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    Svetlana Velmar-Janković

    Miss World 1959
    Corine Rottschäfer
    Date10 November 1959
    Presenters
    VenueLyceum Ballroom, London, United Kingdom
    BroadcasterBBC
    Entrants37
    Placements11
    Debuts
    • Argentina
    • Ghana
    • Gibraltar
    • Hawaii
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Jamaica
    • Jordan
    • Paraguay
    • Peru
    • Portugal
    • Puerto Rico
    • Rhodesia and Nyasaland
    • South Korea
    • Uruguay
    Withdrawals
    • Morocco
    • Turkey
    • Venezuela
    Returns
    • Austria
    • Finland
    • Honduras
    • Iceland
    • Luxembourg
    WinnerCorine Rottschäfer
    Holland
    ← 1958
    1960 →

    Miss World 1959 was the ninth Miss World pageant, held at the Lyceum Ballroom, London, United Kingdom on 10 November 1959.

    At the end of the event, the Chief Barker of the Variety Club of Great Britain crowned Corine Rottschäfer of Holland as Miss World 1959. This is the first victory of Holland in the history of the pageant.

    Contestants from thirty-seven countries and territories participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Bob Hope.

    Background

    Lyceum Ballroom, venue of Miss World 1959

    Selection of participants

    Thirty-seven contestants were selected to compete in the pageant. Three contestants were appointed to represent their countries after being a runner-up in their national pageants.

    Replacements

    Runner-up of Miss Maple Leaf 1959, Huguette Demers was appointed to represent Canada after Miss Maple Leaf 1959, Irene Dobler relinquishing her title in order to marry.[1] First runner-up of Miss Norway 1959, Berit Grundvig was appointed to represent her country after Miss Norway 1959, Jorunn Kristjansen became first runner-up at Miss Universe 1959.[2] Miss Holland 1957, Corine Rottschäfer was appointed to represent her country after Miss Holland 1959, Peggy Erwich withdrew due to her modeling commitments.[3][4][5]

    Debuts, returns and withdrawals

    This edition marked the debut of Argentina, Ghana, Gibraltar, Hawaii, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Jordan, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Rhodesia and Nyasaland,[a] South Korea,[b] and Uruguay,[6] and the return of Honduras, which last competed in 1955; and Austria, Finland, Iceland, and Luxembourg last competed in 1957.

    Raymonde Valle of Morocco and Figen Özgür of Turkey withdrew for undisclosed reasons.[7] Venezuela withdrew after its respective organization failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate. Habiba Bent Abdallah of Tunisia was supposed to compete, but withdrew from the competition due to financial constraints.

    Results

    Placements

    Placement Contestant
    Miss World 1959
    1st runner-up
    2nd runner-up
    3rd runner-up
    4th runner-up
    Top 11

    Pageant

    Format

    The number of placements in this edition has been increased to eleven from six in the previous edition. The eleven semi-finalists were selected through a preliminary competition held on the day of the final competition consisting of a swimsuit and evening gown competition. The eleven semi-finalists were then interviewed by Bob Russell and paraded before the judges, and five finalists were eventually selected to compete in the final interview.[8]

    Selection committee

    Contestants

    Thirty-seven contestants competed for the title.[11]

    Country Contestant Age[c] Hometown
     Argentina Amalia Yolanda Scuffi[12] 17 Mar de Plata
     Austria Helga Knofel 20 –
     Belgium Diane Hidalgo[13] 19 –
     Brazil Dione Brito Oliveira[14] 18 Caruaru
     Canada Huguette Demers[15] 21 Montreal
     Denmark Kirsten Olsen[2] 20 Frederiksberg
     Finland Margit Jaatinen[2] 19 –
     France Marie Hélène Trové[16] 19 –
     Ghana Star Nyaniba Annan 20 Accra
     Gibraltar Viola Howells[17] 23 Gibraltar
     Greece Yakiathi Karaviti 20 Athens
     Hawaii Margaret Moani Keala Brumaghim[18] 26 Honolulu
     Holland Corine Rottschäfer[19] 21 Amsterdam
     Honduras Rosemary Lefebre – Tegucigalpa
     Hong Kong Michelle Mok[20] 17 Hong Kong
     Iceland Sigurbjörg Sveinsdóttir[21] 18 Reykjavík
     India Fleur Ezekiel[22] 18 –
     Ireland Ann Fitzpatrick[23] 17 Dublin
     Israel Ziva Shomrat[24] 18 Haifa
     Italy Paola Falchi[25] 18 Latium
     Jamaica Sheila Chong[26] 24 Kingston
     Japan Chieko Ichinose[27] 18 Tokyo
     Jordan Ufemia Jabaji 17 Amman
     Luxembourg Josee Pundel 20 Luxembourg City
     Norway Berit Grundvig[2] 19 Oslo
     Paraguay Elvira dos Santos 18 Asunción
     Peru María Elena Rossel[28] 17 Piura
     Portugal Maria Teresa Motoa Cardoso 18 Lisbon
     Puerto Rico Lyllianna Díaz 19 San Juan
     Rhodesia and Nyasaland Vivien Lentin 17 Kitwe
     South Africa Moya Meaker 18 Pretoria
     South Korea Seo Jung-ae[29] 19 Busan
     Sweden Carola Håkonsson[2] 20 –
     United Kingdom Anne Thelwell[30] 22 Heswall
     United States Loretta Powell 24 Stratford
     Uruguay Yvonne Kelly 25 Montevideo
     West Germany Helga Meyer 23 Bielefeld

    Notes

    1. ^ Competed as Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland in the pageant
    2. ^ Competed as Korea in the pageant
    3. ^ Age at the time of the pageant


    References

    1. ^ "Yields title". Chicago Tribune. 26 September 1959. p. 6. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    2. ^ a b c d e "Untitled". The New York Age. 5 December 1959. p. 13. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    3. ^ "Tweehonderd leeuwen in de leeuwenkuil zagen: Miss Holland 1959" [Saw two hundred lions in the lion's den: Miss Holland 1959]. Algemeen Handelsblad (in Dutch). 6 May 1959. p. 11. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Delpher.
    4. ^ "En ook 1 uit velen Corinne" [And also 1 out of many Corinne]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 15 August 1959. p. 5. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Delpher.
    5. ^ "Roem" [Fame]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 6 November 1959. p. 2. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Delpher.
    6. ^ Wang, Zijing (23 September 2024). "Beyond the Crown: Miss Hong Kong's Shifting Influence". The World of Chinese. Archived from the original on 24 January 2025. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
    7. ^ Babas, Latifa (11 February 2019). "Histoire : Quand le Maroc était représenté dans les concours internationaux de beauté". Yabiladi (in French). Retrieved 13 April 2025.
    8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Corine Rottschaefer (21) tot "Miss World" gekozen" [Dutch is “Miss World” Corinne Rottschafer nr. 1 in London]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 11 November 1959. p. 1. Retrieved 5 March 2024 – via Delpher.
    9. ^ a b c d e "A Dutch treat". The Press Democrat. 11 November 1959. p. 44. Retrieved 5 March 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    10. ^ "Corinne Rottschaefer uit Amsterdam "Miss Wereld"" [Corinne Rottschaefer from Amsterdam "Miss World"]. Leeuwarder courant (in Dutch). 11 November 1959. p. 7. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Delpher.
    11. ^ "Dutch Girl "Miss World"". The Canberra Times. 12 November 1959. p. 28. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Trove.
    12. ^ "Fue Miss Argentina, inspiró una canción emblemática y por un escándalo no logró ser Miss Mundo". La Nacion (in Spanish). 1 October 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    13. ^ "Erelijst Miss België". De Morgen (in Dutch). 11 January 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
    14. ^ "Miss D.F. e a nova Miss Brasil". Jornal do Brasil (in Portuguese). 22 June 1959. p. 1. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    15. ^ Hart, Daniel (15 April 2019). "Une Bouchervilloise défendra les couleurs du Québec au concours Miss World Canada" [A Bouchervilloise will defend the colors of Quebec at the Miss World Canada contest]. La Relève (in Canadian French). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    16. ^ Mathieu, Clément (24 November 2019). "Dans les archives de Match - En 1959, "le dur métier d'être la plus belle femme du monde"" [In the archives of Match - In 1959, "the hard job of being the most beautiful woman in the world"]. Paris Match (in French). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    17. ^ "Queens of beauty". Olive Press Gibraltar Newspaper. 22 June 2016. p. 10. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Issuu.
    18. ^ "Air Line beauty wins isle title". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 17 October 1959. p. 1. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    19. ^ Zijl, Frank van (24 September 2020). "Corine Spier-Rottschäfer (1938-2020): van eerste Nederlandse Miss World tot zakenvrouw". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    20. ^ "Student, 17, named HK Beauty Queen". The Straits Times. 11 October 1959. p. 5. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    21. ^ "Sigurbjörg Sveinsdóttir varð nr. 4 í fegurðarsamkeppninni í Tívolí í haust" [Sigurbjörg Sveinsdóttir became no. 4 in the beauty contest in Tivoli this fall.]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 11 November 1959. p. 9. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Tímarit.is.
    22. ^ Aafreedi, Navras Jaat (25 June 2013). "The Jewish Beauty Queens of India". The Jewish Press. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    23. ^ "Wie is de mooiste ter wereld" [Who is the most beautiful in the world?]. Het Parool (in Dutch). 7 November 1959. p. 1. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Delpher.
    24. ^ "Miss Israel to wed student". The Singapore Free Press. 30 November 1959. p. 10. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via National Library Board.
    25. ^ "Violenta baruffa tra i giudici per relezione di Miss Italia". Stampa Sera (in Italian). 6 October 1958. p. 3. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Archivio La Stampa.
    26. ^ Thomas, Marcia (12 December 2019). "Sheila Chong, Miss Jamaica 1959 - … The island's first entrant to Miss World 60 years ago". The Gleaner. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    27. ^ Caparas, Celso de Guzman (24 January 2016). "Other Miss U beauties at the Big Dome". Philippine Star. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    28. ^ "Nuestras reinas más bellas desde Gladys Zender a Laura Spoya". El Comercio (in Spanish). 22 December 2015. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    29. ^ "「미스」경남에 「서정애」양" [Miss Gyeongnam Seo Jung-ae]. Busan Ilbo (in Korean). 19 April 1959. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
    30. ^ "Miss United Kingdom". The Tampa Tribune. 15 September 1959. p. 6. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
    Credit: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_World_1959

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