MISS UNIVERSE 1952

Long Beach, California
USA
1952
Armi Kuusela
FINLAND








1st runner-up Elza Kananionapua HAWAII
2nd runner-up Daisy Mavrali GREECE
3rd runner-up Judy Dan HONG KONG
4th runner-up Renate Roy GERMANY
SEMI FINALISTS:
Olga Llorens Perez Castillo MEXICO
Catherine Edwina Higgins SOUTH AFRICA
Anne Marie Tistler SWEDEN
Gladys Rubio URUGUAY
Jackie Loughery USA


Twenty-nine contestants participated in the first Miss Universe pageant in 1952 held in Long Beach, California.. Though only 18 years old, Armi still captured the Universe.. The pageant, even at its onset was not without controversy as many accused favoritism as the 1952 Olympic Games were held in Helsinki, Finland that same year. A year after her reign, Armi married Filipino businessman Virgilio Hilario and brought up a family of 5 children. She remarried upon Hilario's death in 1977 and has moved to La Jolla, California. She is still active in her community as she involves herself in Cancer research.