Miss Universe 1981
| Miss Universe 1981 | |
|---|---|
| Date | 20 July 1981 |
| Presenters | Bob Barker, Elke Sommer |
| Entertainment |
|
| Venue | Minskoff Theatre, New York City, New York, United States |
| Broadcaster | |
| Entrants | 76 |
| Placements | 12 |
| Debuts |
|
| Withdrawals |
|
| Returns |
|
| Winner | Irene Sáez Venezuela |
| Congeniality | Linda Smith Bahamas |
| Best National Costume | Adriana Alves de Oliveira Brazil |
| Photogenic | Tina Brandstrup Denmark |
Miss Universe 1981 was the 30th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant, held at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City, New York, United States, on 20 July 1981. At the conclusion of the event, Irene Sáez of Venezuela was crowned by Shawn Weatherly of the United States. There were 77 contestants competing for the crown, but Miss Mauritius got homesick and withdrew.[1] The pageant originally was scheduled to be held in Guatemala City, Guatemala. However, for financial and political reasons, Miss Universe was moved to New York City.[2]
Results
Placements
| Placement | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss Universe 1981 |
|
| 1st runner-up |
|
| 2nd runner-up |
|
| 3rd runner-up |
|
| 4th runner-up |
|
| Top 12 |
|
| Winner | |
| First runner-up | |
| Second runner-up | |
| Third runner-up | |
| Fourth runner-up | |
| (#) | Rank in each round of competition |
Final Scores
| Country/Territory | Preliminary
Average |
Interview | Swimsuit | Evening Gown | Semifinal Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venezuela[3] | 8.575 (1) | 8.966 (1) | 9.024 (1) | 8.887 (1) | 8.959 (1) |
| Canada[3] | 7.913 (12) | 8.167 (6) | 8.133 (5) | 8.508 (2) | 8.269 (4) |
| Sweden[3] | 7.967 (9) | 8.658 (2) | 8.050 (6) | 8.179 (4) | 8.296 (3) |
| Brazil[3] | 8.330 (4) | 8.191 (5) | 8.416 (3) | 7.824 (7) | 8.144 (5) |
| Belgium[3] | 8.223 (6) | 8.529 (3) | 8.881 (2) | 8.268 (3) | 8.559 (2) |
| Tahiti[3] | 7.940 (11) | 8.149 (7) | 8.137 (4) | 7.962 (5) | 8.082 (6) |
| Norway[3] | 8.259 (5) | 8.435 (4) | 7.717 (8) | 7.838 (6) | 7.997 (7) |
| Germany[3] | 8.400 (3) | 7.875 (8) | 8.041 (7) | 7.442 (10) | 7.786 (8) |
| Holland[3] | 8.133 (7) | 7.590 (9) | 7.633 (9) | 7.625 (9) | 7.616 (9) |
| United States[3] | 8.527 (2) | 7.427 (11) | 7.617 (10) | 7.653 (8) | 7.565 (10) |
| Ecuador[3] | 7.967 (9) | 7.442 (10) | 7.300 (12) | 7.317 (12) | 7.353 (11) |
| New Zealand[3] | 8.063 (8) | 6.950 (12) | 7.492 (11) | 7.350 (11) | 7.264 (12) |
Final Competition
Awards
| Special Awards | Winners |
|---|---|
| Miss Amity | Bahamas - Linda Smith |
| Miss Photogenic | Denmark - Tina Brandstrup |
| Best National Costume | Brazil - Adriana Alves de Oliveira |
Contestants
Seventy-six contestants competed for the title.
| Country/Territory | Contestant | Age[a] | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Susana Reynoso[4] | 20 | Buenos Aires |
| Aruba | Synia Reyes[5] | 18 | Brasília |
| Australia | Karen Sang[6] | 21 | Sydney |
| Austria | Gudrun Gollop | 22 | Vienna |
| Bahamas | Linda Smith | 21 | Nassau |
| Belgium | Dominique van Eeckhoudt | 20 | Brussels |
| Belize | Ivette Zabaneh | 18 | Belmopan |
| Bermuda | Cymone Tucker | 21 | Smith’s Parish |
| Bolivia | Maricruz Aponte | 18 | Santa Cruz de la Sierra |
| Brazil | Adriana Alves | 18 | Rio de Janeiro |
| British Virgin Islands | Carmen Nibbs | 18 | Tortola |
| Canada | Dominique Dufour | 22 | Laval |
| Cayman Islands | Donna Myrie | 20 | George Town |
| Chile | Soledad Hurtado | 19 | Valparaíso |
| Colombia | Ana Edilma Cano | 18 | Medellín |
| Costa Rica | Rosa Inés Solís[7] | 19 | San José |
| Curaçao | Maria Maxima Croes | 22 | Willemstad |
| Cyprus | Katia Angelidou | 18 | Larnaca |
| Denmark | Tina Brandstrup | 20 | Copenhagen |
| Dominican Republic | Lucía Peña | 17 | Puerto Plata |
| Ecuador | Lucía Vinueza | 18 | Guayaquil |
| England | Joanna Longley | 25 | Windsor |
| Fiji | Lynn McDonald | - | Suva |
| Finland | Merja Varvikko | 20 | Forssa |
| France | Isabelle Benard | 23 | Normandy |
| Gibraltar | Yvette Dominguez | 19 | Gibraltar |
| Greece | Maria Nikouli[8] | 18 | Athens |
| Guadeloupe | Rosette Bivuoac | 17 | Basse-Terre |
| Guam | Bertha Harmon | 17 | Hagåtña |
| Guatemala | Yuma Lobos | 19 | Guatemala City |
| Holland | Ingrid Schouten | 20 | The Hague |
| Honduras | Leslie Sabillón | 19 | Francisco Morazán |
| Hong Kong | Irene Lo | 21 | Hong Kong |
| Iceland | Elisabet Trausdóttir | 17 | Reykjavík |
| India | Rachita Kumar | 19 | Bombay |
| Ireland | Valerie Roe | 21 | Dublin |
| Israel | Dana Wexler | 17 | Giv'atayim |
| Italy | Anna Kanakis | 20 | Messina |
| Japan | Mineko Orisaku | 20 | Kyoto |
| Malaysia | Audrey Loh | - | Kuala Lumpur |
| Malta | Susanne Galea | 19 | St Julians |
| Martinique | Ghislaine Jean-Louis | - | Fort-de-France |
| Mexico | Judith Grace González | 18 | Monterrey |
| Namibia | Antoinette Knoetze | 22 | Windhoek |
| New Zealand | Donella Thomsen | 21 | Auckland |
| Northern Mariana Islands | Juanita Mendiola | 17 | Tinian |
| Norway | Mona Olsen | 20 | Oslo |
| Panama | Ana María Henríquez | 21 | Panama City |
| Paraguay | María Isabel Urízar | 18 | Asunción |
| Peru | Gladys Silva | 20 | Lima |
| Philippines | Maria Caroline Mendoza | 18 | Manila |
| Portugal | Ana Paula Machado Moura | - | Lisbon |
| Puerto Rico | Carmen Lotti Rodríguez | 20 | Guaynabo |
| Réunion | Patricia Abadie | - | Saint-Paul |
| Saint Kitts | Marva Warner | - | Sandy Point |
| Scotland | Anne McFarlane | 18 | Glasgow |
| Singapore | Florence Tan | 21 | Singapore |
| South Africa | Daniela di Paolo | - | Durban |
| South Korea | Lee Eun-jung | 18 | Seoul |
| Spain | Frances Ondiviela | 24 | Las Palmas |
| Sri Lanka | Renuka Varuni Jesudhason | - | Matale |
| Sweden | Eva-Lena Lundgren | 19 | Piteå |
| Switzerland | Bridget Voss | 21 | Bern |
| Tahiti | Tatiana Teraiamano | 18 | Papeete |
| Thailand | Massupha Karbprapun | 21 | Bangkok |
| Transkei | Kedibone Letlaka | - | Tsolo |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Romini Samaroo | - | San Fernando |
| Turkey | Şenay Unlu | - | Ankara |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | Frances Gloria Rigby | - | Grand Turk |
| United States | Kim Seelbrede | 20 | Germantown |
| United States Virgin Islands | Marise Cecile James | - | Saint Croix |
| Uruguay | Griselda Anchorena | 20 | Montevideo |
| Venezuela | Irene Sáez | 19 | Caracas |
| Wales | Karen Stannard | 22 | Newport |
| West Germany | Marion Kurz | 20 | Bavaria |
| Western Samoa | Lenita Schwalger | - | Apia |
Withdrawals
- Mauritius - Carole Fitzgerald was homesick and then withdrew.[1]
Notes
- ^ Ages at the time of the pageant
References
- ^ a b "Venezuelan wins title: Miss Universe". The Robesonian. Associated Press. July 21, 1981. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ "Miss Universe Facts & Figures". buzzle.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Miss Universe 1981 - Full Show". tttpageant. March 10, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Nos sentimos a gusto compitiendo en Miss Universo dicen las chicas" [We feel comfortable competing in Miss Universe says the girls]. La Opinion (in Spanish). 13 July 1981. p. 7. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Miss Aruba naar New York" [Miss Aruba to New York]. Amigoe (in Dutch). 27 March 1981. p. 5. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Delpher.
- ^ "Highlights of the week". Australian Women's Weekly. 22 July 1981. p. 161. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Trove.
- ^ "Rosa Inés Solís". La República (in Spanish). 17 April 1982. p. 21. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Prensa CR.
- ^ Gatzios, Akis (22 November 2023). "Μαρία Νικούλη: Πού βρίσκεται σήμερα και τί κάνει η Σταρ Ελλάς του 1981" [Interview with Maria Nikouli: Once a Star Hellas, always a Star Hellas – Where is she today and what is she doing?]. Anagnostis.org (in Greek). Retrieved 26 September 2025.