Miss Universe 1971

Miss Universe 1971
Georgina Rizk
Date	24 July 1971
Presenters	Bob Barker June Lockhart
Venue	Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Broadcaster	CBS (WTVJ)
Entrants	60
Placements	12
Withdrawals	Chile Ceylon Czechoslovakia Denmark Hong Kong Paraguay
Returns	Thailand Trinidad and Tobago United States Virgin Islands
Winner	Georgina Rizk Lebanon
Congeniality	Magnolia Martinez (Peru)
Best National Costume	Maria Luisa Lopez Corzo (Mexico)
Photogenic	Vida Valentina Doria (Philippines)
←  1970 1972  →

Miss Universe 1971 was the 20th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, United States on 24 July 1971.

At the conclusion of the event, Marisol Malaret of Puerto Rico crowned Georgina Rizk of Lebanon as Miss Universe 1971. It is the first victory of Lebanon in the competition. ^[1]

Contestants from sixty countries and territories participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Bob Barker in his fifth consecutive year, while June Lockhart provided commentary and analysis throughout the event. The Singing Lettermen performed in this edition. ^[2]

Background

Selection of participants

Contestants from sixty countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. One candidate is selected to replace the original dethroned winner, and another is selected after another national pageant was held to replace the original winner.

Replacements

Miss Virgin Islands 1971, Utha Williams, was disqualified for exceeding the age limit and is replaced by her first runner-up, Cherrie Creque. Williams was 28 years old at the time of the competition. ^[3]

Miss Italy 1970, Alda Balestra, was supposed to represent her country in this edition. However, Enzo Mirigliani, the organizer of Miss Italia, decided not to send her to the competition, expressing concerns that American judges often overlooked Italian contestants. ^[4] As a result, a separate competition was quickly arranged by Mario Pedretti to select a new representative for Miss Universe, ultimately won by Mara Palvarini. ^[4]

Palvarini was shocked to discover that the Miss Universe competition had a policy prohibiting married women from participating. Consequently, on her wedding day, just three days after winning the title of Miss Italia Universo, Palvarini decided to postpone her wedding to compete in Miss Universe in Miami. Her fiancé fully supported her decision to participate in the event. ^{[5] [6]}

Returns and withdrawals

This edition saw the returns of Trinidad and Tobago which last competed in 1966, the United States Virgin Islands which last competed in 1968, and Thailand which last competed in 1969.

Miroslava Jancíková of Czechoslovakia withdrew after the Czechoslovak government banned beauty pageants in their country. ^{[7] [8]} Marite Tomassone of Paraguay withdrew after a few days in Miami for undisclosed reasons. ^[9] Ceylon, Chile, Denmark, and Hong Kong after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Results

Miss Universe 1971 participating countries and territories

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss Universe 1971	Lebanon – Georgina Rizk [10]
1st runner-up	Australia – Toni Rayward [10]
2nd runner-up	Finland – Pirjo Laitila [10]
3rd runner-up	Puerto Rico – Beba Franco [10]
4th runner-up	Brazil – Eliane Guimarães [10]
Top 12	England – Marilyn Ward [10]  France – Myriam Stocco [10]  Israel – Ester Orgad [10]  Japan – Shigeko Taketomi [10]  Spain – Josefina Román [10]  United States – Michele McDonald [10]  United States Virgin Islands – Cherrie Creque [10]

Special awards

Award	Contestant(s)
Miss Amity	Peru – Magnolia Martínez
Miss Photogenic	Philippines – Vida Doria [11]
Best National Costume	Mexico – María Luisa López [12]
Top 10 Best in Swimsuit	Australia – Toni Rayward [13]  Brazil – Eliane Guimarães [13]  England – Marilyn Ward [13]  Finland – Pirjo Laitila [13]  Israel – Ester Orgad [13]  Japan – Shigeko Taketomi [13]  Lebanon – Georgina Rizk [13]  Puerto Rico – Beba Franco [13]  United States – Michele McDonald [13]  United States Virgin Islands – Cherrie Creque [13]

Pageant

Format

Several changes were implemented in this edition. The number of semi-finalists was reduced to twelve compared to fifteen in previous years. The results of the preliminary competition and the closed-door interview determined the twelve semi-finalists selected. The twelve semi-finalists participated in the casual interview, swimsuit, and evening gown competitions. ^[10] From twelve, five finalists were shortlisted to advance to the final interview. ^{[14] [15]}

Selection committee

• Margareta Arvidsson – Miss Universe 1966 from Sweden ^[16]
• Eileen Ford – American model and founder of Ford Models ^[16]
• George Fowler – American lawyer; former New York State Commissioner for Human Rights ^[16]
• Yousuf Karsh – Armenian-Canadian photographer ^[16]
• Jean-Louis Lindekens – Belgian columnist ^[16]
• Dong Kingman – Chinese-American painter ^[16]
• Line Renaud – French actress and singer ^[16]
• Edilson Cid Varela – Brazilian journalist ^[16]
• Itsuro Watanabe – President of the Japan-America Association ^[16]
• Earl Wilson – American columnist and journalist ^[16]

Contestants

Sixty contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory	Contestant	Age [a]	Hometown
Argentina	María del Carmen Vidal [17]	21	Santa Fe
Aruba	Vallita Maduro [18]	19	Santa Cruz
Australia	Toni Rayward [19]	19	Sydney
Austria	Edeltraud Neubauer [20]	18	Vienna
Bahamas	Muriel Rahming [21]	24	Nassau
Belgium	Martine De Hert [22]	18	Antwerp
Bermuda	Rene Furbert	20	Paget Parish
Bolivia	Ana María Landívar [23]	18	Sucre
Brazil	Eliane Guimarães [24]	21	Mariana
Canada	Lana Drouillard [25]	20	Ancaster
Colombia	Piedad Mejía [26]	23	Manizales
Congo-Kinshasa	Martine Mualuke [27]	19	Kinshasa
Costa Rica	Rosa María Rivera [28]	18	San José
Curaçao	Maria Vonhogen [29]	19	Willemstad
Dominican Republic	Sagrario Reyes [30]	20	El Seibo
Ecuador	Ximena Moreno [9]	18	Quito
England	Marilyn Ann Ward [31]	21	Hampshire
Finland	Pirjo Laitila [32]	20	Helsinki
France	Myriam Stocco [33]	20	Languedoc-Roussillon
Greece	Angela Carayanni [34]	18	Athens
Guam	Linda Avila [35]	18	Mangilao
Holland	Laura Mulder-Snid [36]	18	Amsterdam
Honduras	Dunia Ortega [37]	19	Santa Bárbara
Iceland	Guðrún Valgarðsdóttir [38]	18	Skagafjörður
India	Raj Gill [39]	21	Dhule
Ireland	Marie Hughes [40]	22	Dublin
Israel	Ester Orgod [41]	19	Eilat
Italy	Mara Palvarini [42]	20	Mantua
Jamaica	Suzette Wright	19	Clarendon
Japan	Shigeko Taketomi [43]	21	Tokyo
Lebanon	Georgina Rizk [44]	18	Beirut
Luxembourg	Mariette Francoise Fay	18	Mersch
Malaysia	Yvette Maria Bateman [45]	21	Terengganu
Malta	Felicity Carbott	19	Valletta
Mexico	María Luisa López [46]	21	Mexico City
New Zealand	Linda Ritchie [47]	21	Auckland
Nicaragua	Xiomara Paguaga	20	Managua
Norway	Ruby Reitan [48]	23	Oslo
Panama	Gladys Isaza [49]	18	Panama City
Peru	Magnolia Martínez [50]	24	Lima
Philippines	Vida Doria [51]	20	Binmaley
Portugal	Maria Celmira Bauleth [52]	18	Portuguese Angola
Puerto Rico	Beba Franco [53]	24	San Juan
Scotland	Elizabeth Montgomery [54]	18	Ayr
Singapore	Jenny Wong [55]	23	Singapore
South Korea	Mi-ae Noh	19	Seoul
Spain	Josefina Román [56]	24	Cádiz
Suriname	Marcelle Darou [57]	–	Paramaribo
Sweden	Vivian Oihanen [58]	20	Vaxholm
Switzerland	Anita Andrini [59]	19	Ticino
Thailand	Warunee Sangsirinavin [60]	19	Bangkok
Trinidad and Tobago	Sally Karamath [61]	22	San Fernando
Tunisia	Aida Mzali [62]	–	Tunis
Turkey	Filiz Vural [63]	18	Istanbul
United States	Michele McDonald [64]	19	Butler
United States Virgin Islands	Cherrie Creque [65]	20	Saint Croix
Uruguay	Alba Techira [9]	18	Montevideo
Venezuela	Jeannette Donzella [9]	18	Monagas
Wales	Dawn Cater [66]	19	Cardiff
West Germany	Vera Kirst	22	Bavaria

Notes

1. Ages at the time of the pageant

References

1. "New Miss Universe knew she'd won– she peaked". Daytona Beach Morning Journal . 26 July 1971. p. 2. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
2. "Miss Universe to light up picture". The Los Angeles Times. 18 July 1971. p. 433. Retrieved 7 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
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4. "A tale of two beauties". The Palm Beach Post. 7 July 1971. p. 16. Retrieved 7 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Miss Italy and Mario say 'I don't'". Life . 23 July 1971. p. 61. Retrieved 7 October 2025– via Google Books.
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7. "Doesn't want to go home". The Pensacola News. 4 August 1970. p. 2. Retrieved 7 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Red-Bloc 'babes' may miss contest". Florida Today. 16 July 1971. pp. 8–B. Retrieved 7 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Miami, Florida". La Nacion (in Spanish). 17 July 1971. p. 12. Retrieved 7 October 2025– via Google Books.
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11. "Most photogenic". Ocala Star-Banner. 22 July 1971. pp. 1–B. Retrieved 7 October 2025– via Google News Archive.
12. "Winning national costume". Ocala Star-Banner. 22 July 1971. pp. 12–A. Retrieved 7 October 2025– via Google News Archive.
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17. "Maria del Carmen I." El Litoral (in Spanish). 4 June 1971. p. 2. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
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23. "El título les dio alegrías, trabajo y fama que aún saborean" [The title gave them joy, work and fame that they still savor.]. El Deber (in European Spanish). 29 July 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
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28. "Elegida la Miss Costa Rica que ira a Miami" [Elected the Miss Costa Rica who will go to Miami]. La Nacion (in Spanish). 10 May 1971. p. 60. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Google News Archive.
29. "Willemstad - De charmante Miss Curacao 1971, Maria Vonhögen zal vandaag naar Miami vertrekken om mee te doen aan de verkiezing van Miss Universe, die morgen begint". Amigoe di Curacao (in Dutch). 16 July 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Delpher.
30. "Beauties name Nixon "world's greatest"". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. 22 July 1971. p. 11. Retrieved 7 October 2025– via Google Books.
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32. "Urheilumissi Pirjo Laitila" [Miss Sports Pirjo Laitila]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 4 February 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
33. "Miss France 1971 : cette année de règne qui a changé la vie de la Gardoise Myriam Stocco" [Miss France 1971: this year of reign that changed the life of Gardoise Myriam Stocco]. Midi Libre (in French). 19 December 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
34. "Nobody ever sees Jackie, Ari dance". Pensacola News Journal. 21 July 1971. p. 2. Retrieved 4 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
35. "Bellezas en Miami" [Beauties in Miami]. La Nacion (in Spanish). 23 July 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 4 October 2025– via Google News Archive.
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37. Gámez, Sabino (25 April 2008). "El Miss Honduras, una historia que contar" [Miss Honduras, a story to tell]. La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 October 2025.
38. "Ekki négu mikil rauðsokka til þess að hafna keppninni" [Not enough red socks to reject the competition]. Vísir (in Icelandic). 10 May 1971. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 4 October 2025– via Tímarit.is.
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47. Whaitiri, Delilah (28 April 2021). "Local Focus: Miss Rotorua to become a reality series". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 4 October 2025.
48. "Ruby Reitan". Limburgsch Dagblad (in Dutch). 24 July 1971. p. 2. Retrieved 4 October 2025– via Delpher.
49. "Estas son las panameñas que participaron de Miss Universo". Telemetro (in Spanish). 7 January 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
50. "Miss Perú: las peruanas más bellas de las últimas décadas". El Comercio (in Spanish). 12 November 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
51. Alano, Ching M. (3 November 2002). "La dolce Vida". Philippine Star . Retrieved 9 November 2023.
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53. Berrios, Luis Ernesto (26 March 2023). "Beba Franco resalta cualidades de Marisol Malaret". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 May 2025.
54. "The U.S. is a mystery to her". Tallahassee Democrat. 23 July 1972. p. 47. Retrieved 4 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
55. "Reluctant Jenny wins the Miss Singapore-Universe title". The Straits Times . 21 July 1971. p. 24. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via National Library Board.
56. Mizell, Hubert (26 July 1971). "Miss Universe says beauty not enough". The Free Lance-Star. p. 7. Retrieved 4 October 2025– via Google Books.
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58. "Long wait". Florida Today. 19 July 1971. pp. 6–B. Retrieved 4 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
59. Meier, Simone (15 October 2015). "Liebe Schweiz, es ist wieder Missen-Zeit. Da müssen wir doch gleich mal dissen" [Dear Switzerland, it's Miss season again. We have to diss right away]. Watson (in German). Retrieved 4 October 2025.
60. "สปอร์ตไลท์ส่อง นางสาวไทยคนที่ 19 ! เปีย วารุณี ภรรยาของ ตรีทิพย์ เตลาน" [Spotlight on the 19th Miss Thailand! Pia Warunee, wife of Tritip Telan]. Dodeden.com (in Thai). 15 August 2016. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
61. Organ, Jane (14 July 1971). "Trinidad girl hard at work here training for Miss Universe event". The Montreal Gazette. p. 43. Retrieved 4 October 2025– via Google News Archive.
62. "Next to daddy, Miss Universe contestants like Nixon". The Orlando Sentinel. 22 July 1971. p. 38. Retrieved 4 October 2025– via Newspapers.com.
63. Tarihi, Güncelleme (4 May 2020). "Güzeller canlı yayında buluştu" [Beauties met on live broadcast]. Hürriyet (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2025.
64. "Miss USA Breaks Date For Prom to Win Title". The Wichita Beacon . Associated Press. May 23, 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
65. "Black girl has new hope for Miss Universe". Fort Lauderdale News. 20 July 1971. p. 32. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
66. "Family affair for beauty queens". Wales Online. 5 April 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2025.

External links

• Official website