Miss Universe 1959

Miss Universe 1959
Akiko Kojima
Date24 July 1959 (1959-07-24)
PresentersByron Palmer
VenueLong Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California, United States
BroadcasterCBS
Entrants34
Placements15
Debuts
  • Bolivia
  • Burma
  • Luxembourg
Withdrawals
  • Alaska
  • Australia
  • British Guiana
  • Chile
  • Paraguay
  • Singapore
  • Suriname
  • Venezuela
  • West Indies
Returns
  • Austria
  • Costa Rica
  • Iceland
  • Thailand
  • Turkey
WinnerAkiko Kojima
Japan
CongenialitySodsai Vanijvadhana (Thailand)
PhotogenicPamela Anne Searle (England)
← 1958
1960 →

Miss Universe 1959 was the eighth Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 24 July 1959. This was the last year that the pageant was held in Long Beach before it moved to Miami Beach, Florida in 1960.

At the end of the event, Luz Marina Zuluaga of Colombia crowned Akiko Kojima of Japan as Miss Universe 1959.[1] Kojima was the first representative of Japan, and the first Asian woman to win the contest.[2]

Contestants from thirty-four countries and territories competed in this year's pageant. The pageant was hosted by Byron Palmer.

  1. ^ "Japanese Girl Beauty Queen". The Sydney Morning Herald. July 26, 1959. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  2. ^ Davidson, Garber (26 July 1959). "Japanese Beauty wins Miss Universe Title". Park City Daily News. p. 1. Retrieved 13 October 2023 – via Google News Archive.