# Miss Universe 1954

Miss Universe 1954 was the 3rd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 24 July 1954.
At the end of the event, Christiane Martel of France crowned Miriam Stevenson of the United States as Miss Universe 1954. It was the first victory of the United States in the history of the pageant. Stevenson became the first Miss Universe to concurrently hold both Miss USA and Miss Universe titles.
Contestants from thirty-three countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Bob Russell. This edition also featured the Star of the Universe crown, which consisted of one-thousand Oriental cultured and black pearls set in solid gold and platinum, and was worth $500,000 USD. The crowned was also used for the next six editions.

## Background
### Selection of participants

Contestants from thirty-three countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. One contestant was selected to replace the original dethroned winner.

#### Replacements

Kae Sun-hee, the first runner-up of Miss Korea 1954, was appointed to replace Miss Korea 1954 Pu Rak Hi after the latter's visa was rejected in order to enter the United States due to allegations that she has connections with communist groups. The same happened with Rika Dialina, Star Hellas 1954, where she was replaced by her first runner-up, Efi Androulakakis, after she posed for a book by a Greek communist despite having no communist sympathies. However, John Foster Dulles, the then United States Secretary of State, intervened in Dialina's case, and Dialina obtained a temporary entry permit because of this. Dialina arrived in Long Beach a few days before the preliminary competition, causing Androulakakis to withdraw from the competition. The organizers asked Androulakakis to remain in the competition as the representative of Crete, but Androulakakis refused. Although Androulakakis is no longer an official candidate, she was still hailed as Miss Congeniality. Amara Asavananda was the runner-up of Miss Thailand 1953. However, it turned out that the person who secured the runner-up position became the representative of Thailand at the Miss Universe 1954 because the winner of Miss Thailand 1953, Anong Atchawatthana, gave up her rights and did not travel to compete in California. This was because she had to bear the full expenses of traveling to the Miss Universe pageant.

#### Debuts, returns, and withdrawals

The 1954 edition saw the debuts of Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and the West Indies, and the returns of Chile, Cuba, Hong Kong, and Israel who last competed in 1952. Gertrude Kapi'olani Miller of Hawaii withdrew due to undisclosed reasons. Berta Elena Landaeta of Venezuela withdrew after the pageant organizers could not disclose her whereabouts. Austria, Denmark, South Africa, Switzerland, and Turkey withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or designate a contestant.
Contestants from Guatemala and Nicaragua were also expected to compete, but was prohibited by their respective governments due to the political instability of Central America. Both countries started competing in the pageant in 1955.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss Universe 1954 | United States – Miriam Stevenson |
| 1st runner-up | Brazil – Martha Rocha |
| 2nd runner-up | Hong Kong – Virginia June Lee |
| 3rd runner-up | West Germany – Regina Ernst |
| 4th runner-up | Sweden – Ragnhild Olausson |
| Top 16 | Argentina – Ivana Kislinger  Chile – Gloria Leguisos Mesina  Costa Rica – Marian Esquivel  France – Jacqueline Beer  Greece – Rika Dialina  Italy – Maria Paliani  Norway – Mona Stornes  Panama – Liliana Torre  Peru – Isabella León  Philippines – Blesilda Ocampo  Uruguay – Ana Moreno |

### Special awards

| Award | Contestant |
| Miss Friendship | Greece – Efi Androulakakis |
| Miss Popular Girl | Brazil – Martha Rocha |

## Pageant
### Format

Same with 1953, sixteen semi-finalists were chosen at the preliminary competition that consists of the swimsuit and evening gown competition. Each of the sixteen semi-finalists gave a short speech during the final telecast using their native languages. Afterwards, the sixteen semi-finalists paraded again in their swimsuits and evening gowns, and the five finalists were eventually chosen.

### Selection committee

* Piper Laurie – American actress
* Julia Adams – American actress
* Suzan Ball – American actress
* Earl Wilson – American columnist and journalist
* Tom Kelley – American photographer

## Contestants

Thirty-three contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age | Hometown |
| Alaska | Charlein Lander | 18 | Fairbanks |
| Argentina | Ivana Olga Kislinger | 22 | Temperley |
| Australia | Shirley Bliss | 20 | Narrandera |
| Belgium | Christiane Neckaerts | 19 | Nodebais |
| Brazil | Martha Rocha | 21 | Salvador |
| Canada | Joyce Mary Landry | 20 | Toronto |
| Chile | Gloria Leguisos | 21 | Santiago |
| Costa Rica | Marian Esquivel | 18 | San José |
| Cuba | Isis Finlay | 20 | Havana |
| El Salvador | Myrna Ros Orozco | 20 | San Salvador |
| Finland | Lenita Airisto | 18 | Helsinki |
| France | Jacqueline Beer | 21 | Bois-Colombes |
| West Germany | Regina Ernst | 18 | Bremen |
| Greece | Rika Dialina | 22 | Heraklion |
| Honduras | Lilliam Padilla | 21 | Tegucigalpa |
| Hong Kong | Virginia June Lee | 20 | Hong Kong |
| Israel | Aviva Pe’er | 18 | Tel-Aviv |
| Italy | Maria Teresa Paliani | 18 | Rome |
| Japan | Mieko Kondo | 18 | Nagoya |
| Mexico | Elvira Castillo | 19 | Mexico City |
| New Zealand | Moana Manley | 18 | Auckland |
| Norway | Mona Stornes | 19 | Oslo |
| Panama | Liliana Torre | 18 | Panama City |
| Peru | Isabella León Velarde | 18 | Lima |
| Philippines | Blesilda Mueler Ocampo | 18 | Manila |
| Puerto Rico | Lucy Santiago | 23 | San Juan |
| Singapore | Marjorie Wee | 21 | Singapore |
| South Korea | Kae Sun-hee | 19 | Seoul |
| Sweden | Ragnhild Olausson | 19 | Stockholm |
| Thailand | Amara Asavananda | 18 | Phra Nakhon |
| United States | Miriam Stevenson | 21 | Winnsboro |
| Uruguay | Ana Moreno | 22 | Montevideo |
| West Indies | Evelyn Andrade | 18 | Kingston, Jamaica |