Miss World 1953

Miss World 1953
Denise Perrier
Date	19 October 1953
Presenters	Eric Morley
Venue	Lyceum Ballroom, London, United Kingdom
Entrants	15
Placements	5
Debuts	Ceylon Egypt Greece Israel Monte Carlo Norway
Withdrawals	Ireland
Winner	Denise Perrier France
←  1952 1954  →

Miss World 1953 was the third Miss World pageant, held at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom on 19 October 1953.

At the end of the event, Denise Perrier of France was announced as Miss World 1953. ^{[1] [2]} This is the first and so far, only victory of France in the history of the pageant. Perrier was also the first Miss World winner to wear a Miss World sash.

Contestants from fifteen countries participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Eric Morley.

Background

Selection of participants

Fifteen contestants were selected to compete in the pageant. One contestant was appointed to represent her country after being a runner-up in her national pageant, while one contestant was appointed to replace the original winner. ^[3]

Replacements

Miss Egypt 1953 Antigone Costanda supposedly competed in this edition. However, due to undisclosed reasons, she was replaced by her 1st runner-up, Marina Papaelia. Costanda eventually competed in the following edition and won, where she dedicated her win to Papelia by shouting "Viva, viva, Marina Papaelia". ^[4]

Since Miss France 1953 Sylviane Carpentier chose not compete in Miss World and Miss Universe to get married, ^[3] two separate pageants were selected to send French representatives to Miss World and Miss Universe. The Miss Cinémonde pageant was in charge of selecting the French representative to Miss Universe, while the organizers of the French Committee of Elegance was in charge of selecting the French representative of Miss World. Denise Perrier was eventually chosen as the representative of France to Miss World, while Christiane Martel was chosen as the representative of France to Miss Universe. ^[5] Both won their respective international pageants. ^[6]

Debuts and withdrawals

This edition marked the debuts of Ceylon, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Monte-Carlo, and Norway. Mary Murphy of Ireland withdrew after getting ill.

Sepia Degehet of Belgium supposedly competed in the pageant, but withdrew due to the controversy her predecessor Anne-Marie Pauwels made in the pageant. She was only sent to Miss Europe. ^{[7] [8]} Marcella Mariani of Italy supposedly competed as well, but withdrew in order to focus on her acting career. ^[9] Lore Felger of Austria and Leyla Saroufin of Lebanon also supposedly competed, but withdrew due to lack of sponsors. ^[10]

Results

Miss World 1953 participating countries

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss World 1953	France – Denise Perrier [11]
1st runner-up	Greece – Alexandra Ladikou [11]
2nd runner-up	Egypt – Marina Papaelia [11]
3rd runner-up	Ceylon – Manel Illangakoon [11]
4th runner-up	United States – Mary Kemp Griffin [11]

Contestants

Fifteen contestants competed for the title.

Country	Contestant	Age [a]	Hometown
Ceylon	Manel Illangkoon [12]	20	Colombo
Denmark	Ingrid Andersen	21	Copenhagen
Egypt	Marina Papaelia [13]	20	Cairo
Finland	Maija-Riitta Tuomaala [14]	19	Helsinki
France	Denise Perrier [15]	18	Ambérieu-en-Bugey
Great Britain	Brenda Mee [16]	20	Derby
Greece	Alexandra Ladikou	20	Kavala
Holland	Yvonne Meijer [17]	20	Haarlem
Israel	Chavatzelet Dror [18]	19	Tel-Aviv
Monte Carlo	Elizabeth Chovisky [19]	18	Monte Carlo
Norway	Synnøve Gulbrandsen [20]	23	Oslo
Sweden	Ingrid Johansson	18	Stockholm
Switzerland	Odette Michel	19	Zürich
United States	Mary Kemp Griffin	23	Los Angeles
West Germany	Wilma Kanders [21]	20	Düsseldorf

Notes

1. Age at the time of the pageant

Debuts

•   Ceylon – Manel Illangakoon
•   Egypt – Marina Papaelia
•   Greece – Alexandra Ladikou
•   Israel – Chavatzelet Dror
•   Monte Carlo – Elizabeth Chovisky
•   Norway – Synnøve Gulbrandsen

Withdrawals

•   Ireland – Mary Murphy (Getting ill)

Did not compete

•   Austria – Lore Felger (Due to lack of sponsors)
•   Belgium – Sepia Degehet (Due to controversy predecessor between Anne-Marie Pauwels in Miss World 1952)
•   Italy – Marcella Mariani (Focus on acting career)
•   Lebanon – Leyla Saroufin (Due to lack of sponsors)

References

1. "Denise, 18, elected 'Miss World'". The Straits Times. 21 October 1953. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2024– via National Library Board.
2. "She's Miss World". Daily News. 19 October 1953. p. 74. Retrieved 5 March 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Sylviane Carpentier, Miss France 1953, est décédée" [Sylviane Carpentier, Miss France 1953, has died]. Le Dauphine (in French). 17 October 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
4. ""Miss Egypt" is now "Miss World"". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 21 October 1954. p. 5. Retrieved 5 March 2024– via Trove.
5. "Miss Cinema is niet mis!" [Miss Cinema is not wrong!]. Het vrije volk (in Dutch). 26 June 1953. p. 1. Retrieved 10 May 2023– via Delpher.
6. "French Girl Wins "Miss Universe" Title". Indian Daily Mail. 20 July 1953. p. 4. Retrieved 10 May 2023– via National Library Board.
7. "Erelijst Miss België". De Morgen (in Dutch). 11 January 2010. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
8. "Op weg naar de titel "Miss Europa"" [On the way to the title “Miss Europe"]. Nieuw Utrechtsch dagblad (in Dutch). 1 September 1953. p. 5. Retrieved 1 January 2024– via Delpher.
9. Veronese, Massimo (26 August 2020). "Marcella Mariani, la tragica Miss Italia che perse la vita al posto della Loren" [Marcella Mariani, the tragic Miss Italia who lost her life in Loren's place]. Il Giornale (in Italian). Retrieved 5 March 2024.
10. "Aspira al titolo di Miss Mondo" [Aspire to the title of Miss World]. La Stampa (in Italian). 10 June 1953. p. 1. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
11. "Paris cutie gains "Miss World" title". News-Press. 20 October 1953. p. 1. Retrieved 8 December 2022– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Mrs. Sri Lanka World 2020: Crowned, de-crowned & re-crowned". Daily Mirror. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
13. "Miss Egypt peps things up with a bikini". The Singapore Free Press. 19 October 1953. p. 2. Retrieved 5 March 2024– via National Library Board.
14. De Rybel, Seija (8 September 2006). "Maija-Riitta Tuomaala. Miss Suomi 1953". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 5 March 2024.
15. Jaegle, Yves (18 August 2012). "C'est notre seule Miss Monde" [She's our only Miss World]. Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 5 March 2024.
16. "But—there's a chance for Miss Dee". The Singapore Free Press. 24 August 1953. p. 10. Retrieved 5 March 2024– via National Library Board.
17. ""Miss Holland" naar Turkije" ["Miss Holland" to Turkey]. Nieuwe Tilburgsche courant (in Dutch). 29 August 1953. p. 9. Retrieved 5 March 2024– via Delpher.
18. "Miss Israel '53". The Jewish News of Northern California. 14 August 1953. p. 4. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2024– via The National Library of Israel.
19. "Not Beautiful Enough!". Mirror. 23 January 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 5 March 2024– via Trove.
20. "Concorrenti al titolo di Miss Mondo" [Contestants for the title of Miss World]. La Stampa (in Italian). 15 October 1953. p. 3. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
21. "Sara' la piu' bella?" [Will it be the most beautiful?]. La Nuova Stampa (in Italian). 18 October 1953. p. 6. Retrieved 5 March 2024– via La Stampa.

External links

• Miss World official website