List of Miss World Winners (1951-2021) – Updated List

List of Miss World Winners: The Miss World is the oldest international beauty pageant. It was initiated in 1951 and runs yearly except for two years because of COVID-19. So far, 71 Miss World contestants have become winners.

Miss World pageants have a huge impact on increasing national pride and women’s empowerment. It celebrates women from all countries with different backgrounds and ethnicities.

They also go beyond the beauty-centric things and engage in social initiatives that help create awareness. In this article, you can get the list of Miss World Winners so far and also the origin, significance, and other facts about Miss World Winners.

In this article, We have discussed the list of Miss World Winners in the world along with a list of Miss Universe from India and many more in detail.

Let’s dive right in.

List of Miss World Winners

The following is the list of Miss World Winners along with Age and country:

Year	Miss World	Country	Age	National Title	Location	Date
1982	Mariasela Álvarez	Dominican Republic	22	Miss Dominican Republic	–	November 18, 1982
1983	Sarah-Jane Hutt	United Kingdom	19	Miss United Kingdom	–	November 17, 1983
1984	Astrid Carolina Herrera	Venezuela	21	Miss Venezuela	–	November 15, 1984
1985	Hólmfríður Karlsdóttir	Iceland	22	Miss Iceland	–	November 14, 1985
1986	Giselle Laronde	Trinidad and Tobago	23	Miss Trinidad and Tobago	–	November 13, 1986
1987	Ulla Weigerstorfer	Austria	20	Miss Austria	–	November 12, 1987
1988	Linda Pétursdóttir	Iceland	19	Miss Iceland	–	November 17, 1988
1989	Aneta Kręglicka	Poland	24	Miss Polonia	Wan Chai North, Hong Kong	November 22, 1989
1990	Gina Tolleson	United States	21	Miss USA	London, United Kingdom	November 8, 1990
1991	Ninibeth Leal	Venezuela	20	Miss Venezuela	Atlanta, United States	December 28, 1991
1992	Julia Kourotchkina	Russia	18	Miss Russia	Sun City, South Africa	December 12, 1992
1993	Lisa Hanna	Jamaica	18	Miss Jamaica World	November 27, 1993
1994	Aishwarya Rai	India	21	Femina Miss India	November 19, 1994
1995	Jacqueline Aguilera	Venezuela	19	Miss Venezuela	November 18, 1995
1996	Irene Skliva	Greece	18	Star Hellas	Bangalore, India	November 23, 1996
1997	Diana Hayden	India	24	Femina Miss India	Mahé, Seychelles	November 22, 1997
1998	Linor Abargil	Israel	18	Miss Israel	November 26, 1998
1999	Yukta Mookhey	India	21	Femina Miss India	London, United Kingdom	December 4, 1999
2000	Priyanka Chopra	India	18	–	November 30, 2000
2001	Agbani Darego	Nigeria	19	Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria	Sun City, South Africa	November 16, 2001
2002	Azra Akın	Turkey	21	Miss Turkey	London, United Kingdom	December 7, 2002
2003	Rosanna Davison	Ireland	19	Miss Ireland	Sanya, China	December 6, 2003
2004	María Julia Mantilla	Peru	20	Miss Peru	December 4, 2004
2005	Unnur Vilhjálmsdóttir	Iceland	21	Miss Iceland	December 10, 2005
2006	Taťána Kuchařová	Czech Republic	18	Miss České Republiky	Warsaw, Poland	September 30, 2006
2007	Zhang Zilin	China	23	Miss China World	Sanya, China	December 1, 2007
2008	Ksenia Sukhinova	Russia	21	Miss Russia	Johannesburg, South Africa	December 13, 2008
2009	Kaiane Aldorino	Gibraltar	23	Miss Gibraltar	December 12, 2009
2010	Alexandria Mills	United States	18	Miss United States World	Sanya, China	October 30, 2010
2011	Ivian Sarcos	Venezuela	22	Miss Venezuela	London, United Kingdom	November 6, 2011
2012	Yu Wenxia	China	23	Miss China World	Ordos City, China

Year	Miss World	Country	Age	National Title	Location	Date
2013	Megan Young	Philippines	23	Miss World Philippines	Nusa Dua, Indonesia	September 28, 2013
2014	Rolene Strauss	South Africa	22	Miss South Africa	London, United Kingdom	December 14, 2014
2015	Mireia Lalaguna	Spain	23	Miss World Spain	Sanya, China	December 19, 2015
2016	Stephanie Del Valle	Puerto Rico	19	Miss World Puerto Rico	Oxon Hill, United States	December 18, 2016
2017	Manushi Chhillar	India	20	Femina Miss India	Sanya, China	November 18, 2017
2018	Vanessa Ponce	Mexico	26	Miss Mexico	December 8, 2018
2019	Toni-Ann Singh	Jamaica	23	Miss Jamaica World	London, United Kingdom	December 14, 2019
2020	No competition held due to the COVID-19 pandemic	–	–	–	No competition held due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Origins and Evolution of the Miss World Pageant

The Miss World took off in the year 1951 and was started by Eric Morely to publicize bikinis as they were a new entry in the market. It was highly publicized and thus became an annual event.

In 1959, BBC started airing Miss World which increased its popularity tremendously. In the 1980s, they produced the slogan “Beauty with a purpose” and added intelligence and personality tests in the pageant slowly shifting its beauty-centric approach.

Eric Morely passed away in 2000 and his wife, Julia has become the chairman of the Miss World Organization as a successor.

Significance in the World of Pageantry

One of the oldest pageants in the world is Miss World. They have achieved enormous success in the fields of society and culture. They are:

• It brings a sense of national pride to the country and unifies the citizens
• Hosting and Participating in Miss World brings global coverage to the culture and heritage of the country which boosts tourism.
• It serves as a platform for personal growth and networking for the contestants. Most of the winners and runner-ups go on to pursue successful careers in modeling, acting, social activism, etc.
• It goes beyond judging contestants based on beauty and contestants often engage in social initiatives such as education, healthcare, abuse, etc. This shows support and spreads awareness.
• It involves women from different countries and ethnicities to interact and hence share their culture in the process. This fosters global harmony.

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Notable Achievements of the Winners of Miss World

Winners of Miss World have had vastly successful careers where they have garnered a lot of fame and laurels. Here are some of the most notable achievements of Miss World:

• Aishwariya Rai (1994) was the first Indian actress to be a part of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
• Vanessa Ponce (2018) is one of the Directors for a Drug Rehab Center for girls
• Jennifer Hosten (1970) worked for BBC radio and later went on to become a flight attendant
• Mariasela Alvarez (1982) has built several important buildings in her country as an architect
• Carole Joan Crawford (1963) has been honored by the government of Jamaica who has issued a set of stamps with her picture on it.

Life Beyond The Crown: Miss World Winners Contributions

Winners of the prestigious Miss World Paegent go on to become the face of the Miss World organization until another face is crowned as the successor. During this, they travel worldwide raising money for several charities and donations for NGOs. Most of the Miss World winners continue to be the ambassadors of countless charities even after this.

• Lucia Petterle (1971) is a doctor who gives medical care to needy children.
• Aishwariya Rai (1994) has represented the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS.
• Lisa Hanna (1993) is a Member of Parliament.
• Wilnelia Merced (1975) established a charity for helping the poor children of Puerto Rico.
• Kimberly Santos (1980) is a court-appointed representative and takes care of children in social services.
• Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir has served as a police officer in the Keflavik International Airport.
• Priyanka Chopra has received the Padma Shri from the Indian Government for her contribution to the arts.

The Future of the Miss World Pageant

Speculating on the future trends in Miss World and other Beauty Pageants is hard as it is reflective of the societal changes in values. The future Miss World Pageants might focus more on:

• Inclusivity of different body types
• Efforts to break conventional beauty standards
• Utilizing Technology for audience participation ‘
• Shift from beauty-centric voting criteria to a holistic one
• Greater involvement of social media for promoting causes and creating awareness.

List of Miss World Winners from India

The following is the list of Miss World Winners from India:

Year	Name
1966	Reita Faria
1994	Aishwarya Rai
1997	Diana Hayden
1999	Yukta Mookhey
2000	Priyanka Chopra
2017	Manushi Chillar

Conclusion on List of Miss World Winners

Beauty Pageants like Miss World among others can either empower people or promote unachievable beauty standards based on different perspectives. They perpetuate unhealthy beauty standards but have evolved over time. They have shifted from focusing on beauty to focusing on intellect as well. They give a platform for young women to display their knowledge which can be empowering for other women.

FAQs on List of Miss World Winners

1. Which country has the most Miss World Winners?

India and Venezuela both share the spot for having the most number of Miss Worlds which is six.

2. Who was the first Miss World?

Kiki Hakannson from Sweden was the first Miss World. She is the only Miss World to receive the title in a bikini.

3. Who is the youngest Miss World?

Irene Skliva (1996) won the title of Miss World at the age of 18.

4. How did Miss World start?

Miss World started in 1951 as a bikini contest as a part of the Festival of Britain celebration.

Who is 1st miss World?

The first Miss World winner was Kiki Håkansson from Sweden. She won the title in 1951 at the Lyceum Ballroom in London. Kiki Håkansson is recognized as the inaugural Miss World, and her victory marked the beginning of the Miss World pageant.

How many miss world are from India?

India has produced six Miss World titleholders.

Who is the most famous miss world Winners?

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Miss World of 1994 is considered one of the most beautiful Miss Worlds of all time.

What is the difference between miss world and miss universe?

Miss World and Miss Universe are separate international beauty pageants with different ownership and selection criteria. Miss World emphasizes beauty, talent, and humanitarian work, while Miss Universe focuses on beauty, intelligence, and personality.

Who is the present miss universe?

The current Miss Universe is Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua.