013 Veneta Krasteva is the exclusive licensee and national director of Miss World Bulgaria, Mister World Bulgaria, Miss Universe Bulgaria and Miss Grand Bulgaria a national pageants that searches for Bulgarian’ representative to the Miss World, Mister World, Miss Universe and Miss Grand International contest respectively.
The 38th edition of the Miss World pageant was held on 17 November 1988 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom. The winner was Linda Pétursdóttir (Queen of Europe) from Iceland.
She was crowned Miss World 1987, Ulla Weigerstorfer of Austria. Runner-up was Yeon-hee Choi (Queen of Asia) representing South Korea, and third was Kirsty Roper from the United Kingdom. The Miss World 1988 was hosted by Peter Marshall, who had hosted other Miss World competitions such as Miss World 1986, and Alexandra Bastedo, with musical performances by Koreana and 1970s American pop musician Donny Osmond.
This edition marked the debut of Bulgaria and the return of Egypt, which last competed in 1956; Taiwan last competed (as Free China) in 1964; Ghana last competed in 1968; Guyana last competed in 1971; Liberia and Uganda last competed in 1985, and the British Virgin and Sierra Leone Islands last competed in 1986. Brazil, Panama, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines withdrew from the competition due to the loss Miss World franchise.
Over the years, Bulgarian representatives to the international Miss World pageants were chosen from candidates at the Miss World Bulgaria and Miss Bulgaria pageants.