# Miss Universe 1977

Miss Universe 1977 was the 26th Miss Universe pageant, 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. African American singer Dionne Warwick, one of the 12 judges, burst into tears when Commissiong won.
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.
Miss Universe was then owned by Gulf+Western Industries.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Winner | Trinidad and Tobago – Janelle Commissiong |
| 1st runner-up | Austria – Eva Düringer |
| 2nd runner-up | Scotland – Sandra Bell |
| 3rd runner-up | Colombia – Aura María Mojica |
| 4th runner-up | West Germany – Marie-Luise Gassen |
| Top 12 | Argentina – Maritza Jurado  Dominican Republic – Blanca Sardiñas  Holland – Ineke Berends  Nicaragua – Beatriz Obregón  Spain – Luz Hernández  United States – Kimberly Tomes  Venezuela – Cristal Montañez |

### Special awards

| Award | Contestant |
| Miss Amity | Canada – Pamela Mercer |
| Miss Photogenic | Trinidad and Tobago – Janelle Commissiong |

## Contestants

Sixty-one 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 María 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 | 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 |
| West 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 |
| 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 |
| Netherlands | Ineke Berends | 25 | Amsterdam |
| 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 | Marigot |
| 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 |
| Tahiti | Donna Aunoa | – | Papeete |
| Thailand | Laddawan Intriya | – | Bangkok |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Janelle Commissiong | 24 | Port of Spain |
| United States | Kimberly Tomes | 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 |