Miss Universe 1955

This is the first time that the pageant was televised.

Miss Universe 1955
Hillevi Rombin
Date	22 July 1955 (1955-07-22)
Presenters	Bob Russell
Venue	Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California, United States
Broadcaster	CBS
Entrants	33
Placements	15
Debuts	Ceylon Ecuador England Guatemala Lebanon Nicaragua
Withdrawals	Australia Hong Kong New Zealand Panama Peru Singapore Thailand
Returns	Venezuela
Winner	Hillevi Rombin  Sweden
Congeniality	Maribel Arrieta  El Salvador
← 1954 1956 →

At the end of the event, Miriam Stevenson of the United States crowned Hillevi Rombin of the Sweden as Miss Universe 1955. It is the first victory of Sweden in the history of the pageant.

Contestants from thirty-three countries and territories competed in this edition. The pageant was hosted by Bob Russell.

 

Selection of participants

Contestants from thirty-three countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. The age requirement in this edition is still from eighteen to twenty-eight, where women who are married and have children can also participate.

Debuts, returns, and withdrawals

The 1955 edition saw the debuts of Ceylon, Ecuador, England, Guatemala, Lebanon, and Nicaragua, and the return of Venezuela who last competed in 1953. Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Singapore, and Thailand withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Expected to compete are Karin Rasmussen of Denmark, Gladir Leopardi of Egypt, Angelina Kalkhoven of Holland, and Suna Soley of Turkey. However, these women withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.

 

Placements

Special awards

Format

From sixteen in the previous edition, 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.

Selection committee

• Myrna Hansen – Miss USA 1953 from Illinois

 

Thirty-three contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory	Contestant	Age	Hometown
Alaska	Lorna McLeod	22	Fairbanks
Argentina	Isabel Sarli	25	Buenos Aires
Belgium	Nicole De Mayer	19	Ghent
Brazil	Emília Barreto	21	Fortaleza
Canada	Cathy Diggles	20	Toronto
Ceylon	Maureen Hingert	18	Colombo
Chile	Rosa Merello	18	Santiago
Costa Rica	Clemencia Martínez	22	San José
Cuba	Gilda Marín	26	Havana
Ecuador	Leonor Carcache	21	Guayaquil
El Salvador	Maribel Arrieta	19	San Salvador
England	Margaret Rowe	19	London
Finland	Sirkku Talja	19	Helsinki
France	Claude Petit	18	Aulnay-sous-Bois
Germany	Margit Nünke	24	Cologne
Greece	Sonia Zoidou	18	Athens
Guatemala	María del Rosario Molina	18	Guatemala City
Honduras	Pastora Pagán	18	San Pedro Sula
Israel	Ilana Carmel	19	Bat Yam
Italy	Elena Fancera	20	Rome
Japan	Keiko Takahashi	20	Tokyo
Lebanon	Hanya Beydoun	18	Beirut
Mexico	Yolanda Mayen	18	Tijuana
Nicaragua	Rosa Argentina Lacayo	19	Managua
Norway	Solveig Borstad	23	Oslo
Philippines	Yvonne de los Reyes	19	Manila
Puerto Rico	Carmen Laura Betancourt	20	Rio Piedras
South Korea	Kim Mee-chong	22	Busan
Sweden	Hillevi Rombin	21	Uppsala
United States	Carlene King Johnson	22	Rutland
Uruguay	Inge Hoffmann	19	Montevideo
Venezuela	Susana Duijm	18	Caracas
West Indies	Noreen Campbell	18	Port of Spain