Miss Universe 1978

Miss Universe 1978
Date	July 24, 1978
Presenters	Bob Barker, Helen O'Connell and Corinna Tsopei
Entertainment	Robert Goulet and Violines Mágicos de Villafontana
Venue	Centro de Convenciones de Acapulco, Acapulco, Mexico
Broadcaster	CBS, Televisa
Entrants	75
Placements	12
Debuts	Lesotho, New Hebrides
Withdraws	Antigua, British Virgin Islands, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Indonesia, Liberia, Mauritius, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten
Returns	Bonaire, Guatemala, Morocco, St. Vincent
Winner	Margaret Gardiner  South Africa
Congeniality	Sophia Titus  Trinidad & Tobago
Best National Costume	Alamjeet Kaur Chauhanti  India
Photogenic	Maribel Fernández  Costa Rica

Miss Universe 1978, the 27th Miss Universe pageant, was held at Centro de Convenciones de Acapulco, Acapulco, Mexico on July 24, 1978. Seventy-five contestants competed in the event.

18-year-old Margaret Gardiner of South Africa was crowned Miss Universe 1978 by outgoing titleholder Janelle Commissiong, earning South Africa's first Miss Universe crown. This was the first time in the history of the pageant that the judges' scores were televised.

This particular Miss Universe pageant marked the first Mexican—and Televisa—appearance for 19-year-old Maribel Fernandez Garcia. She would become the most immediate success story from this pageant. Within a year of this pageant, she signed to appear in a Vicente Fernández movie, and, because there was already a Mexican actress named Maribel Fernandez, she signed with the network under her new stage name of Maribel Guardia.

Results

Placements

Countries and territories which sent delegates and results.

Results	Contestant
Miss Universe 1978	South Africa - Margaret Gardiner
1st Runner-up	USA - Judi Andersen
2nd Runner-up	Spain - Guillermina Ruiz Domenech
3rd Runner-up	Colombia - Mary Shirley Sáenz Starnes
4th Runner-up	Sweden - Cecilia Rhode
Top 12	Belgium - Françoise Hélène Julia Moens  Chile - Marianne Müller Prieto  Israel - Dorit Jellinek  Mexico - Alba Margarita Cervera Labat  Ireland - Lorraine Bernadette Enriquez  Peru - Olga Roxana Zumarán Burga  Holland - Karen Ingrid Gustafsson

Semifinal scores

Delegate Interview Swimsuit Evening Gown Average  USA 8.155 (1) 7.855 (1) 7.482 (2) 7.831 (1)  Sweden 7.518 (2) 7.300 (2) 7.355 (3) 7.391 (2)  Spain 6.500 (5) 6.870 (3) 7.545 (1) 6.972 (3)  South Africa 6.791 (3) 6.590 (4) 6.373 (5) 6.685 (4)  Colombia 6.645 (4) 6.282 (6) 6.545 (4) 6.491 (5)  Belgium 6.230 (6) 6.364 (5) 5.709 (6) 6.101 (6)  Chile 5.703 (7) 5.064 (7) 4.536 (9) 4.891 (7)  Israel 5.260 (9) 4.280 (8) 4.945 (7) 4.828 (8)  Mexico 5.320 (8) 3.260 (11) 4.145 (10) 4.242 (9)  Ireland 3.889 (12) 3.800 (9) 4.756 (8) 4.148 (10)  Peru 4.422 (10) 3.718 (10) 3.573 (11) 3.904 (11)  Holland 3.911 (11) 2.890 (12) 3.573 (11) 3.458 (12)

Winner      First Runner-up      Second Runner-up      Third Runner-up      Fourth Runner-up      Top 12 Semifinalist (#) Rank in each round of competition

Special awards

Award	Contestant
Best National Costume	India - Alamjeet Kaur Chauhan  South Korea - Jung-eun Shon  Malaysia - Yasmin Yussuf
Miss Congeniality	Trinidad & Tobago - Sophia Titus
Miss Photogenic	Costa Rica - Maribel Fernández
Miss Press	Aruba - Margarita Marieta Tromp

Judges

The following celebrities judged the final competition:^[1]

• Christiane Martel – Miss Universe 1953
• 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 – Founder of Wilhelmina Models
• Anna Moffo – American opera singer
• Mario Moreno "Cantinflas" – Mexican comedian and stage and film actor

Contestants

Argentina – Delia Stella Maris Muñoz  Aruba – Margarita Marieta Tromp  Australia – Beverly Frances Pinder  Austria – Doris Elizabeth Anwander  Bahamas – Dulcie Louise Millings  Barbados – Judy Margot Miller  Belgium – Françoise Hélène Julia Moens  Belize – Christina Margarita Ysaguirre  Bermuda – Madeline Francine Joell  Bolivia – Raquel Roca Kuikanaga  Bonaire - Corinne Rosseley Hernandez  Brazil – Suzana Araújo dos Santos  Canada – Andrea Leslie Eng  Chile – Marianne Müller Prieto  Colombia – Mary Shirley Sáenz Starnes  Costa Rica – Maribel Fernández García  Curaçao – Solange Abigail de Castro  Denmark – Anita Heske  Dominican Republic – Raquel Josefina Jacobo Jaar  Ecuador – Mabel Ceballos Sangster  El Salvador – Iris Ivette Mazorra Castro  England – Beverly Isherwood  Finland – Seija Kaarina Paakkola  France – Brigitte Konjovic  Germany – Eva Marie Gabrielle Gottschalk  Greece – Marieta Kountouraki  Guam – Mary Lois Sampson  Guatemala – Claudia María Iriarte  Holland – Karen Ingrid Gustafsson  Honduras – Olimpia Velásquez Medina  Hong Kong – Winnie Chan Man-Yuk  Iceland – Anna Björk Edwards  India – Alamjeet Kaur Chauhan  Ireland – Lorraine Bernadette Enriquez  Israel – Dorit Jellinek  Italy – Andreina Mazzoti  Japan – Hisako Manda  Korea – Jung-eun Shon

Lebanon – Reine Antoine Semaan  Lesotho – Joan Libuseng Khoali  Malaysia – Yasmin Yussuf  Malta – Pauline Lewise Farrugia  Mexico – Alba Margarita Cervera Labat  Morocco – Majida Tazi  New Hebrides – Christine Spooner  New Zealand – Jane Simmonds  Nicaragua – Claudia Herrera Cortés  Northern Marianas – Julias Salas Concepción  Norway – Jeanette Aarum  Panama – Diana Leticia Conte Vergara  Papua New Guinea – Angelyn Muta Tukana  Paraguay – Rosa María Duarte Melgarejo  Peru – Olga Roxana Zumarán Burga  Philippines – Jennifer Mitcheck Cortes  Puerto Rico – Ada Cecilia Flores Perkins  Réunion – Evelyn Pongerand  Samoa - Palepa Sio Tauliili  Scotland – Angela Mary Kate McLeod  Singapore – Annie Mei Ling Lee  South Africa – Margaret Gardiner  Spain – Guillermina Ruiz Domenech  Sri Lanka – Dlirukshi Wimalasooriya St. Vincent – Gailene Collin  Surinam – Garrance Harriette Rustwijk  Sweden – Cecilia Rhode  Switzerland – Sylvia von Arx  Tahiti – Pascaline Tumia Teriireoo  Thailand – Pornpit Sakornujit  Trinidad & Tobago – Sophia Titus  Turkey – Billur Lutfiye Bingol  Uruguay – María del Carmen da Rosa  USA – Judi Lois Andersen  Venezuela – Marisol Alfonzo Marcano Virgin Islands – Barbara Henderson  Wales – Elizabeth Ann Jones

Withdraws

Antigua - Nadine Defraites  British Virgin Islands  French Guiana  Grenada - Margaret Prudome  Guadeloupe - Mlue Debor  Haiti  Indonesia

Liberia  Martinique - Catherine Marlin  Mauritius - Maria Ingrid Desmarais St. Kitts  St. Lucia  St. Maarten

References

1. ^ "Once More... Who's the Fairest". Los Angeles Times. July 24, 1978. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/670176612.html?dids=670176612:670176612&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+24%2C+1978&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Once+More...+Who's+the+Fairest&pqatl=google. Retrieved 10 July 2011. 

External links

• Official Miss Universe website