Miss World 1981, the 31st edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 12 November 1981 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom.
The winner was Pilín León from Venezuela, the first titleholder from her country since 1955. She was crowned by Miss World 1980, Kimberley Santos from Guam. Another Venezuelan, Irene Sáez, had been crowned Miss Universe 1981 in July, making Venezuela one of the few countries to hold both major international titles (Miss Universe and Miss World) in the same year. The Continental Queens of Beauty were awarded for the first time.
This edition marked the return of Suriname, which last competed in 1966 and Chile, El Salvador, French Polynesia (as Tahiti), Iceland last competed in 1979. Mauritius, Panama, Paraguay, Swaziland, the United States Virgin Islands withdrew from the competition for unknown reasons.
Results Placements Placement Contestant Miss World 1981 – Pilin León 1st Runner-Up – Nini Soto 2nd Runner-Up – Sandra Cunningham Top 7 – Melissa Hannan – Maristela Grazzia – Michele Donnelly – Lisa Moss Top 15 – Helen Natali – Dominique van Eeckhoudt – Earla Stewart – Geraldine McGrory – Naomi Kishi – Dora Pontvianne – Rachael Ann Thomas – Juliet Nyathi
Special awards AwardWinnerMiss Photogenic Australia – Melissa HannanMiss Personality Mexico – Dora Pontvianne
Contestants 67 contestants competed for the title. Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown Argentina Helen Natali 21 Villa María Aruba Gerarda Roepel 24 Oranjestad Australia Melissa Hannan 19 Mosman Austria Beatrix Kopf 21 Lustenau Bahamas Monique Ferguson 18 Nassau Belgium Dominique van Eeckhoudt 19 Waterloo Bermuda Cymone Tucker 21 Smith's Parish Bolivia Carolina Díaz 17 Pando Brazil Maristela Grazzia 17 São Paulo Canada Earla Stewart 22 Pembroke Cayman Islands Donna Marie Myrie 20 George Town Chile Susanna Bravo 19 Santiago Colombia Nini Johanna Soto 18 Bucaramanga Costa Rica Sucetty Salas 18 San José Curaçao Mylene Gerard 21 Willemstad Cyprus Elena Andreou 19 Nicosia Denmark Tina Brandstrup 21 Copenhagen Dominican Republic Josefina Cuello 24 Santo Domingo Ecuador Lucía Vinueza 19 Guayaquil El Salvador Martha Alicia Ortíz 19 San Salvador Finland Pia Nieminen 20 Tampere France Isabelle Benard 19 Vernon Maimiti Kinnander 20 Huahine Gibraltar Yvette Maria Bellido 18 Gibraltar Greece Maria Argyrokastritou 22 Athens Guam Rebecca Arroyo 21 Mangilao Guatemala Beatriz Bojorquez 23 Guatemala City Holland Saskia Lemmers 23 Amsterdam Honduras Xiomara Sikaffy 20 San Pedro Sula Hong Kong Winnie Chin 18 Hong Kong Island Iceland Ásdís Hannesdóttir 23 Reykjavík India Deepti Divakar 22 Bengaluru Ireland Geraldine McGrory 22 Derry Nicola-Jane Grainger 18 Dalby Israel Ninnette Assor 22 Tel Aviv Italy Marisa Tutone 17 Turin Jamaica Sandra Cunningham 24 Kingston Japan Naomi Kishi 18 Kawasaki Elizabeth Walmsley 18 Saint Helier Lebanon Zeina Challita 19 Beirut Palesa Joyce Kalele 18 Maseru Malaysia Cynthia de Castro 20 Malacca Malta Elizabeth-Mary Fenech 19 Żebbuġ Mexico Doris Pontvianne 18 Tampico New Zealand Raewyn Marcroft 18 Hamilton Norway Anita Nesbø 20 Akershus Jennifer Abaijah 19 Port Moresby Peru Olga Zumarán 22 Lima Philippines Suzette Nicolas 24 Manila Puerto Rico Andrenira Ruíz 19 San Juan Singapore Sushil Kaur Sandhu 20 Singapore South Korea Lee Han-na 19 Seoul Spain Cristina Pérez Cottrell 18 Málaga Sri Lanka Sonya Elizabeth Tucker 20 Colombo Suriname Joan Boldewijn 18 Paramaribo Sweden Carita Gustafsson 20 Gothenburg Switzerland Margrit Kilchoer 22 Geneva Thailand Massupha Karbprapun 21 Bangkok Trinidad and Tobago Rachael Thomas 21 Diego Martin Turkey Aydan Şener 18 Kilis United Kingdom Michele Donnelly 20 Cardiff United States Lisa Moss 23 Shreveport Uruguay Marianela Bas 23 Montevideo Venezuela Pilin León 18 Maracay West Germany Barbara Reimund 18 Stuttgart Western Samoa Julianna Curry 17 Apia Zimbabwe Juliet Nyathi 24 Bulawayo
Notes
References
Further reading Ottawa Citizen. September 10, 1981.
External links