Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Miss Universe 1954, the 3rd Miss Universe pageant, was held on 24 July 1954 at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States.[1] There were 33 competitors. Miss USA, 21-year-old Miriam Stevenson won the competition. She was the first American Miss Universe and the first winner to be crowned by the outgoing Miss Universe (who was Miss Universe 1953, Christiane Martel of France).[citation needed
Source: Wikipedia
Born: July 4, 1933 (age 86) At Winnsboro, South Carolina, U.S.
Education: Lander University
Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Title: Miss South Carolina 1953 Miss South Carolina USA 1954 Miss USA 1954 Miss Universe 1954
Spouse(s): Donald Upton
Children: 2
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: Blue
At Miss Universe, Stevenson received a tied final score with Martha Rocha of Brazil. In order to break the tie, the woman deemed to have the better physique was crowned the winner, due to a major sponsor of the pageant being Catalina Swimwear. This was determined to be Stevenson, due to having "fitter" hips than Rocha. She was crowned Miss Universe by outgoing titleholder Christiane Martel of France.[4] After winning the title, Stevenson decided to award part of her prize to Rocha, granting her the new car that she was awarded.[5] At the end of her reign, she crowned Hillevi Rombin of Sweden as Miss Universe 1955.
After acting at Universal Studios in Hollywood for one year through a film contract she won as part of her Miss Universe package, Stevenson made headlines in Variety when she announced that she would be returning home to South Carolina to finish her education at Lander University instead of continuing her work in Hollywood. In South Carolina, Stevenson found work hosting television programs for WIS, the local NBC affiliate in Columbia, South Carolina. Here she met her husband Donald Upton; they have two children together, with their son Donald Jr. being a former telecom executive and founder of the global economic development and public affairs firm Fairfield Index, Inc. Until the 1970s, Stevenson was active in the media as a model, television presenter, and actress in national commercials, and also participated as a judge at several Miss Universe competitions.
