Miss Universe 1957

Miss Universe 1957 was the sixth Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 19 July 1957.

Gladys Zender of Peru won the contest, and was crowned by Carol Morris of the United States. Zender was the first representative of Peru to win the contest.

After her win, it was revealed that Zender was only seventeen years old, five months under the contest's minimum age requirement of eighteen. Pageant officials decided that she could keep the crown after they were told she was considered to be eighteen in her country due to an old custom explained to them by the then-Peruvian ambassador to the United States, Fernando Berckemeyer Pazos.

Contestants from thirty-two countries and territories competed in the pageant. It was hosted by Bob Russell for the sixth time.

Background

File:LBarena.jpg

Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue of Miss Universe 1957

Selection of participants

Contestants from thirty-two countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. It was the first where women who were married and had children could not compete, which in turn became the reason why one candidate was disqualified after the preliminary competition. One contestant was selected to replace the original winner.

Debuts, returns, and withdrawals

This edition saw the debuts of Martinique, Morocco, and Paraguay, and the returns of Austria, Ceylon, Hawaii, and South Korea. Austria and Hawaii last competed in 1953, while Ceylon and South Korea last competed in 1955. British Guiana, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Holland, and the United States withdrew. Corine Rottschäfer of Holland was due to compete, however she had just won another international contest that barred her entry. Rottschäfer competed the following year. British Guiana, Chile, and the Dominican Republic withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Disqualification of Miss USA

Leona Gage, Miss USA 1957, was announced as one of the fifteen semi-finalists, but was removed from the contest on the afternoon before the final after it was discovered that she was married and the mother of two young children. Miss Argentina, Mónica Lamas, who was sixteenth in the preliminary competition, replaced Gage. Gage was also stripped of her Miss USA title, and was replaced by Charlotte Sheffield of Utah. Sheffield was unable to compete because the preliminary competition had already taken place. Sheffield competed at Miss World 1957, and was unplaced.

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss Universe 1957	Template:Flagu – Gladys Zender
1st runner-up	Template:Flagu – Terezinha Morango
2nd runner-up	Template:Flagu – Sonia Hamilton
3rd runner-up	Template:Flagu – María Gamio
4th runner-up	Template:Flagu – Gerti Daub
Top 15	Template:Flagu – Martha Lehmann Template:Flagu – Mónica Lamas Template:Flagu – Hannerl Melcher Template:Flagu – Gloria Noakes Template:Flagu – Ligia Karavia Template:Flagu – Valeria Fabrizi Template:Flagu – Kyoko Otani Template:Flagu – Jacqueline Bonilla Template:Flagu – Inger Jonsson Template:Flagu – Gabriela Pascal

Special awards

Award	Contestant
Miss Friendship	Template:Flagu – Mapita Mercado
Miss Photogenic	Template:Flagu – Gerti Daub
Miss Popular Girl	Template:Flagu – Gloria Noakes

Pageant

Format

As with 1955, fifteen semi-finalists were chosen at the preliminary competition that consisted of a swimsuit and evening gown competition. Each of the fifteen semi-finalists then gave a short speech during the final broadcast in their native language. Afterward, they paraded in their swimsuits and evening gowns, and the five finalists were chosen.

Selection committee

• Earl Wilson – American journalist and columnist
• Alberto Vargas – Peruvian-American painter known for his "Vargas Girls"
• Vincent Trotta – American artist
• Lois J. Swanson
• Roger Zeiler – French official from the Miss Europe Committee

Contestants

File:Miss Universe 1957 Map.PNG

Miss Universe 1957 participating countries and territories

Thirty-two contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory	Contestant	AgeTemplate:Efn	Hometown
Template:Flagicon Alaska	Martha Lehmann	18	Fairbanks
Template:Flagicon Argentina	Mónica Lamas	20	Buenos Aires
Template:Flagicon Austria	Hannerl Melcher	19	Vienna
Template:Flagicon Belgium	Janine Hanotiau	19	Brussels
Template:Flagicon Brazil	Terezinha Morango	20	São Paulo de Olivença
Template:Flagicon Canada	Gloria Noakes	18	Toronto
Template:Flagicon Ceylon	Camellia Perera	23	Colombo
Template:Flagicon Costa Rica	Sonia Cristina Icaza	18	San José
Template:Flagicon Cuba	María Rosa Gamio	19	Havana
Template:Flagicon Ecuador	Patricia Benítez	19	Guayaquil
Template:Flagicon England	Sonia Hamilton	23	London
Template:Flagicon France	Lisa Simon	22	Argenteuil
Template:Flagicon Greece	Ligia Karavia	18	Athens
Template:Flagicon Guatemala	Ana Walda Olyslager	18	Guatemala City
Template:Flagicon Hawaii	Ramona Tong	19	Honolulu
Template:Flagicon Iceland	Bryndís Schram	19	Reykjavik
Template:Flagicon Israel	Atara Barzilay	18	Tel Aviv
Template:Flagicon Italy	Valeria Fabrizi	21	Bologna
Template:Flagicon Japan	Kyoko Otani	21	Tokyo
Template:Flagicon Martinique	Ginette Cidalise-Montaise	18	Fort-de-France
Template:Flagicon Mexico	Irma Arévalo	19	Mexico City
Template:Flagicon Morocco	Jacqueline Bonilla	19	Casablanca
Template:Flagicon Paraguay	Lucy Montanero	19	Asuncion
Template:Flagicon Peru	Gladys Zender	17	Lima
Template:Flagicon Philippines	Mary Ann Corrales	21	Manila
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico	Mapita Mercado	18	Santurce
Template:Flagicon South Korea	Park Hyun-ok	21	Seoul
Template:Flagicon Sweden	Inger Jonsson	20	Malmö
Template:Flagicon Turkey	Güler Sirmen	18	Istanbul
Template:Flagicon Uruguay	Gabriela Pascal	18	Montevideo
Template:Flagicon Venezuela	Consuelo Nouel	20	Caracas
Template:Flagicon West Germany	Gerti Daub	19	Hamburg

External links

• Miss Universe official website