Miss Universe Titleholders from 1961 to 1970

02 / 11

Marlene Schmidt Miss Universe 1961 from Germany

The 10th edition of the Miss Universe pageant, Miss Universe 1961, was won by Marlene Schmidt on 15th July 1961. She was at that time the tenth consecutive German entrant to reach the semifinals of the event, and is the first (and to date only) German to be crowned Miss Universe. From 1972 to 1986, Schmidt was involved in the movie industry. Eventually Schmidt returned to Germany, where she now lives in Saarbrücken.

03 / 11

Norma Nolan Miss Universe 1962 from Argentina

Norma Nolan became the first woman from Argentina to win the coveted Miss Universe title in the year 1962. Nolan was never among the favourites, and when she was called out as one of the Top 15 finalists, she was regarded as a “dark horse”. Although not a media favourite, she was very favourite among the contestants as was seen after her crowning. Not much is known about her after winning the Miss Universe title; Nolan kept a largely private life after her victory.

04 / 11

Ieda Maria Vargas Miss Universe 1963 from Brazil

Ieda became the first woman from Brazil to win the title of Miss Universe. After winning the Miss Universe 1963 title, Vargas was welcomed by millions of people back in her country. During her reign, she opened the Capital Plaza Mall in Landover Hills, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. After coming back to her country, Vargas decided to maintain a low profile, rather than pursuing an artistic career.

05 / 11

Corinna Tsopei Miss Universe 1964 from Greece

Miss Universe 1964 title was won by Corinna Tsopei of Greece. She bested out the crowd’s favourites Miss England, Miss Israel, Miss Sweden and Miss China to clinch the coveted crown. After winning the title, she also made it as one of the judges at the Miss Universe pageant for several years. After finishing her reign, she went on to pursue a career in acting. Apart from her beauty pageant work and acting career, Corinna also is a chairman for an organisation for children with leukemia.

06 / 11

Apasra Hongsakula Miss Universe 1965 from Thailand

The 1965 edition of Miss Universe pageant was won by Thai beauty Apasra Hongsakula. Apasra was born to be a queen. She is the daughter of Group Captain Perm and Kayoon Hongsakula. She was the first woman from Thailand to win the Miss Universe crown. Apasra had a royal aura to her personality and was full of elegance and poise. That is one of the many reasons why she was crowned as the winner despite her short height. She returned to the pageant as a judge in 1973 and 1979.

07 / 11

Margareta Arvidsson Miss Universe 1966 from Sweden

Margareta Arvidsson of Sweden won the Miss Universe 1966 title. Also in 1966, the Miss Universe pageant came up with changes, which included announcing the Top 15 finalists during the finals instead of Preliminaries, which has been happening till 1965. She was the second Swedish beauty to win the crown, 11 years after Hillevi Rombin. After her reign as Miss Universe, Margareta became a fashion model for the Ford Modeling Agency and had great success as an international model.

08 / 11

Sylvia Hitchcock Miss Universe 1967 from USA

The 16th edition of the Miss Universe pageant was won by Sylvia Hitchcock of USA. After relinquishing her title she tried modeling in New York City but became disillusioned with the city and returned to Miami where she worked for a television station. In 1972 she was one of a panel of twelve judges for the Miss Universe 1972 pageant won by Kerry Anne Wells.

09 / 11

Martha Vasconcellos Miss Universe 1968 from Brazil

Martha Vasconcellos became the second woman from Brazil to win the Miss Universe title. Martha was among the favourites for the title. Her gorgeous body and beautiful green eyes gained her the favourite status. Martha was however a controversial beauty queen. In the book, “The world of Miss Universe”, there were not many good things written about Martha, which called her a spoiled brat.

10 / 11

Gloria Diaz Miss Universe 1969 from Philippines

Gloria Diaz became the first Filipino to win the Miss Universe title. But, not many were happy with the results and it was claimed that the victory was a political victory. The media heavily criticized Gloria’s victory, but the Filipinos celebrated their first Miss Universe victory. Gloria nailed the final Q&A when she was asked, “In the next day or so, a man will land on the moon. If a man from the moon landed in your hometown, what would you do to entertain him?” To which she answered, "Oh, just the same things I do. I think if he has been on the moon for so long, I think when he comes over he wants to change, I guess."

11 / 11

Marisol Malaret Miss Universe 1970 from Puerto Rico

Marisol Malaret was the very first Puerto Rican woman to be crowned Miss Universe. After her victory, she was honoured with one of the biggest welcoming events ever at San Juan's Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, then known as Isla Verde International Airport. Malaret graced the covers of countless international and Puerto Rican entertainment and gossip magazines, such as Vea, Teve Guía, Artistas, Estrellas and its smaller version Estrellitas. She has participated in many advertising campaigns, and also performs as a motivational speaker to young women and aspiring business leaders.