# Miss Universe 1959

Miss Universe 1959 was the eighth Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 24 July 1959. This was the last year that the pageant was held in Long Beach before it moved to Miami Beach, Florida in 1960.
At the end of the event, Luz Marina Zuluaga of Colombia crowned Akiko Kojima of Japan as Miss Universe 1959. Kojima was the first representative of Japan, and the first Asian woman to win the contest.
Contestants from thirty-four countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Byron Palmer.

## Background
### Selection of participants

Contestants from thirty-four countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant.

#### Debuts, returns, and withdrawals

This edition saw the debuts of Bolivia, Burma, and Luxembourg, and the returns of Austria, Iceland, Thailand, and Turkey. Thailand last competed in 1954, while Austria, Iceland, and Turkey last competed in 1957. Alaska, Australia, British Guiana, Chile, Paraguay, Singapore, Suriname, Venezuela, and the West Indies withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Christine Matias of the Philippines was set to compete at Miss Universe, but was barred by her university, the Philippine Women's University, as they do not allow their students to wear a swimsuit in front of the public. Aida Kadamani was supposed to represent the United Arab Republic at Miss Universe, but withdrew after refusing to wear a swimsuit in front of the judges. She was then replaced by Nawal Ramli, but she also did not push through with the competition as the pageant organizers failed to answer her queries whether she could substitute Kadamani. Indonesia was supposed to compete for the first time, but was not able to send a candidate due to protests in Jakarta against the creation of Miss Indonesia. Other countries who would not sanction their people to appear in swimsuits according to Oscar Reinhardt, then-executive producer of Miss Universe Inc., include Ireland, Portugal, and Spain. Spain and Portugal would send their first representatives in the following year.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss Universe 1959 | Japan – Akiko Kojima |
| 1st runner-up | Norway – Jorunn Kristjansen |
| 2nd runner-up | United States – Terry Lynn Huntingdon |
| 3rd runner-up | England – Pamela Anne Searle |
| 4th runner-up | Brazil – Vera Regina Ribeiro |
| Top 15 | Belgium – Hélène Savigny  Colombia – Olga Pumarejo  France – Françoise Saint-Laurent  West Germany – Carmela Künzel  Greece – Zoitsa Kouroukli  Iceland – Sigríður Þorvaldsdóttir  Israel – Rina Issacov  Poland – Zuzanna Cembrowska  South Korea – Oh Hyun-joo  Sweden – Marie Louise Ekström |

### Special awards

| Award | Contestant |
| Miss Friendship | Thailand – Sodsai Vanijvadhana |
| Miss Photogenic | England – Pamela Anne Searle |
| Miss Popular Girl | South Korea – Oh Hyun-joo |

## 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.

### Selection committee

* Maxwell Arnow – American director
* Claude Berr – French director, writer, producer, actor and film distributor
* Ghislaine R. de Amador – Ecuadorian judge
* Vion Papamichalis - film producer
* Joseph Ruttemberg - Ukrainian-American photojournalist and cinematographer
* Vincent Trotta – American artist
* Paul Wellmann - American journalist

## Contestants

Thirty-four contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Argentina | Liana Cortijo | 20 | Buenos Aires |
| Austria | Christine Spatzier | 19 | Vienna |
| Belgium | Hélène Savigny | 24 | Brussels |
| Bolivia | Corina Taborga | 19 | La Paz |
| Brazil | Vera Regina Ribeiro | 19 | Rio de Janeiro |
| Burma | Than Than Aye | 19 | Rangoon |
| Canada | Eileen Butter | 25 | Ancaster |
| Colombia | Olga Pumarejo | 20 | Barranquilla |
| Costa Rica | Zianne Monturiol | 20 | Heredia |
| Cuba | Irma Buesa Mas | 19 | Havana |
| Denmark | Lisa Stolberg | 18 | Copenhagen |
| Ecuador | Carlota Elena Ayala | 19 | Guayaquil |
| England | Pamela Anne Searle | 21 | Surrey |
| France | Françoise Saint-Laurent | 18 | Neuilly-Plaisance |
| West Germany | Carmela Künzel | 19 | Berlin |
| Greece | Zoitsa Kouroukli | 18 | Athens |
| Guatemala | Rogelia Cruz | 18 | Guatemala City |
| Hawaii | Patricia Visser | 21 | Honolulu |
| Holland | Peggy Erwich | 22 | Rotterdam |
| Iceland | Sigríður Þorvaldsdóttir | 18 | Reykjavík |
| Israel | Rina Issacov | 19 | Tel Aviv |
| Italy | Maria Grazia Buccella | 18 | Trento |
| Japan | Akiko Kojima | 22 | Tokyo |
| Luxembourg | Josée Pundel | 19 | Grevenmacher |
| Mexico | Mirna García Dávila | 18 | Mexico City |
| Norway | Jorunn Kristjansen | 18 | Moss |
| Peru | Guadalupe Mariátegui Hawkins | 18 | Callao |
| Poland | Zuzanna Cembrzowska | 19 | Warsaw |
| South Korea | Oh Hyun-joo | 19 | Seoul |
| Sweden | Marie Louise Ekström | 20 | Sundsvall |
| Thailand | Sodsai Vanijvadhana | 22 | Bangkok |
| Turkey | Ecel Olcay | 19 | Istanbul |
| United States | Terry Lynn Huntingdon | 19 | Mount Shasta |
| Uruguay | Claudia Bernat | 20 | Montevideo |