Miss Universe 1972

Miss Universe 1972
Kerry Anne Wells
Date	29 July 1972
Presenters	Bob Barker
Venue	Cerromar Beach Hotel, Dorado, Puerto Rico
Broadcaster	CBS (international) Telemundo (official broadcaster)
Entrants	61
Placements	12
Debuts	Iraq
Withdrawals	Lebanon Nicaragua Panama Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia
Returns	Chile Denmark El Salvador Hong Kong Paraguay
Winner	Kerry Anne Wells Australia
Congeniality	Ombayi Mukuta (Zaire)
Best National Costume	Carmen Ampuero (Peru)
Photogenic	Anne-Marie Roger (Belgium)
←  1971 1973  →

Miss Universe 1972 was the 21st Miss Universe pageant, held at the Cerromar Beach Hotel in Dorado, Puerto Rico on 29 July 1972. ^[1] It was the first edition to be held outside the continental United States.

At the end of the event, Miss Universe 1970 Marisol Malaret crowned Kerry Anne Wells of Australia as Miss Universe 1972. ^[1] It is the first victory of Australia in the pageant's history. Georgina Rizk of Lebanon, was not allowed to crown her successor due to government restrictions because of fears of a terrorist attack. ^[2]

Contestants from sixty-one countries and territories participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Bob Barker in his sixth consecutive year, while Helen O'Connell provided commentary and analysis throughout the event. ^[3]

Selection of participants

Debuts, returns, and, withdrawals

This edition saw the debut of Iraq ^[4] and the return of Chile, Denmark, El Salvador, Hong Kong and Paraguay: El Salvador, which last competed in 1955 and Chile, Denmark, Hong Kong and Paraguay in 1970.

Lebanon, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and Tunisia, withdrew from the competition.

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss Universe 1972	Australia – Kerry Anne Wells [5]
1st runner-up	Brazil – Rejane Costa [5]
2nd runner-up	Venezuela – María Antonieta Cámpoli [5]
3rd runner-up	Israel – Ilana Goren [5]
4th runner-up	England - Jennifer McAdam [5]
Top 12	Belgium – Anne-Marie Roger [5] India – Roopa Satyan [5] Japan – Harumi Maeda [5] Peru – Carmen Amelia Ampuero [5] Philippines – Armi Barbara Crespo [5] United States – Tanya Wilson [5] West Germany – Heidemarie Weber [5]

Contestants

Miss Universe 1972 participating countries and territories.

Sixty-one contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory	Contestant	Age [a]	Hometown
Argentina	Norma Dudik [6]	22	Buenos Aires
Aruba	Ivonne Dirksz [7]	18	Oranjestad
Australia	Kerry Anne Wells [8]	20	Perth
Austria	Uschi Pacher	21	Carinthia
Bahamas	Deborah Jane Taylor	22	Bimini
Belgium	Anne-Marie Roger [9]	24	Brussels
Bermuda	Helen Brown	18	St. George's
Bolivia	María Alicia Vargas [10]	19	Santa Cruz
Brazil	Rejane Vieira Costa	18	Cachoeira do Sul
Canada	Bonny Brady	19	Ontario
Chile	Consuelo Fernández	18	Santiago
Colombia	María Luisa Lignarolo [11]	19	Atlántico
Costa Rica	Vicki Ross González	22	San José
Curaçao	Ingrid Prade	19	Willemstad
Denmark	Marianne Schmidt	18	Copenhagen
Dominican Republic	Ivonne Butler	–	La Romana
Ecuador	Susana Castro	19	Quito
El Salvador	Ruth Eugenia Romero	–	San Salvador
England	Jennifer McAdam [12]	24	London
Finland	Maj-Len Eriksson	19	Helsinki
France	Claudine Cassereau	19	Poitou
Greece	Nansy Kapetanaki	19	Athens
Guam	Patricia Alvarez	18	Yigo
Holland	Jenny Ten Wolde [13]	25	The Hague
Honduras	Doris Alicia Roca	19	Cortés
Hong Kong	Rita Leung	–	Hong Kong
Iceland	María Kristín Jóhannesdóttir	19	Reykjavík
India	Roopa Satyan	18	Bangalore
Iraq	Wijdan Burhan El-Deen Sulyman [14]	18	Baghdad
Ireland	Maree McGlinchey	22	Donegal
Israel	Ilana Goren [15]	19	Kiryat Motzkin
Italy	Isabela Specia	20	Milan
Jamaica	Grace Marilyn Wright [16]	–	Kingston
Japan	Harumi Maeda [17]	21	Tokyo
Luxembourg	Anita Heck	–	Esch-sur-Alzette
Malaysia	Helen Looi Eng	22	Georgetown
Malta	Doris Abdilla	21	Birżebbuġa
Mexico	María del Carmen Orozco	18	Chihuahua
New Zealand	Kristine Allen	19	Auckland
Norway	Liv Olsen	–	Oslo
Paraguay	María Stela Volpe	19	Asunción
Peru	Carmen Ampuero [18]	18	Lima
Philippines	Armi Crespo [19]	18	Manila
Portugal	Iris Maria Rosario Dos Santos	18	Portuguese Mozambique
Puerto Rico	Bárbara Torres	18	Santurce
Scotland	Elizabeth Stevely	20	Glasgow
Singapore	Jacqueline Han [20]	21	Singapore
South Korea	Park Yeon-joo	20	Seoul
Spain	María del Carmen Muñoz [21]	18	Madrid
Suriname	Carmen Muntslag	–	Paramaribo
Sweden	Britt Marie Johansson	19	Trångsund
Switzerland	Anneliese Weber	–	Zürich
Thailand	Nipapat Sudsiri [22]	21	Kanchanaburi
Turkey	Neslihan Sunay	18	Eskişehir
United States	Tanya Wilson [23]	22	Honolulu
United States Virgin Islands	Carol Krieger [24]	18	Saint Croix
Uruguay	Christina Moller	20	Montevideo
Venezuela	María Antonieta Cámpoli	18	Nueva Esparta
Wales	Eileen Darroch	21	Caerwys
West Germany	Heidemarie Weber	24	Brandenburg
Zaire	Ombayi Mukuta	18	Kinshasa

Notes

1. Ages at the time of the pageant

References

1. "Weather Girl, 20, Wins Beauty Title". Fort Worth Star-Telegram . Associated Press. 30 Jul 1972. p. 6. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
2. "A 'no' for sake of safety". New Nation. 14 July 1972. p. 3. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via National Library Board.
3. Kleiner, Dick (27 November 1972). "Bob Barker busier than ever". Dayton Daily News. p. 27. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Iraq: Historic beauty contest finally held". africanews . 21 December 2015. Archived from the original on 14 April 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
5. "Australia new Miss Universe". Democrat and Chronicle. 30 July 1972. p. 7. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Pigeon park". The Lawton Constitution And Morning Press. 23 July 1972. p. 39. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Yvonne Dirksz elected Miss Aruba at Holiday Inn Hotel July 1". Aruba Esso News. 14 July 1972. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Digital Library of the Caribbean.
8. "She's Miss Dream Girl". New Nation. 13 September 1971. p. 5. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via National Library Board.
9. "Vying for title". Evening Herald. 19 July 1972. p. 6. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Miss Bolivia's hairdresser: aunt from Brevard". The Orlando Sentinel. 27 July 1972. p. 45. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
11. Castellanos, Gonzalo (15 November 1971). "Llego la hora del despegue de la mujer". El Tiempo (in Spanish). pp. 1, 24-A. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Google News Archive.
12. "Miss England comes up for air". The Charlotte Observer. 30 July 1972. p. 2. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Haagse 'Miss Holland'". Trouw (in Dutch). 8 May 1972. p. 2. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Delpher.
14. "Pageant entries". The Sedalia Democrat. 18 July 1972. p. 5. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
15. "Time for top girls". The Australian Jewish News. 14 July 1972. p. 1. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via National Library of Israel.
16. "It's not all glamour". The Morning Call. 28 July 1972. p. 4. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
17. "Puerto Rico viel mee". Het vrije volk (in Dutch). 25 July 1972. p. 3. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Delpher.
18. "Reinas de belleza en acto benéfico". La República (in Spanish). 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 31 December 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
19. Tayag, Voltaire (6 June 2019). "The Binibining Pilipinas legacy through the years". Rappler . Retrieved 9 November 2023.
20. "Jacqueline pulang ka-tanah ayer" [Jacqueline went home to Tanah Ayer]. Berita Harian (in Malay). 7 August 1972. p. 1. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via National Library Board.
21. ""Maku" en Puerto Rico" ["Maku" in Puerto Rico]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). 25 July 1972. p. 22. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Google News Archive.
22. "Miss Thailand". The Ithaca Journal. 24 July 1972. p. 28. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Newspapers.com.
23. "Hawaii Lass Crowned Miss USA Saturday". Lodi News-Sentinel. 22 May 1972. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Google News Archive.
24. "Miss Virgin Islands". The Virgin Islands Daily News . 25 June 1972. p. 8. Retrieved 9 November 2023– via Google News Archive.

External links

• Miss Universe official website