Miss Universe 1977

Miss Universe 1977
Janelle Commissiong
Date	16 July 1977
Presenters	Bob Barker Helen O'Connell
Venue	National Theater, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Broadcaster	CBS (international) Color Visión (official broadcaster)
Entrants	80
Placements	12
Debuts	Antigua British Virgin Islands French Guiana Guadeloupe Réunion Saint Kitts Saint Lucia
Withdrawals	Guatemala Luxembourg Turkey
Returns	Belize Haiti Lebanon Tahiti
Winner	Janelle Commissiong Trinidad and Tobago
Congeniality	Pamela Mercer (Canada)
Best National Costume	Kim Sung-hee (South Korea)
Photogenic	Janelle Commissiong (Trinidad and Tobago)
← 1976 1978 →

Miss Universe 1977 was the 26th Miss Universe pageant, held on 16 July 1977 at the National Theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It was the first time in the pageant's history that the event was held in Dominican Republic. Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad and Tobago was crowned by Rina Messinger of Israel at the end of the event. This was the first time a Black woman won Miss Universe.^[1] African American singer Dionne Warwick, one of the 12 judges, burst into tears when Commissiong won.^[1]

The other judges were Dominican industrialist José Armando Bermúdez, fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, model Wilhelmina Cooper, actress Linda Cristal, film producer Robert Evans, film and television producer Howard W. Koch, Miss Universe 1970, Marisol Malaret of Puerto Rico, and photographer Gordon Parks.^[1]

Miss Universe was then owned by Gulf+Western Industries.