Miss Universe 1962

Miss Universe 1962
Norma Nolan
Date	14 July 1962
Presenters	Gene Rayburn
Venue	Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Broadcaster	CBS
Entrants	52
Placements	15
Debuts	Dahomey Haiti Malaya Tahiti
Withdrawals	Burma Chile Denmark Guatemala Jamaica Madagascar Rhodesia and Nyasaland
Returns	Costa Rica Dominican Republic Hong Kong New Zealand Philippines Portugal Singapore
Winner	Norma Nolan Argentina
Congeniality	Sarah Olimpia Frómeta (Dominican Republic) Hazel Williams (Wales)
Best National Costume	Kim Carlton (England)
Photogenic	Kim Carlton (England)
←  1961 1963  →

Miss Universe 1962 was the 11th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, United States on 14 July 1962.

At the conclusion of the event, Marlene Schmidt of West Germany crowned Norma Nolan of Argentina as Miss Universe 1962. Nolan was the first representative of Argentina to win the contest.

Contestants from fifty-two countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Gene Rayburn.

Background

Selection of participants

Contestants from fifty-two countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. One candidate was appointed to represent their country, while two candidates were appointed to represent their country/territory to replace the original dethroned winner.

Replacements

Virginia Bailey, 2nd runner-up of Miss Venezuela 1962, was appointed to represent Venezuela as Miss Venezuela 1962 Olga Antonetti was only 17 and did not meet the age requirement. ^{[1] [2]} Kim Carlton was appointed to represent England after Miss England 1962 Suzannah Eaton resigned due to her political views. ^[3]

Debuts, returns, and withdrawals

This edition saw the debuts of Dahomey, Haiti, Malaya, and Tahiti, and the returns of the Dominican Republic who last competed in 1956; the Philippines who last competed in 1957; Singapore who last competed in 1958; and Costa Rica, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Portugal who last competed in 1960. ^{[4] [5]}

Birgitte Heiberg of Denmark and Marlene Murray of Jamaica withdrew for undisclosed reasons. ^{[6] [7]} Burma, Chile, Guatemala, Madagascar, and Rhodesian and Nyasaland withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Results

Miss Universe 1962 participating countries and territories

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss Universe 1962	Argentina – Norma Nolan [8]
1st runner-up	Iceland – Anna Geirsdóttir [8]
2nd runner-up	Finland – Anja Aulikki Järvinen [8]
3rd runner-up	Republic of China – Helen Liu Shiu-Man [8]
4th runner-up	Brazil – Maria Olívia Rebouças [8]
Top 15	Austria – Christa Linder [9] Canada – Marilyn McFatridge [9] Colombia – Olga Lucía Botero [9] England – Kim Carlton [9] Haiti – Evelyn Miot [9] Israel – Yehudit Mazor [9] Lebanon – Nouhad Cabbabe [9] New Zealand – Lesley Margaret Nichols [9] South Korea – Seo Bum-joo [9] United States – Macel Wilson [9]

Special awards

Award	Contestant
Miss Congeniality	Dominican Republic – Sarah Olimpia Frómeta [10] Wales – Hazel Williams [10]
Miss Photogenic	England – Kim Carlton [11]
Best National Costume

Pageant

Format

Same with 1955, fifteen semi-finalists were chosen at the preliminary competition that consists of the swimsuit and evening gown competition. Each of the fifteen semi-finalists gave a short speech during the final telecast using their native languages. Afterwards, the fifteen semi-finalists paraded again in their swimsuits and evening gowns, and the five finalists were eventually chosen. ^[9]

Selection committee

• Chang Key-young – Founder of the Hankook Ilbo and The Korea Times ^[12]
• Yoshio Hayakowa – Japanese graphic designer ^[12]
• Abraham Elias Issa – Jamaica businessman ^[12]
• Serge Mendjisky – French painter ^[12]
• Russell Patterson – American cartoonist ^[12]
• Edilson Cid Varela – Brazilian journalist ^[12]
• Earl Wilson – American journalist and columnist ^[12]

Contestants

Fifty-two contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory	Contestant	Age [a]	Hometown
Argentina	Norma Nolan	24	Venado Tuerto
Austria	Christa Linder [13]	19	Berchtesgaden
Belgium	Christine Delit	22	Liège
Bolivia	Gabriela Roca Díaz [14]	–	Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Brazil	Olívia Rebouças [15]	22	Itabuna
Canada	Marilyn McFatridge [16]	19	Preston
Ceylon	Yvonne D'Rozario [17]	18	Colombo
Colombia	Olga Lucía Botero [18]	20	Ibagué
Costa Rica	Helvetia Albonico	19	Heredia
Cuba	Aurora Prieto [19]	20	Sancti Spíritus
Dahomey	Gilette Hazoume [20]	19	Ouémé
Dominican Republic	Sarah Olimpia Frómeta [5]	18	Santo Domingo
Ecuador	Elaine Ortega	22	Pichincha
England	Kim Carlton [21]	23	London
Finland	Anja Järvinen [22]	18	Tampere
France	Sabine Surget	21	Paris
Greece	Kristina Apostolou	18	Athens
Haiti	Evelyn Miot [23]	19	Port-au-Prince
Holland	Marianne van der Hayden	24	Amsterdam
Hong Kong	Shirley Pong [4]	20	Hong Kong
Iceland	Anna Geirsdóttir [24]	19	Reykjavík
Ireland	Josie Dwyer [25]	21	Dublin
Israel	Yehudit Mazor [26]	18	Tel Aviv
Italy	Isa Stoppi [27]	20	Emilia-Romagna
Japan	Kazuko Hirano [28]	19	Kyoto
Lebanon	Nouhad Cabbabe [29]	23	Beirut
Luxembourg	Fernande Kodesch	–	Luxembourg
Malaya	Sarah Alhabshee Abdullah	18	Kuala Lumpur.
Morocco	Ginette Buenaventes [30]	18	Rabat
New Zealand	Lesley Margaret Nichols [31]	18	Wellington
Norway	Julie Ege [32]	18	Sandnes
Paraguay	Corina Rolón [33]	–	Alto Paraguay
Peru	Silvia Dedeking [34]	20	Lima
Philippines	Josephine Estrada Brown [35]	19	Manila
Portugal	Maria Jose Santos Trindade Defolloy	–	Lisbon
Puerto Rico	Ana Celia Sosa [36]	24	San Juan
Republic of China	Helen Liu Shiu Man [37]	19	Taipei
Scotland	Vera Parker	21	Ayr
Singapore	Julie Koh [38]	20	Singapore
South Africa	Lynette Gamble [39]	18	Johannesburg
South Korea	Seo Bum-joo [31]	21	Seoul
Spain	Conchita Roig [40]	24	Barcelona
Sweden	Monica Rågby	20	Stockholm
Switzerland	Francine Delouille [41]	20	Ticino
Tahiti	Katy Bauner [42]	23	Papeete
Turkey	Gülay Sezer [43]	–	Istanbul
United States	Macel Wilson [44]	19	Honolulu
United States Virgin Islands	Juanita Monell [45]	–	Charlotte Amalie
Uruguay	Nelly Pettersen	23	Montevideo
Venezuela	Virginia Bailey [1]	18	Caracas
Wales	Hazel Williams	22	Cardiff
West Germany	Gisela Karschuck	21	Wiesbaden

Notes

1. Ages at the time of the pageant

References

1. Freitas, Alba (20 July 2021). "Materán, Miss Universo Venezuela 2021: Mi meta es inspirar a otros". El Nacional (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2025.
2. Correa Guatarasma, Andres (28 December 2018). "Venezolanos recordaron 50 años de la tragedia del vuelo Pan Am NY-Caracas". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2025.
3. "Too left-wing?". Ottawa Citizen. 12 July 1962. p. 1. Retrieved 12 April 2025– via Google News Archive.
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6. "Feguröardrottningar kjörnar í Danmörku" [Beauty queens elected in Denmark]. Tíminn (in Icelandic). 27 June 1961. p. 11. Retrieved 15 September 2025– via Timarit.is.
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22. Himberg, Petra (29 October 2009). "Miss Suomi 1962 Kaarina Leskinen". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 12 April 2025.
23. Schnier, Sanford (5 July 1962). "Curvy beauty straightens twist story". The Miami News. p. 31. Retrieved 6 January 2025– via Newspapers.com.
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26. "Miss Israel arrives for Miss Universe contest". The Sentinel⁩. 12 July 1962. p. 11. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
27. Cantarini, Giorgia (17 November 2020). "Top Model of the '60s Issa Stoppi Passes Away". L'Officiel. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
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29. Ghaleb, Chloe (14 July 2020). "Miss Lebanon Throughout History In Pictures". 961. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
30. "Le Maroc sera représenté au concours Miss Univers prévu en Israël". Article19 (in French). 28 October 1961. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
31. "They're welcome". The Los Angeles Times. 3 July 1962. p. 3. Retrieved 12 April 2025– via Newspapers.com.
32. Bergan, Ronald (1 May 2008). "Obituary: Julie Edge". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
33. Coronel, Raul (15 October 2021). "Te presentamos a todas nuestras representantes en Miss Universe". Epa! (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2025.
34. "Miss Perú: las peruanas más bellas de las últimas décadas". El Comercio Perú (in Spanish). 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
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36. "Reinas de Puerto Rico" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 March 2025.
37. "They shame the Moon". Taiwan Today. 1 June 1962. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
38. "Miss Singapore flies to California next month". The Straits Times. 20 May 1961. p. 9. Retrieved 12 April 2025– via National Library Board.
39. Odell, Myrna (15 July 1962). "What foreign beauties see in you". The Miami News. p. 32. Retrieved 12 April 2025– via Newspapers.com.
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41. "Election de Miss Suisse 1962". Radio Télévision Suisse (in French). 5 February 1962. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
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43. "Miss Turkey competes in Miss Universe Contest". News from Turkey. 5 July 1962. p. 3. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
44. "Honolulu Girl, 18, Chosen Miss U.S.A." The Honolulu Advertiser . UPI. July 13, 1962. p. 1. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
45. "Miss Virgin Islands". The Virgin Islands Daily News. 27 June 1962. p. 2. Retrieved 12 April 2025.

External links

• Miss Universe official website