Miss Universe 1952

Miss Universe 1952 was the first Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 28 June 1952.

At the end of the event, actress Piper Laurie crowned Armi Kuusela of Finland as Miss Universe 1952. It was the first victory of Finland in the history of the pageant.

Contestants from 30 countries and territories participated in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Bob Russell. The competition featured the Romanov Imperial Nuptial Crown, which was previously owned by a Russian czar. The crown was said to have 1,535 diamonds, 300 carats, and was valued at $500,000.

Background

Location and date

After Miss America 1951 Yolande Betbeze refused to pose for a publicity picture wearing a swimsuit from Catalina Swimwear, then-Miss Universe executive producer Oliver Reinhardt negotiated in with the officials of Pan American World Airways and Catalina Swimwear to sponsor the Miss Universe pageant, which will be held in Long Beach, California. The city of Long Beach provided $30,000 USD for the competition to be held from June 23 to June 30, 1952.

Selection of participants

From all countries and territories invited to participate, thirty competed in the competition for the first time. The age requirement in this edition is from eighteen to twenty-eight, where women who are married and have children can also participate. This year, Indrani Rahman of India becomes the first contestant to be married with children, with her first daughter, Sukanya Rahman, born in 1946.

This policy was changed in 1957 where the participation of women who are married or already have children was prohibited. This policy was then reinstated in 2023. One contestant was selected to replace the original dethroned winner.

Replacements and withdrawals

Runner-up of Miss Uruguay 1952 Gladys Rubio Fajardo was appointed to represent Uruguay after Miss Uruguay 1952 Rosa Adela Prunell withdrew from the competition as her mother wanted to accompany her.

Elisabeth van Proosdij of Holland withdrew as she got married during her reign despite Miss Universe allows married women to compete. Leila Teresa Tuma of Syria was supposed to compete in this edition, but withdrew due to political tensions. Brazil and the Republic of China were also invited to compete in this edition, but withdrew due to lack of preparations to organize a national pageant.