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Miss Universe 1978

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Miss Universe 1978
Margaret Gardiner
Date24 July 1978
Presenters
Entertainment
VenueCentro de Convenciones de Acapulco, Acapulco, Mexico
BroadcasterCBS (international)
Televisa (official broadcaster)
Entrants75
Placements12
Debuts
  • Lesotho
  • New Hebrides
Withdrawals
  • Antigua
  • British Virgin Islands
  • French Guiana
  • Guadeloupe
  • Haiti
  • Indonesia
  • Liberia
  • Mauritius
  • Saint Kitts
  • Saint Lucia
  • Sint Maarten
  • Yugoslavia
Returns
  • Bonaire
  • Guatemala
  • Morocco
  • Saint Vincent
  • Turkey
WinnerMargaret Gardiner
South Africa
CongenialitySophia Titus (Trinidad and Tobago)
Best National CostumeAlamjeet Kaur Chauhan (India)
PhotogenicMaribel Guardia (Costa Rica)
← 1977
1979 →

Miss Universe 1978 was the 27th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Centro de Convenciones de Acapulco in Acapulco, Mexico, on 24 July 1978.

At the conclusion of the event, Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad and Tobago crowned Margaret Gardiner of South Africa as Miss Universe 1978. This is first victory of South Africa in the pageant's history.

Contestants from seventy-five countries and territories participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Bob Barker in his twelfth consecutive year, while Helen O'Connell provided commentary and analysis throughout the event.

Background

Location and date

In a statement by Griff O'Neill of the Miss Universe Inc. in October 1976, it was stated that Singapore was one of the locations being considered for the Miss Universe pageant in 1978. According to the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board, although they were interested in hosting the Miss Universe pageant for Singapore's publicity, they were also considering whether the expense was proportionate to the promotional impact they would get, and its importance.[1]

Two months after announcing that Miss Universe 1977 would be held in the Dominican Republic, Mexican Minister of Tourism Guillermo Rosell de La Lama announced on 11 March 1977 that the Miss Universe 1978 pageant would be held in Acapulco, Mexico on 24 July 1978 after Miss Universe accepted Mexico's invitation.[2][3]

Selection of participants

Contestants from seventy-five countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Two candidates were selected to replace the original dethroned winner.[4][5]

Replacements

Miss Canada 1977 runner-up Andrea Eng was appointed to represent Canada after Catherine Swing stepped down as Miss Canada 1977 to get married.[4][6] Miss France 1978 first runner-up Brigitte Konjovic was appointed to represent France after Miss France 1978 Pascale Taurua chose to return to her hometown of New Caledonia instead of living in France.[5][7]

Debuts, returns, and, withdrawals

This edition saw the debuts of Lesotho and New Hebrides, and the returns of Saint Vincent which last competed in 1964; Bonaire which last competed in 1969;[8] Morocco which last competed in 1975; and Guatemala and Turkey which last competed in 1976.

Nadine Defraites of Antigua, Mlue Debor of Guadeloupe, and Ingrid Desmarais of Mauritius withdrew for undisclosed reasons.[9]

Results

Miss Universe 1978 participating nations and results

Placements

Placement[10] Contestant
Miss Universe 1978
1st Runner-Up
2nd Runner-Up
  •  Spain – Guillermina Ruiz
3rd Runner-Up
  •  Colombia – Shirley Saenz
4th Runner-Up
Top 12
  •  Belgium – Françoise Moens
  •  Chile – Marianne Müller
  •  Holland – Karen Gustafsson
  •  Ireland – Lorraine Enriquez
  •  Israel – Dorit Jellinek
  •  Mexico – Alba Margarita Cervera
  •  Peru – Olga Zumaran

Pageant

Format

Same with 1971, twelve semi-finalists were chosen at the preliminary competition that consists of the swimsuit and evening gown competition. The twelve semi-finalists participated in the casual interview, swimsuit, and evening gown competitions. From twelve, five finalists were shortlisted to advance to the final interview. This edition also marks the first time that the scores given by the judges are broadcast on television.[10]

Judges

The following celebrities judged the final competition:[11]

Contestants

Seventy-five contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory Contestant Age[a] Hometown
American Samoa American Samoa Palepa Sio Tauliili[12] 21 Pago Pago
Argentina Argentina Delia Muñoz 17 Buenos Aires
Aruba Aruba Margarita Tromp[13] 26 Oranjestad
Australia Australia Beverley Pinder[14] 23 Melbourne
Austria Austria Doris Anwander[15] 18 Bregenz
The Bahamas Bahamas Dulcie Millings[16] 18 Nassau
Barbados Barbados Judy Miller[17] 20 Saint Michael
Belgium Belgium Françoise Moens 18 Brussels
British Honduras Belize Christina Ysaguirre 20 Belmopan
Bermuda Bermuda Madeline Joell 19 Smith's Parish
Bolivia Bolivia Raquel Roca 18 Guayaramerín
Netherlands Antilles Bonaire Corinne Hernandez[8] 19 Kralendijk
Brazil Brazil Suzana Araújo 20 Dionísio
Canada Canada Andrea Eng 22 Vancouver
Chile Chile Marianne Müller 18 Santiago
Colombia Colombia Shirley Sáenz 18 Bogotá
Costa Rica Costa Rica Maribel Fernández 19 San José
Netherlands Antilles Curaçao Solange de Castro 20 Willemstad
Denmark Anita Heske 20 Copenhagen
Dominican Republic Raquel Josefina Jacobo 17 San Cristóbal
Ecuador Mabel Ceballos 18 Guayaquil
El Salvador Iris Mazorra 18 San Salvador
England Beverly Isherwood 19 Bolton
Finland Seija Paakkola[18] 19 Oulu
France Brigitte Konjovic[19] 18 Paris
French Polynesia Pascaline Tumia Teriireoo 19 Papeete
Greece Marieta Kountouraki 21 Thessaloniki
Guam Guam Mary Lois Sampson 22 Mangilao
Guatemala Guatemala Claudia María Iriarte 20 Guatemala City
Holland Karen Gustafsson 21 Rotterdam
Honduras Olimpia Velásquez 20 Tegucigalpa
British Hong Kong Hong Kong Winnie Chan 22 Kowloon
Iceland Anna Björk Edwards 19 Reykjavík
India Alamjeet Kaur Chauhan 23 New Delhi
Ireland Lorraine Enriquez[20] 19 Dublin
Israel Dorit Jellinek 19 Haifa
Italy Andreina Mazzoti 21 Brescia
Japan Hisako Manda 20 Osaka
Lebanon Reine Antoine Semaan 17 Beirut
Lesotho Joan Libuseng Khoali 21 Maseru
Malaysia Yasmin Yusuff 22 Kuala Lumpur
Malta Pauline Farrugia 22 Żebbuġ
Mexico Alba Margarita Cervera[21] 19 Yucatan
Morocco Majida Tazi 18 Rabat
New Hebrides Christine Spooner 18 Luganville
New Zealand Jane Simmonds[22] 21 Auckland
Nicaragua Claudia Herrera 19 Masaya
Northern Mariana Islands Northern Mariana Islands Julias Salas Concepción 17 Saipan
Norway Jeanette Aarum 19 Oslo
Panama Diana Leticia Conte 20 Panama City
Papua New Guinea Angelyn Muta Tukana 21 Bougainville
Paraguay Rosa María Duarte 26 Asunción
Peru Olga Zumarán 19 Lima
Philippines Jennifer Cortes[23] 17 Manila
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Ada Perkins 18 San Juan
Réunion Réunion Evelyn Pongerand 19 La Possession
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent Gailene Collin 22 Kingstown
Scotland Scotland Angela McLeod 20 Fife
Singapore Annie Lee 20 Singapore
South Africa Margaret Gardiner 18 Cape Town
South Korea Jung-eun Shon 23 Seoul
Spain Guillermina Ruiz 21 Barcelona
Sri Lanka Dlirukshi Wimalasooriya 27 Colombo
Suriname Garrance Rustwijk 18 Paramaribo
Sweden Cécilia Rodhe 17 Gothenburg
Switzerland Sylvia von Arx 20 Appenzell Innerrhoden
Thailand Pornpit Sakornvijit 23 Bangkok
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago Sophia Titus 18 Port of Spain
Turkey Turkey Billur Lutfiye Bingol 19 Istanbul
United States Judi Andersen 20 Honolulu
United States Virgin Islands United States Virgin Islands Barbara Henderson 23 Christiansted
Uruguay María del Carmen da Rosa 21 Salto
Venezuela Marisol Alfonzo 21 Caracas
Wales Wales Elizabeth Ann Jones 20 Welshpool
West Germany Eva Marie Gabrielle Gottschalk 26 Berlin

Notes

  1. ↑ Ages at the time of the pageant

References

  1. ↑ "STPB Will Host Contest If Price Is Right". The Straits Times. 23 July 1976. p. 17. Retrieved 27 April 2026 – via National Library Board.
  2. ↑ "Miss Universe keuze in Mexico" [Miss Universe choice in Mexico]. Amigoe (in Dutch). 11 March 1977. p. 6. Retrieved 27 April 2026 – via Delpher.
  3. ↑ "Universe". Berita Harian. 11 March 1977. p. 3. Retrieved 27 April 2026 – via National Library Board.
  4. 1 2 "World Chance". Times Colonist. 10 May 1978. p. 25. Retrieved 27 April 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 Gnipate, Steeven (5 March 2015). "Que devient la Calédonienne Pascale Taurua, Miss France 1978?". Outre-mer la 1ère (in French). Retrieved 27 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "Perennial problem". The Windsor Star. 8 November 1977. p. 2. Retrieved 3 May 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Mitote, Pascal (8 March 2015). "Pascale Taurua, Miss France 1978". Polynésie la 1ère (in French). Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Bij verkiezing Miss Bonaire Programma uitgelopen" [Election Miss Bonaire Program ended]. Amigoe (in Dutch). 12 April 1978. p. 2. Retrieved 3 May 2026 – via Delpher.
  9. ↑ "Maria Allard, Miss Mauritius d?un décevant concours". L'Express (in French). 11 June 2004. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Sudafricana electa Miss Universo". La Nacion (in Spanish). 25 July 1978. pp. 1, 4A. Retrieved 27 April 2026 – via Google News Archive.
  11. ↑ "Once More... Who's the Fairest". Los Angeles Times. July 24, 1978. Retrieved 10 July 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ↑ "Beauties all set for big contest". The Straits Times. 24 July 1978. p. 13. Retrieved 8 February 2026 – via National Library Board.
  13. ↑ "Miss Aruba naar Mexico" [Miss Aruba to Mexico]. Amigoe (in Dutch). 27 June 1978. p. 5. Retrieved 8 February 2026 – via Delpher.
  14. ↑ "Choice of the week". Royal Australian Navy News. 3 November 1978. p. 3. Retrieved 8 February 2026 – via Trove.
  15. ↑ "Kniggetrainerin: Job mit Takt" [Etiquette trainer: A job with tact]. Vorarlberg Online (in German). 5 February 2009. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  16. ↑ Whachell, Robbin (25 November 2011). "Pageantry in The Bahamas: Does The Bahamas have too many pageants?". The Bahamas Weekly. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  17. ↑ "West Indian trio". The Virgin Islands Daily News. 17 July 1978. p. 10. Retrieved 8 February 2026 – via Google News Archive.
  18. ↑ Lindfors, Jukka (22 November 2011) [28 October 2009]. "Seija Paakkola, Miss Suomi 1978" [Seija Paakkola, Miss Finland 1978]. Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  19. ↑ Lazaar, Liane (11 December 2021). "Miss France : Une reine de beauté est la mère d'un comédien de Scènes de ménages !". Purepeople (in French). Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "Miss Ireland flies out". Irish Independent. 1 July 1978. p. 11. Retrieved 17 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Jan. 25, 2015 - Mexico - México, D.F. Competition Concurso-Miss Universo.- Alba Margarita Cervera Lavat fue Señorita México". imago-images. January 25, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Miss N.Z. title goes north". The Press. Christchurch, New Zealand. 18 May 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 29 January 2026 – via Papers Past.
  23. ↑ Lo, Ricky (16 March 2016). "Whatever happened to Jennifer Cortes?". Philippine Star. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
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