Miss Universe 1978
Encyclopedia
Miss Universe 1978, the 27th Miss Universe
pageant, was held at Centro de Convenciones de Acapulco, Acapulco, Mexico on July 24, 1978. Seventy-five contestants competed in the event.
18-year-old Margaret Gardiner
of South Africa was crowned Miss Universe 1978 by outgoing titleholder Janelle Commissiong
, earning South Africa
's first Miss Universe crown. This was the first time in the history of the pageant that the judges' scores were televised.
This particular Miss Universe pageant marked the first Mexican—and Televisa—appearance for 19-year-old Maribel Fernandez Garcia. She would become the most immediate success story from this pageant. Within a year of this pageant, she signed to appear in a Vicente Fernández
movie, and, because there was already a Mexican actress named Maribel Fernandez, she signed with the network under her new stage name of Maribel Guardia
.
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
pageant, was held at Centro de Convenciones de Acapulco, Acapulco, Mexico on July 24, 1978. Seventy-five contestants competed in the event.
18-year-old Margaret Gardiner
Margaret Gardiner
Margaret Gardiner, from Woodstock, South Africa is the winner of the Miss Universe pageant in 1978. She was 18 years old when she won the pageant.. , Palm Beach Post . , St...
of South Africa was crowned Miss Universe 1978 by outgoing titleholder Janelle Commissiong
Janelle Commissiong
Janelle Commissiong was born in Trinidad and Tobago. Commissiong migrated to the United States at the age of 13, and returned to Trinidad and Tobago ten years later...
, earning South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
's first Miss Universe crown. This was the first time in the history of the pageant that the judges' scores were televised.
This particular Miss Universe pageant marked the first Mexican—and Televisa—appearance for 19-year-old Maribel Fernandez Garcia. She would become the most immediate success story from this pageant. Within a year of this pageant, she signed to appear in a Vicente Fernández
Vicente Fernández
Vicente Fernández Gómez is a Mexican singer, producer and actor. Known as Chente or El rey de la canción ranchera throughout the Latin world, Vicente Fernández, who started his career singing for tips on the street, has become a cultural icon, recording more than 50 albums and contributing to...
movie, and, because there was already a Mexican actress named Maribel Fernandez, she signed with the network under her new stage name of Maribel Guardia
Maribel Guardia
Maribel del Rocío Fernández García is a Costa Rican actress, who works in Mexico, and currently lives and resides in Miami, Florida.-Miss Universe and Miss World:...
.
Placements
| Results | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss Universe 1978 |
|
| 1st Runner-up |
 United States - Judi Andersen |
| 2nd Runner-up |
 Spain - Guillermina Ruiz Domenech |
| 3rd Runner-up |
|
| 4th Runner-up |
Cécilia Rhode Cécilia Catharina Björnsdotter Rodhe is a former model, Miss Sweden 1978 and has also competed in the Miss Universe 1978 pageant, held in Mexico, 24 July. In the Miss Universe pageant, she finished fifth place... |
| Top 12 |
|
Semifinal scores
| Delegate | Interview | Swimsuit | Evening Gown | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
8.155 (1) | 7.855 (1) | 7.482 (2) | 7.831 (1) |
| 7.518 (2) | 7.300 (2) | 7.355 (3) | 7.391 (2) | |
| Spain |
6.500 (5) | 6.870 (3) | 7.545 (1) | 6.972 (3) |
 South Africa |
6.791 (3) | 6.590 (4) | 6.373 (5) | 6.685 (4) |
| 6.645 (4) | 6.282 (6) | 6.545 (4) | 6.491 (5) | |
| 6.230 (6) | 6.364 (5) | 5.709 (6) | 6.101 (6) | |
| 5.703 (7) | 5.064 (7) | 4.536 (9) | 4.891 (7) | |
| 5.260 (9) | 4.280 (8) | 4.945 (7) | 4.828 (8) | |
| 5.320 (8) | 3.260 (11) | 4.145 (10) | 4.242 (9) | |
| 3.889 (12) | 3.800 (9) | 4.756 (8) | 4.148 (10) | |
| 4.422 (10) | 3.718 (10) | 3.573 (11) | 3.904 (11) | |
| 3.911 (11) | 2.890 (12) | 3.573 (11) | 3.458 (12) |
- Winner
- First Runner-up
- Second Runner-up
- Third Runner-up
- Fourth Runner-up
- Top 12 Semifinalist Rank in each round of competition
Special awards
| Award | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Best National Costume |
|
| Miss Congeniality |
|
| Miss Photogenic |
Maribel Guardia Maribel del Rocío Fernández García is a Costa Rican actress, who works in Mexico, and currently lives and resides in Miami, Florida.-Miss Universe and Miss World:... |
| Miss Press |
|
Judges
The following celebrities judged the final competition:- Christiane MartelChristiane MartelChristiane Martel, born Christiane Magnani, won the 1953 Miss Universe pageant representing France. However, she was not a titleholder from the "official" Miss France pageant....
– Miss Universe 1953Miss Universe 1953Miss Universe 1953, the second Miss Universe pageant, was held on July 17, 1953 at Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California, USA. 27 contestants from 24 countries competed in the pageant, which was held concurrently with the Miss USA 1953 event. Miss France, 18-year-old Christiane... - Dewi SukarnoDewi Sukarno, born , is a Japanese socialite and one of the wives of former Indonesian leader Sukarno.- Biography :Dewi Sukarno met the 57-year-old Sukarno when she was 19, when the then-Indonesian president was on a state visit to Japan. Prior to becoming Sukarno's wife, she was an art student and...
– Japanese socialite and former first lady of Indonesia - David MerrickDavid MerrickDavid Merrick was a prolific Tony Award-winning American theatrical producer.-Life and career:Born David Lee Margulois to Jewish parents in St. Louis, Missouri, Merrick graduated from Washington University, then studied law at the Jesuit-run Saint Louis University School of Law...
- Tony Award-winning American theatrical producer - Line RenaudLine Renaud- Early life :Line Renaud was born in Pont-de-Nieppe on 2 July 1928. Her mother Simone was a shorthand typist; her father was a truck driver during the week, but he played trumpet at the weekends, in a local brass band...
– French singer and actress - Miloš FormanMiloš FormanJan Tomáš Forman , better known as Miloš Forman , is a Czech-American director, screenwriter, professor, and an emigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both gaining him the Academy Award for...
– Film director from Czechoslovakia - Ursula AndressUrsula AndressUrsula Andress is a Swiss actress and a sex symbol of the 1960s. She is known for her roles as Bond girl Honey Ryder in Dr...
– Swiss actress and sex symbol of the 1960s - Melba MooreMelba MooreBeatrice Melba Smith , known by her stage name, Melba Moore is an American disco, R&B singer and actress. She is the daughter of saxophonist Teddy Hill and R&B singer Bonnie Davis.-Early life:...
– American singer - Roberto CavalliRoberto CavalliRoberto Cavalli is an Italian fashion designer from Florence.-Biography:Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence, Tuscany. His grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, was a member of the Macchiaioli Movement, whose work is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery. Cavalli decided to enroll at the local Art Institute,...
– Italian fashion designer - WilhelminaWilhelmina CooperWilhelmina Cooper was a model who began with Ford Models and, at the peak of her success, founded her own agency, Wilhelmina Models, in New York City in 1967.-Life:...
– Founder of Wilhelmina ModelsWilhelmina ModelsWilhelmina Models is a modeling agency founded in 1967 by the model Wilhelmina Cooper and her husband Bruce Cooper in Manhattan Starting in 2010, Wilhelmina Models started a sub-brand called "Digital Empire Modeling" for new digital-era modeling talents.... - Anna MoffoAnna MoffoAnna Moffo was an Italian-American opera singer and one of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation...
– American opera singer - Mario Moreno "Cantinflas"CantinflasFortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes , was a Mexican comic film actor, producer, and screenwriter known professionally as Cantinflas. He often portrayed impoverished campesinos or a peasant of pelado origin...
– Mexican comedian and stage and film actor
Contestants
- – Delia Stella Maris Muñoz
- – Margarita Marieta Tromp
- – Beverly Frances Pinder
- – Doris Elizabeth Anwander
- – Dulcie Louise Millings
- – Judy Margot Miller
- – Françoise Hélène Julia Moens
- – Christina Margarita Ysaguirre
- – Madeline Francine Joell
- – Raquel Roca Kuikanaga
Bonaire - Corinne Rosseley Hernandez
Brazil – Suzana Araújo dos Santos- – Andrea Leslie Eng
- – Marianne Müller Prieto
- – Mary Shirley Sáenz Starnes
- – Maribel Fernández GarcíaMaribel GuardiaMaribel del Rocío Fernández García is a Costa Rican actress, who works in Mexico, and currently lives and resides in Miami, Florida.-Miss Universe and Miss World:...
- – Solange Abigail de Castro
- – Anita Heske
- – Raquel Josefina Jacobo Jaar
- – Mabel Ceballos Sangster
- – Iris Ivette Mazorra Castro
- – Beverly Isherwood
- – Seija Kaarina Paakkola
- – Brigitte Konjovic
- – Eva Marie Gabrielle Gottschalk
- – Marieta Kountouraki
- – Mary Lois Sampson
- – Claudia María Iriarte
- ' – Karen Ingrid Gustafsson
- – Olimpia Velásquez Medina
- ' – Winnie Chan Man-Yuk
- – Anna Björk Edwards
- – Alamjeet Kaur ChauhanAlamjeet Kaur ChauhanAlamjeet Kaur Chauhan was the winner of Miss India title in 1978. She represented India in the Miss Universe 1978 pageant. She won the Best National Costume Award in Miss Universe competition.-External links:* Femina Miss India* Supreme Court of India...
- – Lorraine Bernadette Enriquez
- – Dorit Jellinek
- – Andreina Mazzoti
- – Hisako MandaHisako Manda' is a Japanese actress.She was the Japanese representative at Miss Universe 1978 in Acapulco, Mexico, but did not advance to the semifinals.-External links:* Profile* Profile...
- ' – Jung-eun Shon
- – Reine Antoine Semaan
Lesotho – Joan Libuseng Khoali- – Yasmin Yussuf
- – Pauline Lewise Farrugia
- – Alba Margarita Cervera Labat
- – Majida Tazi
New Hebrides – Christine Spooner- – Jane Simmonds
- – Claudia Herrera Cortés
- ' – Julias Salas Concepción
- – Jeanette Aarum
- – Diana Leticia Conte Vergara
- – Angelyn Muta Tukana
- – Rosa María Duarte Melgarejo
- – Olga Roxana Zumarán Burga
- – Jennifer Mitcheck Cortes
- – Ada Cecilia Flores Perkins
- – Evelyn Pongerand
- - Palepa Sio Tauliili
- – Angela Mary Kate McLeod
- – Annie Mei Ling Lee
- South Africa – Margaret GardinerMargaret GardinerMargaret Gardiner, from Woodstock, South Africa is the winner of the Miss Universe pageant in 1978. She was 18 years old when she won the pageant.. , Palm Beach Post . , St...
- Spain – Guillermina Ruiz Domenech
- – Dlirukshi Wimalasooriya
St. VincentSaint Vincent (island)Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
– Gailene Collin- ' – Garrance Harriette Rustwijk
- – Cecilia RhodeCécilia RhodeCécilia Catharina Björnsdotter Rodhe is a former model, Miss Sweden 1978 and has also competed in the Miss Universe 1978 pageant, held in Mexico, 24 July. In the Miss Universe pageant, she finished fifth place...
- – Sylvia von Arx
- – Pascaline Tumia Teriireoo
- – Pornpit Sakornujit
- ' – Sophia Titus
- – Billur Lutfiye Bingol
- – María del Carmen da Rosa
- United States – Judi Lois Andersen
Venezuela – Marisol Alfonzo MarcanoMarisol AlfonzoMarisol Alfonzo Marcano is a pageant titleholder, was born in Caracas, Venezuela on May 1, 1957. She is the Miss Venezuela titleholder for 1978, and was the official representative of Venezuela to the Miss Universe 1978 pageant held in Acapulco, México, on July 24, 1978.-External links:**...
Virgin IslandsVirgin IslandsThe Virgin Islands are the western island group of the Leeward Islands, which are the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, which form the border between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean...
– Barbara Henderson- – Elizabeth Ann Jones
Withdraws
AntiguaAntiguaAntigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
- Nadine Defraites
French Guiana- - Margaret Prudome
Guadeloupe - Mlue Debor
Martinique - Catherine Marlin- - Maria Ingrid Desmarais
St. Kitts- '
- '