Here Are 20 Beauties Who Won the Crown in the “Miss Universe” Contest in the Last Century

“Miss Universe” is one of the most prestigious beauty pageants. It was first held in 1952, and for over 70 years, beauties from all over the world have dreamed of winning the coveted crown. We decided to take a look at the winners of the contest of the last century.

Armi Kuusela (1952)

Armi Kuusela is a Finnish photo model and actress. She was the first winner of the contest. After her victory, Finland produced the movie, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, where the young lady played herself.

Miriam Stevenson (1954)

Miriam was born in the USA, and at the age of 21, she won the title of “Miss Universe”. After that, she built a successful career in television as a host and actress. Miriam has two children, and now she is 90 years old.

Luz Marina Zuluaga (1958)

The model was born in Colombia and, until the year 2014, she was the only Colombian woman to ever earn the “Miss Universe” title. As curious as it might sound, the young lady got entered into the contest accidentally — she took second place in the “Miss Colombia” contest, but since the girl who took first place got married, she could no longer take part in the “Miss Universe” contest according to the rules, so Luz was entered into the contest instead of her.

Linda Bement (1960)

Linda was born in the USA. She became the winner of the “Miss Universe” at the age of 19. Later, she worked as a model, got married, and had two children. She passed away in 2018

Marlene Schmidt (1961)

So far, Marlene Schmidt is the first and only German girl to earn the “Miss Universe” title. After her victory in the contest, she produced movies, wrote scripts, and built a career as an actress. Unfortunately, she failed to reach big success.

Iêda Maria Vargas (1963)

Iêda was born in Brazil and won the “Miss Universe” contest at the age of 19. After that, she ventured into business and opened her shopping center in the suburbs of Washington. Currently, at the age of 78, she is actively managing her Instagram account.

Apasra Hongsakula (1965)

Apasra Hongsakula was the first woman from Thailand to win the contest. Perhaps it happened because the Queen of Thailand herself was preparing the girl for participating in “Miss Universe” — she taught the girl how to have proper posture and move correctly.

Sylvia Hitchcock (1967)

The girl represented the USA in the contest. After her victory, she tried to build a career as a model in New York but failed to succeed and returned to her hometown to work for a television station.

Gloria Diaz (1969)

Gloria won the crown at the age of 18. Since then, she has worked as a model and actress in both film and television. She has three children. At the moment, she is 72 years old and continues to actively participate in movie productions.

Amparo Muñoz (1974)

After winning the beauty contest, the Spanish model decided to become an actress. She managed to act in 20 movies, the last of which was released in 2000.

Rina Mor (1976)

Rina Mor’s neighbor was submitting applications to participate in the beauty contest on behalf of Rina. At that time, Rina was serving in the army. Despite this, she managed to not only win the “Miss Israel” title but also “Miss Universe.”

Even 39 years later, the former model and current lawyer looks gorgeous.

Margaret Gardiner (1978)

Margaret Gardiner is the first woman from South Africa to ever win the contest. She is a successful journalist and a writer and has 2 books dedicated to health and beauty.

According to the way she looks, Margaret knows how to take care of herself. Look at how good she looks at the age of 59!

Yvonne Ryding (1984)

Yvonne Ryding is a TV host and a dancer. She was the third Swedish woman to get the “Miss Universe” title. The girl was 21 years old at the time. Later, she started her own cosmetics line.

Yvonne is 45 years old in this photo.

Deborah Carthy-Deu (1985)

Deborah Carthy-Deu was the second Puerto Rican girl to win the “Miss Universe” title. Today, she is a famous actress and TV host in her country.

Angela Visser (1989)

In 1988, Angela Visser took part in the “Miss World” contest, but she didn’t even place in the final 10. One year later, her second attempt was a success, and the girl got the “Miss Universe” title. After her victory, Angela started an acting career.

Lupita Jones (1991)

Lupita became the first Mexican girl to get the “Miss Universe” title. She became the director of Mexico’s official beauty contest and helped 2 of her compatriots win in 2010 and 2020.

Dayanara Torres (1993)

Dayanara is a Puerto Rican model and actresss. The girl started an acting and modeling career after winning the contest.

Alicia Machado (1996)

Alicia Machado represented Venezuela in the contest and became the fourth winner from this country. After her win, she started to build her career in acting and even won the “Best New Actress” award in 1998.

Today, Alicia positions herself as an artist. She has an Instagram account and is doing well with 1.5 million followers.

Brook Lee (1997)

This girl has a mix of different nations flowing in her blood: Chinese, Korean, Hawaiian, Danish, Portuguese, French, and English. When Brook won the “Miss Universe” title, she was 26 years old, which is quite old for a beauty contest participant.

Mpule Kwelagobe (1999)

This girl comes from Botswana. After winning the contest, she enrolled in college and successfully graduated with a degree in international political economy (IPE). Mpule actively defends the rights of women and participates in campaigns aimed at preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS.

It is very curious to observe how beauty standards change over time. If you are interested in seeing the winners of this century, take a look here.