# Miss Universe 1961

Miss Universe 1961 was the 10th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, United States on July 15, 1961.
At the end of the event, Linda Bement of the United States crowned Marlene Schmidt of West Germany as Miss Universe 1961. Schmidt was the first representative of Germany to win the contest.
Contestants from forty-eight countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Johnny Carson.

## Background
### Selection of participants

Contestants from forty-eight countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant.

#### Debuts, returns, and withdrawals

This edition saw the debuts of Ireland, Jamaica, Madagascar, the Republic of China, Rhodesia, Scotland, the United States Virgin Islands, and Wales, and the returns of Ceylon, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Turkey. Ceylon and Puerto Rico last competed in 1957, while the others last competed in 1959. Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Jordan, New Zealand, Portugal, Suriname, and Tunisia withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Helen Tan of Malaya and Julie Koh of Singapore were supposed to compete in the pageant. However, they chose to compete at Miss International in Long Beach, California instead. Koh eventually competed at Miss Universe the following year.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss Universe 1961 | West Germany – Marlene Schmidt |
| 1st runner-up | Wales – Rosemarie Frankland |
| 2nd runner-up | Argentina – Adriana Gardiazábal |
| 3rd runner-up | England – Arlette Dobson |
| 4th runner-up | United States – Sharon Brown |
| Top 15 | Chile – María Gloria Silva  France – Simone Darot  Iceland – Kristjana Magnúsdóttir  Israel – Atida Pisanti  Peru – Carmela Stein  Republic of China – Wang Li-Ling  Scotland – Susan Jones  South Korea – Seo Yang-hee  Sweden – Gunilla Knutsson  Switzerland – Liliane Burnier |

### Special awards

| Award | Contestant |
| Miss Congeniality | Greece – Eleftheria Deloutsi |
| Miss Photogenic | United States – Sharon Brown |

## 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.

## Contestants

Forty-eight contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Argentina | Adriana Gardiazábal | 18 | Buenos Aires |
| Austria | Ingrid Bayer | 20 | Vorarlberg |
| Belgium | Nicole Ksinozenicki | 18 | Saint-Gilles |
| Bolivia | Gloria Soruco | 19 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
| Brazil | Staël Maria da Rocha Abelha | 19 | Caratinga |
| Burma | Khin Myint Myint | 18 | Daik-U |
| Canada | Wilda Reynolds | 19 | Toronto |
| Ceylon | Ranjini Jayatilleke | – | Colombo |
| Chile | María Gloria Silva | 22 | Santiago |
| Colombia | Patricia Whitman | 21 | Medellín |
| Cuba | Martha García Vieta | 25 | Miami, Florida |
| Denmark | Jette Nielsen | 18 | Copenhagen |
| Ecuador | Yolanda Palacios | 18 | Guayaquil |
| England | Arlette Dobson | 18 | Surrey |
| Finland | Ritva Wächter | 20 | Naantali |
| France | Simone Darot | 19 | Paris |
| West Germany | Marlene Schmidt | 24 | Stuttgart |
| Greece | Eleftheria Deloutsi | 18 | Athens |
| Guatemala | Anabelle Sáenz | – | Guatemala City |
| Holland | Gita Kamman | 22 | Amsterdam |
| Iceland | Kristjana Magnúsdóttir | 21 | Reykjanesbær |
| Ireland | Jean Russell | 21 | Lisburn |
| Israel | Atida Pisanti | 19 | Haifa |
| Italy | Vivianne Romano | 21 | Lazio |
| Jamaica | Marguerite LeWars | 20 | Kingston |
| Japan | Akemi Toyama | 20 | Tokyo |
| Lebanon | Leila Antaki | 22 | Beirut |
| Luxembourg | Vicky Schoos | 18 | Luxembourg City |
| Madagascar | Jacqueline Robertson | 22 | Antananarivo |
| Morocco | Irene Gorsse | – | Rabat |
| Norway | Rigmor Trengereid | 19 | Bergen |
| Paraguay | María Cristina Osnaghi | – | Asunción |
| Peru | Carmela Stein | 20 | Lima |
| Puerto Rico | Enid del Valle | 20 | Aguadilla |
| Republic of China | Wang Li-Ling | 19 | Taipei |
| Rhodesia | Jonee Sierra | 19 | Salisbury |
| Scotland | Susan Jones | 20 | Aberdeen |
| South Africa | Marina Christelis | 20 | Johannesburg |
| South Korea | Seo Yang-hee | 21 | Seoul |
| Spain | Pilar Gil Ramos | 19 | Madrid |
| Sweden | Gunilla Knutsson | 20 | Ystad |
| Switzerland | Liliane Burnier | 19 | Geneva |
| Turkey | Gülseren Uysal | – | Istanbul |
| United States | Sharon Brown | 18 | Minden |
| Uruguay | Susanna Ferrari | – | Montevideo |
| Venezuela | Ana Griselda Vegas | 20 | Caracas |
| Virgin Islands | Priscila Bonilla | – | Charlotte Amalie |
| Wales | Rosemarie Frankland | 18 | Lancashire |