Miss Universe 1958 was the seventh Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 25 July 1958.

Miss Universe 1958
Luz Marina Zuluaga
Date25 July 1958 (1958-07-25)
PresentersByron Palmer
VenueLong Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California, United States
BroadcasterCBS
Entrants35
Placements15
Debuts
  • Colombia
  • Poland
  • Suriname
Withdrawals
  • Austria
  • Ceylon
  • Costa Rica
  • Iceland
  • Martinique
  • Morocco
  • Philippines
  • Puerto Rico
  • Turkey
Returns
  • Australia
  • British Guiana
  • Chile
  • Denmark
  • Holland
  • Norway
  • Singapore
  • United States
  • West Indies
WinnerLuz Marina Zuluaga
 Colombia
CongenialityTomoko Moritake
 Japan
PhotogenicCorine Rottschäfer
 Holland
← 1957
1959 →

At the end of the event, Gladys Zender of Peru crowned Luz Marina Zuluaga of Colombia as Miss Universe 1958. Zuluaga was the first representative of Colombia to win the contest.[1]

Contestants from thirty-six countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Byron Palmer.

Background

Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue of Miss Universe 1958

Selection of participants

Contestants from thirty-five countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Two contestants were selected to replace the original dethroned winner.

Replacements

Luz Marina Zuluaga, the first runner-up of Señorita Colombia 1957, was appointed to replace Señorita Colombia 1957 Doris Inés Gil after it was discovered that the latter was already married.[2] June Cooper was supposed to represent England in this edition, but was dethroned after it was discovered that she did not meet the minimum age requirement.[3] Due to the dethronement of Cooper, a separate contest was held to pick a new representative of England to the contest. Wendy Peters won this contest, but was also dethroned after it was discovered that she was previously married.[4] Due to this, the pageant organizers decided to appoint Dorothy Hazeldine as the representative of England in this edition.[5]

Debuts, returns, and withdrawals

This edition saw the debuts of Colombia, Poland, and Suriname, and the returns of Australia, British Guiana, Chile, Denmark, Holland, Norway, Singapore, the United States, and the West Indies. Denmark last competed in 1953, Australia and Singapore last competed in 1954, Norway and the West Indies last competed in 1955, while the others last competed in 1956.

Austria, Ceylon, Costa Rica, Iceland, Martinique, Morocco, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Turkey withdrew. Hanni Ehrenstrasser of Austria withdrew after winning another international beauty contest.[6] Eugenia Valverde of Costa Rica withdrew after not meeting the minimum age requirement. Despite being barred from the competition, Valverde was allowed to join the preliminary competition without being scored.[7][8] Carmen Remedios Tuason of the Philippines withdrew due to her family not allowing her to join the competition.[9] Ceylon, Iceland, Martinique, Morocco, Puerto Rico, and Turkey withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Results

Placements

PlacementContestant
Miss Universe 1958
1st runner-up
2nd runner-up
3rd runner-up
4th runner-up
Top 15

Special awards

AwardContestant
Miss Friendship
  •  Japan – Tomoko Moritake
Miss Photogenic
Miss Popular Girl

Pageant

Format

Same with 1955, fifteen semi-finalists were chosen at the preliminary competition that consists of the swimsuit and evening gown competition. Each of the fifteen semi-finalists gave a short speech during the final telecast using their native languages. Afterwards, the fifteen semi-finalists paraded again in their swimsuits and evening gowns, and the five finalists were eventually chosen.[12]

Selection committee

  • David Arasik – Israeli editor of Cinema magazine[12]
  • Raul Ferrada – Chilean newspaper editor[12]
  • Jacob Gaudaur – Canadian oarsman[12]
  • Ma Ma Loa – Famous Hawaiian singer[12]
  • Miyoko Nayagita – Member of the Woman Artists Association[12]
  • Vincent Trotta – American artist[12]
  • Alberto Vargas – Peruvian-American painter known for his "Vargas Girls"[12]
  • Earl Wilson – American journalist and columnist[12]
  • Roger Zeiler – French official from the Miss Europe Committee[12]

Contestants

Miss Universe 1958 participating countries and territories

Thirty-five contestants competed for the title.[13]

Country/TerritoryContestantAge[a]Hometown
AlaskaEleanor Moses[14]20Fairbanks
 ArgentinaCelina Mercedes Ayala19Misiones
 AustraliaAstrid Lindholm[11]20Adelaide
 BelgiumLiliane Taelemans20Brussels
 BrazilAdalgisa Colombo[15]18Rio de Janeiro
 British GuianaClyo Fernandes18Georgetown
 CanadaEileen Conroy21Toronto
 ChileRaquel Molina[16]23Quilpue
 ColombiaLuz Marina Zuluaga[17]19Manizales
 CubaArminia Pérez[18]21Havana
 DenmarkEvy Norlund[19]20Copenhagen
 EcuadorAlicia Vallejo[20]22Riobamba
 EnglandDorothy Hazeldine[5]19Rochdale
 FranceMonique Boulinguez[21]21Paris
 GermanyMarlies Jung Behrens[22]19Munich
 GreeceMarily Kalimopoulou18Athens
 GuatemalaMaya GlinzGuatemala City
HawaiiGeri Hoo[23]18Honolulu
 HollandCorine Rottschäfer[11]20Amsterdam
 IsraelMiriam Hadar[24]21Jerusalem
 ItalyClara Coppola[25]20Lazio
 JapanTomoko Moritake20Nagasaki
 MexicoElvira Leticia Risser19Mexico City
 NorwayGreta Andersen[26]20Stavanger
 ParaguayGraciela Scorza[27]18Asunción
 PeruBeatriz Boluarte[28]19Lima
 PolandAlicja Bobrzowska[29]22Kraków
SingaporeMarion Willis19Singapore
 South KoreaOh Geum-soon19Seoul
 SurinameGertrud Gummels20Paramaribo
 SwedenBirgitta Elisabeth Gårdman19Stockholm
 United StatesEurlyne Howell[30]18Bossier City
 UruguayIrene Augustyniak20Montevideo
 VenezuelaIda Margarita Pieri[31]18Carúpano
 West IndiesAngela TongPort of Spain, Trinidad

Notes

  1. ^ Ages at the time of the pageant

References