Miss Universe 1981 was the 30th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant, held on 20 July 1981 at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City, United States. Irene Sáez of Venezuela was crowned by Shawn Weatherly of the United States. There were 77 contestants competing for the crown, but Miss Mauritius got homesick and withdrew. The pageant originally was scheduled to be held in Guatemala City, Guatemala. However, for financial and political reasons, Miss Universe was moved to New York City.

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss Universe 1981	Venezuela – Irene Sáez
1st runner-up	Canada – Dominique Dufour
2nd runner-up	Sweden – Eva-Lena Lundgren
3rd runner-up	Brazil – Adriana Alves de Oliveira
4th runner-up	Belgium – Dominique van Eeckhoudt
Top 12	Ecuador – Lucía Vinueza  Germany – Marion Kurz  Holland – Ingrid Schouten  New Zealand – Donella Thomsen  Norway – Mona Olsen Tahiti – Tatiana Teraiamano  United States – Kim Seelbrede

Winner   First runner-up   Second runner-up   Third runner-up   Fourth runner-up (#) Rank in each round of competition

Final Competition

Awards

Special Awards	Winners
Miss Amity	Bahamas - Linda Smith
Miss Photogenic	Denmark - Tina Brandstrup
Best National Costume	Brazil - Adriana Alves de Oliveira

Judges

Contestants