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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Miss Universe 1952

Miss Universe 1952 was the first Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 28 June 1952.

At the end of the event, actress Piper Laurie crowned Armi Kuusela of Finland as Miss Universe 1952. It was the first victory of Finland in the history of the pageant.

Contestants from 30 countries and territories participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Bob Russell. The competition featured the Romanov Imperial Nuptial Crown, which was previously owned by a Russian czar. The crown was said to have 1,535 diamonds, 300 carats, and was valued at $500,000.

Background

Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue of Miss Universe 1952

Location and date

After Miss America 1951 Yolande Betbeze refused to pose for a publicity picture wearing a swimsuit from Catalina Swimwear, then-Miss Universe executive producer Oliver Reinhardt negotiated in with the officials of Pan American World Airways and Catalina Swimwear to sponsor the Miss Universe pageant, which will be held in Long Beach, California. The city of Long Beach provided $30,000 USD for the competition to be held from June 23 to June 30, 1952.

Selection of participants

Contestants from thirty countries and territories have been selected to compete in the competition for the first time. The age requirement in this edition is from eighteen to twenty-eight, where women who are married and have children can also participate. This policy was changed in 1957 where the participation of women who are married or already have children was prohibited. This policy was then reinstated in 2023. One contestant was selected to replace the original dethroned winner.

Replacements

Gladys Rubio Fajardo was appointed to represent Uruguay after Miss Uruguay 1952 Rosa Adela "Nenela" Prunell withdrew from the competition due to undisclosed reasons.

Results

Placements

Placement Contestant
Miss Universe 1952
1st runner-up
  •  Hawaii – Elza Kananionapua Edsman
2nd runner-up
3rd runner-up
4th runner-up
Top 10

Special awards

Award Contestant
Miss Friendship

Contestants

Miss Universe 1952 participating countries and territories

Thirty contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown
Alaska Alaska Shirley Burnett 19 Fairbanks
 Australia Leah MacCartney 19 Melbourne
 Belgium Myriam Lynn 25 Brussels
 Canada Ruth Carrier 21 Ontario
 Chile Esther Saavedra 23 Santiago
 Cuba Gladys López 20 Havana
 Denmark Hanne Sørensen 20 Copenhagen
 Finland Armi Kuusela 17 Muhos
 France Claude Goddart 22 Paris
 Germany Renate Hoy 21 Ludwigshafen
 Great Britain Aileen P. Chase 21 London
 Greece Ntaizy Mavraki 18 Athens
Hawaii Hawaii Elza Kananionapua Edsman 20 Honolulu
 Hong Kong Judy Dan 21 Hong Kong
 India Indrani Rahman 21 Chennai
 Israel Ora Vered 18 Tel Aviv
 Italy Giovanna Mazzotti 19 Lombardy
 Japan Himeko Kojima 20 Osaka
 Mexico Olga Llorens Pérez 21 Ciudad Juárez
 Norway Eva Røine 24 Oslo
 Panama Elzibir Gisela Malek 18 Coclé
 Peru Ada Gabriela Bueno 18 Apurímac
 Philippines Teresita Sanchez 19 Malolos
 Puerto Rico Marilia Levy Bernal 20 Lares
 South Africa Catherine Higgins 19 Transvaal
 Sweden Anne Marie Thistler 19 Stockholm
 Turkey Gelengül Tayfuroğlu 18 Ankara
 United States Jacqueline Loughery 21 Brooklyn
 Uruguay Gladys Rubio Fajardo 21 Montevideo
 Venezuela Sofía Silva 23 Tumeremo