# Miss World 1953

Miss World 1953 was the third Miss World pageant, held at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom on 19 October 1953.
At the end of the event, Denise Perrier of France was announced as Miss World 1953. This is the first and so far, only victory of France in the history of the pageant. Perrier was also the first Miss World winner to wear a Miss World sash.
Contestants from fifteen countries participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Eric Morley.

## Background
### Selection of participants

Fifteen contestants were selected to compete in the pageant. One contestant was appointed to represent her country after being a runner-up in her national pageant, while one contestant was appointed to replace the original winner.

#### Replacements

Miss Egypt 1953 Antigone Costanda supposedly competed in this edition. However, due to undisclosed reasons, she was replaced by her 1st runner-up, Marina Papaelia. Costanda eventually competed in the following edition and won, where she dedicated her win to Papelia by shouting "Viva, viva, Marina Papaelia".
Since Miss France 1953 Sylviane Carpentier chose not compete in Miss World and Miss Universe to get married, two separate pageants were selected to send French representatives to Miss World and Miss Universe. The Miss Cinémonde pageant was in charge of selecting the French representative to Miss Universe, while the organizers of the French Committee of Elegance was in charge of selecting the French representative of Miss World. Denise Perrier was eventually chosen as the representative of France to Miss World, while Christiane Martel was chosen as the representative of France to Miss Universe. Both won their respective international pageants.

#### Debuts and withdrawals

This edition marked the debuts of Ceylon, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Monte-Carlo, and Norway. Mary Murphy of Ireland withdrew after failing to arrive in London, despite being expected, due to illness that occurred shortly before her planned travel to the contest.
Sepia Degehet of Belgium supposedly competed in the pageant, but withdrew due to the controversy her predecessor Anne-Marie Pauwels made in the pageant. She was only sent to Miss Europe. Marcella Mariani of Italy supposedly competed as well, but withdrew in order to focus on her acting career. Lore Felger of Austria and Leyla Saroufin of Lebanon also supposedly competed, but withdrew due to lack of sponsors.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss World 1953 | France – Denise Perrier |
| 1st runner-up | Greece – Alexandra Ladikou |
| 2nd runner-up | Egypt – Marina Papaelia |
| 3rd runner-up | Ceylon – Manel Illangakoon |
| 4th runner-up | United States – Mary Kemp Griffin |

## Contestants

Fifteen contestants competed for the title.
| Country | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Ceylon | Manel Illangkoon | 20 | Colombo |
| Denmark | Ingrid Andersen | 21 | Copenhagen |
| Egypt | Marina Papaelia | 20 | Cairo |
| Finland | Maija-Riitta Tuomaala | 19 | Helsinki |
| France | Denise Perrier | 18 | Ambérieu-en-Bugey |
| Great Britain | Brenda Mee | 20 | Derby |
| Greece | Alexandra Ladikou | 20 | Kavala |
| Holland | Yvonne Meijer | 20 | Haarlem |
| Israel | Chavatzelet Dror | 19 | Tel-Aviv |
| Monte Carlo | Elizabeth Chovisky | 18 | Monte Carlo |
| Norway | Synnøve Gulbrandsen | 23 | Oslo |
| Sweden | Ingrid Johansson | 18 | Stockholm |
| Switzerland | Odette Michel Conue | 19 | Zürich |
| United States | Mary Kemp Griffin | 23 | Los Angeles |
| West Germany | Wilma Kanders | 20 | Düsseldorf |