Miss World 1975
Encyclopedia
Miss World
The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...
pageant was held on November 20, 1975 at the Royal Albert Hall in London. 67 contestant took part in the pageant won by Wilnelia Merced
Wilnelia Merced
Wilnelia, Lady Forsyth-Johnson , more commonly known by her maiden name as Wilnelia Merced, became in 1975 the first and to date only winner of the Miss World title from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico....
of Puerto Rico. Runner-up was Germany, Marina Langer, in third place was Vicki Harris representing the United Kingdom, fourth place was Maricela Maxie Clark of Cuba and Yugoslavia's Ladija Verkovska completed the top five.
Results
| Final Results | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss World 1975 |
|
| 1st Runner-up |
|
| 2nd Runner-up |
|
| 3rd Runner-up |
|
| 4th Runner-up |
|
| 5th runner-up |
 Haiti - Joelle Apollon |
| 6th runner-up |
 Venezuela - María Conchita AlonsoMaria Conchita Alonso María Conchita Alonso , better known as María Conchita, is a Venezuelan Grammy Award-nominated singer and actress.- Early life :... |
| Semifinalists |
 Mauritius - Mariella Tse-Sik-Sun Saint Lucia - Sophia St Omer South Africa - Rhoda Rademeyer Uruguay - Carmen Abal |
Special awards
- Personality: Maggie Siew Teen Sim (SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
) - Photogenic: Vinah Thembi Mamba (SwazilandSwazilandSwaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
)
67 Contestants
- ' - Lydia Gloria Johnstone
-
Argentina - Lilian Noemí De Asti - ' - Cynthia Marlene Bruin
-
Australia - Anne Davidson -
Austria - Rosemarie Holzschuh -
The Bahamas - Ava Marilyn Burke -
Barbados - Peta Hazel Greaves -
Belgium - Christine Delmelle -
Bermuda - Donna Louise Wright -
Bolivia - Maria Monica Guardia -
Brazil - Zaida Souza Costa -
Canada - Normande Jacques -
Colombia - Amanda Amaya Correa -
Costa Rica - Maria Mayela Bolaños Ugalde -
Cuba - Maricela (Maxie) Clark -
Curaçao - Elvira Nelly Maria Bakker -
Denmark - Pia Isa Lauridsen -
Dominican Republic - Carmen Rosa Arredondo Pou -
El Salvador - Ana Stella Comas Durán -
Finland - Leena Kaarina Vainio -
Early Modern France - Sophie Sonia PerinSophie Sonia PerinSophie Sonia Perin of France is the first Miss International winner from her country.Before her victory in Tokyo, Japan in 1976, she competed as France's representative in the 1975 Miss Universe in San Salvador, El Salvador, and in the 1975 Miss World in London, United Kingdom. In both pageants,... -
Germany - Marina Langner -
Gibraltar - Lillian Anne Lara -
Greece - Bella Adamopoulou -
Guam - Dora Ann Quintanilla Camacho -
Guernsey - Carol Dawn Le Billon - Haiti - Joelle Apollon
- ' - Barbara Ann Neefs
-
Honduras - Etelinda Mejía Velásquez - ' - Teresa Chu Tsui-Kuen
-
Iceland - Halldora Björk Jonsdottir -
India - Anjana Sood -
Republic of Ireland - Elaine Rosemary O'Hara -
Israel - Atida Mor
-
Italy - Vanna Bortolini -
Japan - Chiharu Fujiwara -
Jersey - Susan Maxwell de Gruchy - ' - Lee Sung-hee
-
Lebanon - Ramona Karam -
Luxembourg - Marie Thérèse Manderschied -
Malaysia - Fauziah Haron -
Malta - Marie Grace (Mary) Ciantar - Mauritius - Marielle Tse Sik-Sun
-
Mexico - Blanca Patricia López Esparza New ZealandNew Zealand at Miss WorldNew Zealand has contested 46 Miss World pageants since that pageant's inception in 1951. No New Zealander has won the Miss World title, although two have placed first runner-up....
- Janet Andrea Nugent -
Nicaragua - Maria Auxiliadora Paguaga Mantilla' -
Norway - Sissel Gulbrandsen -
Peru - Mary Orfanides Canakis -
Philippines - Suzanne Gonzalez -
Puerto Rico - Wilnelia Merced Cruz - Saint Lucia - Sophia St. Omer
-
Seychelles - Amelie Lydia Michel -
Singapore - Maggie Siew Teen Sim -
South Africa - Rhoda Rademeyer -
Sri Lanka - Angela Seneviratne -
Swaziland - Vinah Thembi Mamba -
Sweden - Agneta Catarina Magnusson -
Switzerland - Franziska (Franzi) Angst -
Thailand - Raevadee Pattamaphong -
Trinidad and Tobago - Donna Sandra Dalrymple -
Tunisia - Monia Dida -
Turkey - Harika Degirmenci -
United Kingdom - Vicki Ann Harris -
United States - Annelise Ilschenko - Uruguay - Carmen Abal VenezuelaMiss VenezuelaThe Miss Venezuela contest is the national beauty pageant of Venezuela and has been held since 1952. It is responsible for selecting the country's representatives to the Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth and Miss International pageants .Under the direction of Osmel Sousa, Venezuela has...
- María Concepción Alonso BustilloMaria Conchita AlonsoMaría Conchita Alonso , better known as María Conchita, is a Venezuelan Grammy Award-nominated singer and actress.- Early life :... -
Kingdom of Yugoslavia - Lidija Velkovska
Returning countries and Debuts
- Curaçao, El Salvador, Haiti, St. Lucia, and Swaziland competed in Miss World for the first time.
- Cuba last competed in 1955Miss World 1955Miss World 1955, the fifth annual Miss World pageant, was held on October 20, 1955 at Lyceum Theatre, London, United Kingdom. 21 contestants competed for the Miss World. The winner was Susana Duijm, represented Venezuela...
. - Bolivia and Uruguay last competed in 1965Miss World 1965Miss World 1965, the 15th Miss World pageant, was won by Lesley Langley of the United Kingdom. It took place on November 19, 1965 at the Lyceum Ballroom, London in London, UK.-Placements:-Contestants:*' - Lidia Alcira Diaz*' - Jan Rennison...
. - Trinidad & Tobago last competed in 1971Miss World 1971Miss World 1971, the 21st annual Miss World pageant, was held on November 10, 1971 at Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom. 56 contestants competed for the Miss World...
. - Iceland, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Peru, Seychelles, and Turkey last competed in 1973Miss World 1973The 23rd Annual Miss World pageant was held at the Royal Albert Hall on November 23, 1973. Fifty-four delegates vied for the crown won by an American, Marjorie Wallace of Indiana.Pageant Controversy...
.
Withdrawals and Nations not competing
- Spain promptly withdrew from the competition, after an announcement that General Francisco FrancoFrancisco FrancoFrancisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
, the ruler of Spain, had died on the morning of the pageant date. Pageant organizers concerned that she had been too upset by Franco’s death to appear in the finals.
Replacements
- Italy (Anna Vitale) was replaced by Vanna Bortolini, her first runner-up of the Miss Italy beauty pageant, because she decided to return home to take care of her ill mother.
- South Africa (Rhoda Rademeyer) was the second runner-up of Miss South Africa beauty pageant. The official titleholder of this pageant, Vera Johns, was disqualified by the Miss World organizers when it was discovered that she came from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Her Rhodesian nationality apparently did not violate the pageant's rules. The first runner-up, Crystal Coopers, went to London, but her father would not allow her to compete there because it was discovered that Vera Johns was not going to be officially stripped of her title.
Other Notes
- France (Sophie Perin) was the third Miss World contestant to win the Miss International title in 1976Miss International 1976Miss International 1976 was held at Imperial Garden Theater, Tokyo, Japan on July 2, 1976. Sophie Sonia Perin earned France's first Miss International crown.-Results:-Special awards:-References:*...
, after the winning streaks of Brucene SmithBrucene SmithKaren Brucene Smith-Galvan is a former beauty queen from the United States who was crowned Miss World USA 1971 and Miss International 1974.-Early life:...
(Miss World 1971Miss World 1971Miss World 1971, the 21st annual Miss World pageant, was held on November 10, 1971 at Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom. 56 contestants competed for the Miss World...
contestant representing the United States of America), who won the title in 1974Miss International 1974Miss International 1974, the 14th edition of Miss International, was held at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan on October 9, 1974. 45 contestants competed for the title. Brucene Smith of the United States, representing American Beauty, was crowned Miss International 1974.-Placements:-External links:*...
, and Tuula Anneli Björkling (Miss World 1972Miss World 1972The 22nd Annual Miss World pageant was held at the Royal Albert Hall on 1 December 1972 on BBC. 53 delegates vied for the crown won by Belinda Green of Australia...
contestant representing Finland), who won the title in 1973Miss International 1973Miss International 1973, the 13th Miss International beauty pageant was held at Exposition Hall Fairgrounds, Osaka, Japan on October 13, 1973. 45 contestants competed for the pageant. Tuula Björkling of Finland won the crown.-Final Results:...
. - Swaziland was now the organizer of the Miss Swaziland pageant.
- Bahamas competed in Miss Universe 1982Miss Universe 1982Miss Universe 1982, the 31st annual Miss Universe pageant, was held at Coliseo Amauta in Lima, Peru on July 26, 1982. 77 contestants competed in the pageant and 18-year-old Karen Dianne Baldwin of Canada was crowned Miss Universe 1982.-Placements:...
, and then awarded as Miss Photogenic. - Germany was handpicked by a pageant photographer, rather than the winner of that nation's pageant.
- Argentina competed in Miss Universe 1976Miss Universe 1976Miss Universe 1976, the 25th Miss Universe pageant was held at Lee Theatre in Hong Kong on July 11, 1976 morning, namely July 10 evening in United States. Rina Messinger earned Israel's first Miss Universe crown...
, and she was a semifinalist.