Kiki Håkansson Explained

Kerstin Margareta Håkansson
Birth Date:23 July 1929
Birth Place:Stockholm, Sweden
Death Place:California, U.S.
Alias:Kiki Håkansson
Occupation:beauty queen and model
Hair Color:Light brown
Eye Color:Blue
Miss Sweden 1951
Miss World 1951
Competitions:Miss World Sweden 1951
(Winner)
Miss World 1951
(Winner)
Spouse:Dallas Anderson
Children:3

Kerstin Margareta " Kiki" Håkansson (23 July 1929 – 4 November 2024) was a Swedish model and beauty queen who was the first winner of the Miss World beauty pageant.

Miss World 1951

Originally the Festival Bikini Contest,[1] Miss World was organized by Eric Morley as a mid-century advertisement for swimwear at the Festival of Britain.[2] Håkansson was a photo and fashion model[3] when she was crowned Miss Sweden World in 1951 and subsequently won the London pageant.[4]

Håkansson wore a bikini during the crowning ritual, after which she was condemned by the Pope,[5] [6] and some countries with strong religious traditions threatened to withdraw delegates.[7] In 1952, bikinis were banned from the pageant and replaced with more modest swimwear.[8] [9] While they were eventually reintroduced to Miss World, Håkansson remains the only winner to have received her crown while wearing one.[7]

Later life

Håkansson declined an Italian film contract and an American modelling contract and continued her modelling career in Europe, working for the Comité français de l'élégance. She studied French couture sewing, and judged several beauty pageants. She married Dallas Anderson, an American sculptor whom she met when he was studying in Europe; after nine years in Copenhagen, they moved to the United States, where Håkansson retired from modelling and Anderson became a faculty member at Brigham Young University in Utah.[3]

Personal life and death

Håkansson and her husband had three children.[3] She died in her sleep on 4 November 2024 in California, at the age of 95.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Elissa . Stein . Lee . Meriwether . Beauty Queen . 45 . Chronicle Books . 2006 . 0-8118-4864-7 .
  2. Book: Dewey, Susan. Making Miss India Miss World. 46. Syracuse University Press. 2008. 978-0-8156-3176-7.
  3. News: Marcella . Walker . Former Miss World to Judge Show . Daily Herald . Utah . 27 August 1975 . 33 . newspapers.com .
  4. Web site: Mitra. Ipshita. Miss Worlds of the 50s and where they are now - Beauty Pageants - Indiatimes. Femina Miss India. 6 April 2018.
  5. News: Magnanti. Brooke. Miss World bikini ban: why it's no victory for feminists. Telegraph. 13 December 2013 . 7 June 2013.
  6. Book: Selvedge: The Fabric of Your Life. 39. Selvedge Ltd. . 2005.
  7. Book: Lovegrove, Keith. Pageant: The Beauty Contest. 1967. teNeues. 2002. 3-8238-5569-7.
  8. Book: Shin, Han . Beauty with a Purpose. 193 . iUniverse. 2004. 0-595-30926-7.
  9. Web site: 1950-1955: Navel Maneuvers - The Bikini Breakout . Bikini Science . 13 December 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131013211809/http://www.bikiniscience.com//chronology/1950-1955_SS/1950-1955.html . 13 October 2013 .
  10. News: Kiki Hakansson, first Miss World passes away at 95 in California . WION . 6 November 2024 .