All Miss Worlds up to 1999

Rossy

The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's wife, Julia Morley, co-chairs the pageant. Alongside its rival Miss Universe and Miss Earth contests, this pageant is one of the most publicised beauty contests in the world. The winner spends a year travelling to represent the Miss World Organization and its various causes. Traditionally, Miss World lives in London during her reign. The current Miss World is Alexandria Mills of United States.

First Miss World, Sweden's Kiki Haakonson

Current Miss World is Alexandria Mills

Miss World started as the Festival Bikini Contest, in honour of the recently introduced swim wear of the time, but was called "Miss World" by the media. It was originally planned as a one-off event. Upon learning about the upcoming Miss Universe pageant, Morley decided to make the pageant an annual event.

Opposition to the wearing of bikinis led to their replacement with more modest swim wear after the first contest. In 1959, the BBC started broadcasting the competition. The pageant's popularity grew with the advent of television. During the 1960s and 1970s, Miss World would normally be the highest rated programme of the year on British television, usually pulling in around 30 million viewers.

In the 1980s, the pageant repositioned itself with the slogan Beauty With a Purpose, with added tests of intelligence and personality. However, the competition has been seen as old-fashioned and rather politically incorrect in its native Britain. It was during the 80s that the company was owned by Transworld Communications, albeit for a short time. Despite the global appeal, the show was not broadcast on any major terrestrial British TV network for several years, until Channel 5 aired it in 1998.

Eric Morley died as the pageant entered the new century. His wife, Julia, succeeded as chairwoman of the Miss World Organization.

The century saw its first black African winner, Agbani Darego, in 2001. As part of its marketing strategy, Miss World came up with a "You Decide" television special during that edition, featuring the delegates behind the scenes and on the beach, and allowing viewers to either phone in or vote online for their favorites. It also sells its Talent, Beach Beauty and Sports events as television specials to broadcasters.

In 2002 the pageant was slated for choosing Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria to host its final. This choice was controversial, as a northern Nigerian woman, Amina Lawal, was awaiting death by stoning for adultery under Sharia law there, but Miss World chose to use the publicity surrounding its presence to bring greater global awareness and action to Amina's plight

The Miss World Organization owns and manages the annual Miss World Finals, a competition that has grown into one of the World’s biggest. Since its launch in 1951, the Miss World Organization has raised more than £250 million for children’s charities. Miss World is franchised in more than 100 countries. Miss World, Limited is a privately held firm, and thus figures for its earnings, expenses and charitable contributions are not publicly available.

Aside from raising millions of pounds for charities around the globe under the banner of its 'Beauty with a Purpose' program, Miss World is also credited with directly influencing a dramatic increase in tourism in, China, host city of the Miss World finals in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2010.

In the year preceding the global finals, each delegate must win her national title or a specially designated Miss World national preliminary. Miss World's national preliminaries are conducted by their licence-holders, who hold the franchise to use the "Miss World" name in their country. The annual final is typically a month long event, with several preliminary galas, dinners, balls and activities, culminating in a globally telecast final show in which the field is narrowed to between 15-20 delegates.

Miss World 1990

Gina Marie Tolleson won the title of Miss South Carolina USA 1990 and was 1st runner up at Miss USA 1990. She went on to win the Miss World beauty pageant in 1990, representing the United States. She later went on to meet television personality Alan Thicke when she hosted the 1992 Miss World USA pageant. Shortly afterwards, the two were married. They had a son, Carter Thicke in July 1997, divorcing in 1999. Gina became executive editor of Santa Barbara Magazine in 2002. She married Christian Wiesenthal in 2003 and have two sons, Luca, born September 2005 and Tiago, born December 2006. Gina was also the first Miss World to host and give up the crown in the same stage. She along with British television personality Peter Marshall hosted the 1991 pageant from World Congress Center in Atlanta.

Miss World 1991

Miss World 1991, the 41st Miss World pageant, was held on December 28, 1991 in Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The winner was Ninibeth Beatriz Leal JiménezVenezuela.representing

Miss World 1992

Julia Alexandrovna Kourotchkina, Miss Russia, a voluptuous 1.8-metre-blonde, was crowned Miss World 1992 amid an extravaganza of glitz in the first pageant held at South Africa's Sun City desert resort. Eighteen-year-old Kurotchkina beat Miss United Kingdom Claire Smith, 21, by a margin of one point, the closest in the 42-year history of the pageant. The crowning of Miss Russia was a coup for South African leisure magnate Sol Kerzner, who brought the Miss World pageant to Africa for the first time as part of the opening celebration of his 830 million rand ($275 million) Lost City hotel complex here.When Kourotchkina was asked by veteran British TV journalist Alan Whicker whether she thought beauty contests were demeaning to women, she replied with a giggly smile: "Everybody loves women." It was an answer which won her over $90,000 worth of prizes and world's most coveted beauty title.

Miss World 1993

Lisa Hanna was the third Jamaican to win the Miss World title. She won the title in 1993 in Sun City, South Africa at 18 years old. Hanna had a small role in How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and she has hosted the popular Jamaican talk show, Our Voices. Lisa migrated to the U.S. in 2004 to pursue a career in broadcasting and was a guest presenter on the entertainment show Xtra. However, in late 2005, she relocated back to Jamaica and has been the communications consultant for the Hilton Hotel in New Kingston, the financial hub of Kingston. One of Jamaica's most beloved beauty queens, Hanna went to the Queen's School in Kingston and is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, where she successfully pursued a Bachelors and Masters degree in Communications. She is of African & Lebanese ancestry. During June 2007, she was catapulted into the public's eyes again when the ruling political party, People National Party announced her as a candidate for key constituency for the country's next general election which was constitutionally due in October 2007. However Hanna's selection by the People National Party for the vacant South East St. Ann constituency has drawn the ire of her potential constituents. It has also sparked intense public discussions about the timing, her eligibility and her capability of functioning as a politician. After almost a week of protests by the constituents it was revealed that Hanna's name is not on the voters list. However, it was later revealed by the electorial office of Jamaica that this would not prevent Hanna from running as MP. As persons do not have to be on the voters list to run for Member of Parliament. Hanna's selection to represent the ruling Peoples National Party in the upcoming general election may prove to be a catastrophe in what is believed to be the safest non garrison seat for the governing party. It was reported that the former Miss World was handpicked by Prime Minister of Jamaica Hon. Portia Simpson Miller to represent the constituency. However, since the announcement Hanna as been the center of a public debate and protests by members of the constituency, as they claim Hanna does not live or work in the area. On September 3, 2007, Lisa Hanna went on to win the South Eastern St. Ann constituency by 2678 votes over the JLP's Peter Fakhourie. This was a bitter and sweet victory for Hanna however as the Peoples National Party that she represents went on to lose their first general election after 18 years. Hanna was viewed as a possible Minister of Tourism if her party was victorious, She will however be sitting on the opposition side during her tenure as member of parliament.

Miss World 1994

Probably the most successful Miss World title holders, Rai won the Miss World crown in 1994 the same year that her fellow country girl Sushmita Sen won Miss Universe. After relinquished her crown, Rai made her movie debut in Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Iruvar (1997) opposite Mohanlal. She had her first commercial success in the Tamil movie Jeans (1998), and came to the attention of Bollywood in the Hindi movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Her performance in the film won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award, and she successfully performed in Bhansali's next project, Devdas (2002), for which she won her second Best Actress Award at the Filmfare. Since then, she has acted in over forty movies in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, and English, including the international productions Bride & Prejudice (2003), Mistress of Spices (2005), and The Last Legion (2007) in English. The first woman from India to ever judge the Cannes International Film Festival, Rai is now the face of Bollywood. She She is now married to Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan. The wedding took place on 20 April 2007.

Miss World 1995

Nineteen-year-old Jacqueline Aguilera was one of 112 Miss World contestants who gathered together in spectacular Sun City, South Africa, for the 1995 pageant. A university student from Nueva Esparta, Jacqueline was 19 years old when she won the coveted crown. She also took home the Miss Photogenic Award. Her first words as Miss World 1995 were: "I am very happy with my triumph; now what I desire the most is a united world fighting for progress, for the sake of the future of our planet". Since winning Miss World, Jacqueline has stayed in the modeling and promotions business. She now runs her own agency in Valencia, ‘Instituto Jacqueline Aguilera', searching for the faces of the future.

Miss World 1996

A Greek native Irene Skliva won the 1996 Miss World. After winning the title "Miss Hellas" at the Miss Star Hellas pageant, she represented Greece in Bangalore, India during the highly-regarded Miss World contest in 1996. Afterwards the 18-year-old said she didn't quite believe it was real: "I had the feeling it was just another rehearsal - in the rehearsals, in one rehearsal, they'd used me as the mock winner". After completing her year as Miss World, Skliva returned to Greece where she pursued a career in television and modeling, her face appearing on the covers of numerous Greek magazines such as Diva and LipStick. She has participated in some of the world's largest fashion shows in Athens, Milan and Munich. She is currently represented by Ace Models Agency. She was married in September 2002 and had her first child, a daughter, in July 2003. During the 2004 Summer Olympics, Skliva (like numerous other celebrities) left her signature on The Olive: The Tree of Athens, a sculptured olive tree located in the Water Plaza fun park which visitors flooded during the games, that represented the homecoming of the Olympics.

Miss World 1997

Hayden is of Anglo-Indian descent. As a teenager, she was a tomboy, tall and gangly. She went to St.Anns High School, Secunderabad but dropped out in the 8th standard to take family responsibilities. She continued her studies through open schooling and correspondence and graduated from Osmania University in English. Before modeling, she used to work for an Event management company called Encore. She then worked as a Public relations officer at BMG Crescendo where she managed careers for models Anaida and Mehnaz. After Anaida's recommendation, she filled in for the Miss India contest. After winning Miss India she proceeded to win the coveted Miss World title. Hayden came into limelight at the 1997 Miss World pageant. She became a celebrity at 24 after winning the crown. Hayden became the third Indian woman to win the Miss World pageant. Like Aishwarya Rai, she entered Bollywood acting career in the Indian film industry and internationally. She became the third Miss World from India after Reita Faria and Aishwarya Rai. After trying to make a mark in Bollywood, Hayden moved to Los Angeles, California and devoted herself to social causes. In 2008, Diana Hayden became a wild card entry on the popular Indian show, Bigg Boss, which is based on the original UK show, Big Brother. She was voted out from Bigg Boss 2 house on the episode that aired on Nov 7th 2008. Following her tenure as the global representative for the prestigious Miss World organization, Hayden moved to the UK and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. She also studied at Drama Studio London, where she concentrated on the works of Shakespeare and earned a Best Actress nomination from the studio. In 2001, she made her screen debut in the film version of Shakespeare’s Othello in South Africa. In 2005, the History Channel did a three-month series, Biography with Diana Hayden. In addition to featuring prominent world leaders, Hollywood actors and sports champions, the series also included special monthly interviews with Indian celebrities. The engagement, which marked the first time the History Channel had signed an Indian host for one of its shows, was rated one of the most successful educational television programs of the year. In 2006, Diana was signed by the Avalon Aviation Academy as the face of the Academy and currently serves as a celebrity guest lecturer for airline personnel training programs. In 2008 she was a contestant in reality Big Boss 2.

Miss World 1998

The 48th Miss World pageant was held at the Lake Berjaya Mahé Resort in Mahé Island, Seychelles. 86 delegates from around the world competed for the crown. Ronan Keating then lead singer of BoyzoneMTV's Eden Harel hosted the event. This year's winner, Israel's Linor Abargil, revealed days after the competition that she was raped months before the pageant.

Miss World 1999

The 49th Miss World pageant was held on 4 December 1999 at London's Olympia Hall. The pageant was hosted by Ulrika Jonsson and model Melanie Sykes. The 1999 pageant attracted 94 delegates from all over the world. The 1999 pageant also marked the first time that Scotland and Wales fielded their respective delegates.