Miss Universe 1978
| Miss Universe 1978 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 24 July 1978 |
| Presenters | |
| Entertainment |
|
| Venue | Centro de Convenciones de Acapulco, Acapulco, Mexico |
| Broadcaster | CBS (international) Televisa (official broadcaster) |
| Entrants | 75 |
| Placements | 12 |
| Debuts |
|
| Withdrawals |
|
| Returns |
|
| Winner | Margaret Gardiner South Africa |
| Congeniality | Sophia Titus (Trinidad and Tobago) |
| Best National Costume | Alamjeet Kaur Chauhan (India) |
| Photogenic | Maribel Guardia (Costa Rica) |
Miss Universe 1978 was the 27th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Centro de Convenciones de Acapulco in Acapulco, Mexico, on 24 July 1978. It was the first time in the pageant's history that the event was held in Mexico. Margaret Gardiner of South Africa was crowned by Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad and Tobago at the end of the event. This is the first time South Africa won the pageant.
Results
Placements
| Placement | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss Universe 1978 | |
| 1st runner-up | |
| 2nd runner-up |
|
| 3rd runner-up |
|
| 4th runner-up | |
| Top 12 |
Pageant
Judges
The following celebrities judged the final competition:[1]
- Christiane Martel – Miss Universe 1953 from France
- Dewi Sukarno – Japanese socialite and former first lady of Indonesia
- David Merrick – Tony Award-winning American theatrical producer
- Line Renaud – French singer and actress
- Miloš Forman – Film director from Czechoslovakia
- Ursula Andress – Swiss actress and sex symbol of the 1960s
- Melba Moore – American singer
- Roberto Cavalli – Italian fashion designer
- Wilhelmina Cooper – Founder of Wilhelmina Models
- Anna Moffo – American opera singer
- Mario Moreno "Cantinflas" – Mexican comedian and stage and film actor
Contestants
Seventy-five contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age[a] | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Samoa | Palepa Sio Tauliili[2] | 21 | Pago Pago |
| Argentina | Delia Muñoz | 17 | Buenos Aires |
| Aruba | Margarita Tromp[3] | 26 | Oranjestad |
| Australia | Beverley Pinder[4] | 23 | Melbourne |
| Austria | Doris Anwander | 18 | Bregenz |
| Bahamas | Dulcie Millings | 18 | Nassau |
| Barbados | Judy Miller[5] | 20 | Saint Michael |
| Belgium | Françoise Moens | 18 | Brussels |
| Belize | Christina Ysaguirre | 20 | Belmopan |
| Bermuda | Madeline Joell | 19 | Smith's Parish |
| Bolivia | Raquel Roca | 18 | Guayaramerín |
| Bonaire | Corinne Hernandez | 19 | Kralendijk |
| Brazil | Suzana Araújo | 20 | Dionísio |
| Canada | Andrea Eng | 22 | Vancouver |
| Chile | Marianne Müller | 18 | Santiago |
| Colombia | Shirley Sáenz | 18 | Bogotá |
| Costa Rica | Maribel Fernández | 19 | San José |
| Curaçao | Solange de Castro | 20 | Willemstad |
| Denmark | Anita Heske | 20 | Copenhagen |
| Dominican Republic | Raquel Josefina Jacobo | 17 | San Cristóbal |
| Ecuador | Mabel Ceballos | 18 | Guayaquil |
| El Salvador | Iris Mazorra | 18 | San Salvador |
| England | Beverly Isherwood | 19 | Bolton |
| Finland | Seija Paakkola[6] | 19 | Oulu |
| France | Brigitte Konjovic | 18 | Paris |
| French Polynesia | Pascaline Tumia Teriireoo | 19 | Papeete |
| Greece | Marieta Kountouraki | 21 | Thessaloniki |
| Guam | Mary Lois Sampson | 22 | Mangilao |
| Guatemala | Claudia María Iriarte | 20 | Guatemala City |
| Holland | Karen Gustafsson | 21 | Rotterdam |
| Honduras | Olimpia Velásquez | 20 | Tegucigalpa |
| Hong Kong | Winnie Chan | 22 | Kowloon |
| Iceland | Anna Björk Edwards | 19 | Reykjavík |
| India | Alamjeet Kaur Chauhan | 23 | New Delhi |
| Ireland | Lorraine Enriquez[7] | 19 | Dublin |
| Israel | Dorit Jellinek | 19 | Haifa |
| Italy | Andreina Mazzoti | 21 | Brescia |
| Japan | Hisako Manda | 20 | Osaka |
| Lebanon | Reine Antoine Semaan | 17 | Beirut |
| Lesotho | Joan Libuseng Khoali | 21 | Maseru |
| Malaysia | Yasmin Yusuff | 22 | Kuala Lumpur |
| Malta | Pauline Farrugia | 22 | Żebbuġ |
| Mexico | Alba Margarita Cervera | 19 | Yucatan |
| Morocco | Majida Tazi | – | Rabat |
| New Hebrides | Christine Spooner | 18 | Luganville |
| New Zealand | Jane Simmonds[8] | 21 | Auckland |
| Nicaragua | Claudia Herrera | 19 | Masaya |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Julias Salas Concepción | 17 | Saipan |
| Norway | Jeanette Aarum | 19 | Oslo |
| Panama | Diana Leticia Conte | 20 | Panama City |
| Papua New Guinea | Angelyn Muta Tukana | 21 | Bougainville |
| Paraguay | Rosa María Duarte | 26 | Asunción |
| Peru | Olga Zumarán | 19 | Lima |
| Philippines | Jennifer Cortes[9] | 17 | Manila |
| Puerto Rico | Ada Perkins | 18 | San Juan |
| Réunion | Evelyn Pongerand | 19 | La Possession |
| Saint Vincent | Gailene Collin | 22 | Kingstown |
| Scotland | Angela McLeod | 20 | Fife |
| Singapore | Annie Lee | 20 | Singapore |
| South Africa | Margaret Gardiner | 18 | Cape Town |
| South Korea | Jung-eun Shon | 23 | Seoul |
| Spain | Guillermina Ruiz | 21 | Barcelona |
| Sri Lanka | Dlirukshi Wimalasooriya | 27 | Colombo |
| Suriname | Garrance Rustwijk | 18 | Paramaribo |
| Sweden | Cécilia Rodhe | 17 | Gothenburg |
| Switzerland | Sylvia von Arx | 20 | Appenzell Innerrhoden |
| Thailand | Pornpit Sakornvijit | 23 | Bangkok |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Sophia Titus | 18 | Port of Spain |
| Turkey | Billur Lutfiye Bingol | 19 | Istanbul |
| United States | Judi Andersen | 20 | Honolulu |
| United States Virgin Islands | Barbara Henderson | 23 | Christiansted |
| Uruguay | María del Carmen da Rosa | 21 | Salto |
| Venezuela | Marisol Alfonzo | 21 | Caracas |
| Wales | Elizabeth Ann Jones | 20 | Welshpool |
| West Germany | Eva Marie Gabrielle Gottschalk | 26 | Berlin |
Notes
- ^ Ages at the time of the pageant
References
- ^ "Once More... Who's the Fairest". Los Angeles Times. July 24, 1978. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Beauties all set for big contest". The Straits Times. 24 July 1978. p. 13. Retrieved 8 February 2026 – via National Library Board.
- ^ "Miss Aruba naar Mexico" [Miss Aruba to Mexico]. Amigoe (in Dutch). 27 June 1978. p. 5. Retrieved 8 February 2026 – via Delpher.
- ^ "Choice of the week". Royal Australian Navy News. 3 November 1978. p. 3. Retrieved 8 February 2026 – via Trove.
- ^ "West Indian trio". The Virgin Islands Daily News. 17 July 1978. p. 10. Retrieved 8 February 2026 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Lindfors, Jukka (22 November 2011) [28 October 2009]. "Seija Paakkola, Miss Suomi 1978" [Seija Paakkola, Miss Finland 1978]. Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 8 February 2026.
- ^ "Miss Ireland flies out". Irish Independent. 1 July 1978. p. 11. Retrieved 17 March 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss N.Z. title goes north". The Press. Christchurch, New Zealand. 18 May 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 29 January 2026 – via Papers Past.
- ^ Lo, Ricky (16 March 2016). "Whatever happened to Jennifer Cortes?". Philippine Star. Retrieved 8 February 2026.