Miss Universe 1977

Miss Universe 1977, the 26th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 16 July 1977 at the National Theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It was the first time in the pageant's history that the event was held in Dominican Republic. Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad and Tobago was crowned by Rina Messinger of Israel at the end of the event. This was the first time a Black woman won Miss Universe.[1] African American singer Dionne Warwick, one of the 12 judges, burst into tears when Commissiong won.[1]

Miss Universe 1977
Miss Universe 1977 Janelle Commissiong
Date16 July 1977
Presenters
VenueNational Theater, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Broadcaster
Entrants80
Placements12
Debuts
Withdrawals
Returns
WinnerJanelle Commissiong
 Trinidad and Tobago
CongenialityPamela Mercer
 Canada
Best National CostumeKim Sung-hee
 Korea
PhotogenicJanelle Commissiong
 Trinidad and Tobago

The other judges were Dominican industrialist José Armando Bermúdez, fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, model Wilhelmina Cooper, actress Linda Cristal, film producer Robert Evans, film and television producer Howard W. Koch, Miss Universe 1970, Marisol Malaret of Puerto Rico, and photographer Gordon Parks.[1]

Miss Universe was then owned by Gulf+Western Industries.

Results

Placements
Placement Contestant
Miss Universe 1977
1st runner-up
2nd runner-up
3rd runner-up
4th runner-up
Top 12

Special awards
Award Contestant
Miss Amity
Miss Photogenic

Contestants
Miss Universe 1977 participating countries and territories

80 contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown
 American Samoa Virginia Caroline Suka 17 Pago Pago
 Antigua Sheryl Ann Gibbons 20 St. John's
 Argentina Maritza Jurado 24 La Plata
 Aruba Margareth Eldrith Oduber 22 Oranjestad
 Australia Jill Minaham 19 Melbourne
 Austria Eva Düringer 18 Bodensee
 Bahamas Paulette Borghardt 20 Nassau
 Barbados Margaret Rouse 18 Saint James
 Belgium Claudine Vasseur 18 Brussels
 Belize Dora Maria Phillips 18 Belmopan
 Bermuda Connie Marie Frith 23 St. George's Parish
 Bolivia Liliana Gutiérrez 18 Santa Cruz de la Sierra
 Brazil Cássia Janys Moraes Silveira 21 Indaiatuba
 British Virgin Islands Andria Norman 21 Road Town
 Canada Pamela Mercer 20 Burnaby
 Chile Priscilla Brenner 18 Santiago
 Colombia Aura María Mojica 18 Valle de Cauca
 Costa Rica Claudia Maria Garnier 18 San José
 Curaçao Regine Tromp 22 Willemstad
 Denmark Inge Erlandsen 23 Copenhagen
 Dominican Republic Blanca Aurora Sardiñas 23 Santo Domingo
 Ecuador Lucía del Carmen Hernández[2] 18 Chone
 El Salvador Altagracia Arévalo 19 San Salvador
 England Sarah Louise Long 19 Bristol
 Finland Armi Aavikko 18 Helsinki
 France Véronique Fagot 17 Poitou
 French Guiana Evelyne Randel 17 Cayenne
 Germany Marie-Luise Gassen 24 Munich
 Greece Maria Spantidaki – Athens
 Guadeloupe Catherine Reinette – Basse-Terre
 Guam Lisa Ann Caso 20 Agana
 Haiti Françoise Elie 19 Port-au-Prince
 Holland Ineke Berends 25 Amsterdam
 Honduras Carolina Rosa Rauscher 19 Siguatepeque
 Hong Kong Loletta Chu 18 Hong Kong
 Iceland Kristjana Þrainsdóttir 24 Reykjavík
 India Bineeta Bose 18 Delhi
 Indonesia Siti Mirza Nuria Arifin 24 Palembang
 Ireland Jakki Moore 18 Dublin
 Israel Zehava Vardi 21 Haifa
 Italy Paola Biasini 22 Milan
 Japan Kyoko Sato 19 Tokyo
 Lebanon Hyam Saadé – Beirut
 Liberia Welma Campbell 21 Monrovia
 Malaysia Leong Li Ping 23 Ipoh
 Malta Jane Saliba 18 Żurrieq
 Mauritius Danielle Marie Bouic 22 Port Louis
 Mexico Felicia Mercado 17 Baja California
 New Zealand Donna Anne Schultze 20 Auckland
 Nicaragua Beatriz Obregón 18 Rivas
 Northern Mariana Islands Margarita Camacho 19 Saipan
 Norway Åshild Jenny Ottesen 22 Oslo
 Panama Marina Valenciano 19 Panama City
 Papua New Guinea Sayah Karakuru 24 Port Moresby
 Paraguay María Leticia Zarza 17 Concepción
 Peru María Isabel Frías 22 Lima
 Philippines Anna Lorraine Kier 17 Baguio
 Puerto Rico Maria del Mar Rivera 20 Ponce
 Réunion Yolaine Morel – Saint-Denis
 Saint Kitts Annette Frank 20 Basseterre
 Saint Lucia Iva-Lua Mendes 18 Castries
 Scotland Sandra Bell 18 Glasgow
 Singapore Marilyn Choon 17 Singapore
 Sint Maarten Marie Madeleine Boirard 19 Philipsburg
 South Africa Glynis Fester 19 Cape Town
 South Korea Kim Sung-hee 18 Seoul
 Spain Luz María Polegre 19 Tenerife
 Sri Lanka Sobodhini Nagesan 19 Colombo
 Suriname Marlene Roesmienten Saimo 19 Paramaribo
 Sweden Birgitta Lindvall 21 Luleå
  Switzerland Anja Kristin Terzi 17 Geneva
France Tahiti Donna Aunoa – Papeete
 Thailand Laddawan Intriya – Bangkok
 Trinidad and Tobago Janelle Commissiong 24 Port of Spain
 United States Kimberly Tomes[3] 21 Houston
 United States Virgin Islands Denise George 17 Charlotte Amalie
 Uruguay Adriana María Umpierre 19 Salto
 Venezuela Cristal Montañez 17 Caracas
 Wales Christine Anne Murphy 23 Swansea
 Yugoslavia Ljiljana Sobajić – Belgrade

Notes

Debuts

Returns

Last competed in 1962:

Last competed in 1975:

Withdrawals

Did not Compete

References
  1. "Miss Trinidad 1st black Miss Universe". The Times. 17 Jul 1977. p. 18. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  2. "Ana Lucía Cevallos, una candidata fotógrafa y diseñadora" [Ana Lucía Cevallos, a photographer and designer candidate]. El Universo (in Spanish). 13 February 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  3. "Miss Texas Wins Miss America (sic) Title". Ventura County Star. May 15, 1977. p. 9. Retrieved 26 July 2023. (Article content makes it clear they mean Miss USA, but the title does say Miss America.)
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