At the end of the event, Carol Morris of the United States crowned Gladys Zender of Peru as Miss Universe 1957. Zender was the first representative of Peru to win the contest.
After being crowned, it was revealed that Zender was only seventeen years old, five months under the contest's minimum age requirement of eighteen. Pageant officials decided that she could keep the crown after they were told she was considered to be eighteen in her country due to an old custom explained to them by the then-Peruvian ambassador to the United States, Fernando Berckemeyer Pazos.[1]
Contestants from thirty-two countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Bob Russell for the sixth time.
Background
[edit]Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue of Miss Universe 1957
Contestants from thirty-two countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. This is the first edition where women who are married and have children could not participate, which in turn became the reason why one candidate was disqualified after the preliminary competition.[2] One contestant was selected to replace the original dethroned winner.
This edition saw the debuts of Martinique, Morocco, and Paraguay, and the returns of Austria, Ceylon, Hawaii, and South Korea. Austria and Hawaii last competed in 1953, while Ceylon and South Korea last competed in 1955. British Guiana, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Holland, and the United States withdrew.[2]Corine Rottschäfer of Holland was supposed to compete at Miss Universe. However, Rottschäfer just won another international contest that bars her from competing. Rottschäfer competed at the following year.[3] British Guiana, Chile, and the Dominican Republic withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Leona Gage, Miss USA 1957, was announced as one of the fifteen semi-finalists, but was ejected from the pageant the afternoon before the final after it was discovered that she was married and the mother of two young children.[4][5] Miss Argentina, Mónica Lamas, who had placed sixteenth in the preliminary competition, took over the spot vacated by Gage.[2] Gage was also stripped of her title and was replaced by Charlotte SheffieldofUtah, but Sheffield was unable to compete because the preliminary competition had already taken place, thus marking the first (and as of 2023, only) time that a Miss USA did not compete at Miss Universe.[6][7] Sheffield competed at Miss World 1957, but was unplaced.[8]
Same with 1955, fifteen semi-finalists were chosen at the preliminary competition that consists of the swimsuit and evening gown competition.[10] 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.[10]
^Suárez, Orlando (27 July 2022). "Misses venezolanas de sangre azul" [Venezuelan blue blood misses]. El Diario (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 September 2023.
