Miss Universe just happens to be one of the “Big Four” beauty pageants, along with Miss International, Miss World, and Miss Earth. The Miss Universe pageant is now 71 years old, and looking at it from the start, tells us a lot about how the perception of beauty has evolved over time.

The pageant started in 1952 by the California-based clothing company, Pacific Knitting Mills, when a Miss America winner refused to wear their swimsuits a year prior. In the beginning, the pageant was conducted along with the Miss USA beauty pageant, but became a separate contest in the mid-60s. USA has won the maximum number of Miss Universe titles so far – 8 of them, and bagged the 2023 title as well.

What but did the winners look like much before that? Come find out…

1952 – Armi Kuusela from Finland

In its maiden run, the Miss Universe pageant only had 30 contestants compete for the coveted crown and John Daly was their very first host. 17-year-old Miss Finland, Armi Kuusela was declared the winner that year, and she won a long-term movie contract with Universal Studios, a car and became the pageant’s goodwill ambassador for a year. Kuusela would work in a few movies, and travelled the world after marrying an American diplomat. After retiring, she worked on various charitable causes.

1961 – Marlene Schmidt from Germany