Miss Universe 1960

Miss Universe 1960 was the ninth Miss Universe pageant, held at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, the United States, on 9 July 1960.

At the end of the event, Akiko Kojima of Japan crowned Linda Bement of the United States as Miss Universe 1960.^[1] Bement was the third representative of the United States to win the contest.

Contestants from forty-three countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Charles Collingwood.

Contestants from forty-three countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. Two contestants were appointees to their national titles and another was selected after another national pageant was held to replace the original dethroned winner.^[a]

Sonja Menzel was originally set to represent Denmark but withdrew for undisclosed reasons,^[3] and was replaced by Lizzie Hess.^[4]

This edition saw the debuts of Jordan, Portugal, Spain, and Tunisia, and the returns of Chile, Finland, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Morocco, New Zealand, Paraguay, South Africa, Suriname, Switzerland, and Venezuela. South Africa and Switzerland, which last competed in 1953, Hong Kong and New Zealand in 1954, Finland and Lebanon in 1955, Morocco in 1957, while the others last competed in 1958.^[5]

Hawaii withdrew after becoming a U.S. state on 21 August 1959, resulting in the Miss Hawaii Universe pageant being downgraded from a national Miss Universe qualifier to a Miss USA state pageant.^[6]

Lorena Velázquez of Mexico withdrew for personal reasons.^[7] Marzena Malinowska of Poland withdrew to compete in another international pageant.^[8][9] Miss Turkey 1959, Figen Özgür, was replaced by Miss Turkey 1960, Nebahat Çehre, who also withdrew and later competed at Miss World 1960 instead.^[10][11] Guatemala, and Thailand withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.

Julienne Ayissi Eyenga Fouda of Cameroon was disqualified for being underage and replaced by Sale Assouen, who subsequently withdrew for undisclosed reasons.^[12] Cluadinette Fouchard of Haiti withdrew due to marriage plans.^[13] Madagascar and Martinique intended to participate but did not appear.^[14]

Same with 1955, 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.^[15][18]

• Maxwell Arnow – American film producer^[19]
• Fernando Botero – Colombian painter and sculptor^[19]
• Jane Fisher – Wife of American businessman and philanthropist, Max Fisher^[19]
• Irwin Hasen – American cartoonist^[19]
• Dr. M.M. Hollander – American physician and cosmetic specialist^[19]
• Russell Patterson – American cartoonist^[19]
• Vuk Vuchinich – Yugoslavian-American painter and sculptor^[19]
• Miyoko Yanagita – Japanese fashion designer^[19]
• Roger Zeiler – An official from the Miss Europe Organization^[19]

Forty-three contestants competed for the title.

• Miss Universe official website