# Miss Universe 1981

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30th Miss Universe pageant

Miss Universe 1981 Irene Sáez Date 20 July 1981 Presenters Bob Barker, Elke Sommer Entertainment Peter Allen Cast of 42nd Street US Naval Choir Venue Minskoff Theatre, New York City, New York, United States Broadcaster CBS (WCBS-TV) Entrants 76 Placements 12 Debuts Gibraltar Namibia Western Samoa Withdrawals Indonesia Mauritius Papua New Guinea Sint Maarten Returns Cyprus Fiji Martinique Portugal South Africa Saint Kitts Transkei Winner Irene Sáez Venezuela Congeniality Linda Smith (Bahamas) Best National Costume Adriana Alves de Oliveira (Brazil) Photogenic Tina Brandstrup (Denmark) ← 1980 1982 →

**Miss Universe 1981** was the 30th anniversary of the [Miss Universe](/source/Miss_Universe) pageant, held at the [Minskoff Theatre](/source/Minskoff_Theatre) in New York City, New York, United States, on 20 July 1981. At the conclusion of the event, [Irene Sáez](/source/Irene_S%C3%A1ez) of Venezuela was crowned by [Shawn Weatherly](/source/Shawn_Weatherly) of the United States. There were 77 contestants competing for the crown, but Miss Mauritius got homesick and withdrew.[1] The pageant originally was scheduled to be held in [Guatemala City](/source/Guatemala_City), Guatemala. However, for financial and political reasons, Miss Universe was moved to New York City.[2]

## Results

Miss Universe 1981 participating nations and results

### Placements

Placement Contestant Miss Universe 1981 Venezuela – Irene Sáez 1st Runner-Up Canada – Dominique Dufour 2nd Runner-Up Sweden – Eva-Lena Lundgren 3rd Runner-Up Brazil – Adriana Alves de Oliveira 4th Runner-Up Belgium – Dominique van Eeckhoudt Top 12 Ecuador – Lucía Vinueza Holland – Ingrid Schouten New Zealand – Donella Thomsen Norway – Mona Olsen Tahiti – Tatiana Teraiamano United States – Kim Seelbrede West Germany – Marion Kurz

Key Winner First runner-up Second runner-up Third runner-up Fourth runner-up (#) Rank in each round of competition

#### Final Scores

Country/Territory Preliminary Average Interview Swimsuit Evening Gown Semifinal Average Venezuela[3] 8.575 (1) 8.966 (1) 9.024 (1) 8.887 (1) 8.959 (1) Canada[3] 7.913 (12) 8.167 (6) 8.133 (5) 8.508 (2) 8.269 (4) Sweden[3] 7.967 (9) 8.658 (2) 8.050 (6) 8.179 (4) 8.296 (3) Brazil[3] 8.330 (4) 8.191 (5) 8.416 (3) 7.824 (7) 8.144 (5) Belgium[3] 8.223 (6) 8.529 (3) 8.881 (2) 8.268 (3) 8.559 (2) Tahiti[3] 7.940 (11) 8.149 (7) 8.137 (4) 7.962 (5) 8.082 (6) Norway[3] 8.259 (5) 8.435 (4) 7.717 (8) 7.838 (6) 7.997 (7) Germany[3] 8.400 (3) 7.875 (8) 8.041 (7) 7.442 (10) 7.786 (8) Holland[3] 8.133 (7) 7.590 (9) 7.633 (9) 7.625 (9) 7.616 (9) United States[3] 8.527 (2) 7.427 (11) 7.617 (10) 7.653 (8) 7.565 (10) Ecuador[3] 7.967 (9) 7.442 (10) 7.300 (12) 7.317 (12) 7.353 (11) New Zealand[3] 8.063 (8) 6.950 (12) 7.492 (11) 7.350 (11) 7.264 (12)

### Final Competition

### Awards

Special Awards Winners Miss Amity Bahamas - Linda Smith Miss Photogenic Denmark - Tina Brandstrup Best National Costume Brazil - Adriana Alves de Oliveira

## Contestants

Seventy-six contestants competed for the title.

Country/Territory Contestant Age[a] Hometown Argentina Susana Reynoso[4] 20 Buenos Aires Aruba Synia Reyes[5] 18 Brasília Australia Karen Sang[6] 21 Sydney Austria Gudrun Gollop 22 Vienna Bahamas Linda Smith 21 Nassau Belgium Dominique van Eeckhoudt 20 Brussels Belize Ivette Zabaneh 18 Belmopan Bermuda Cymone Tucker 21 Smith’s Parish Bolivia Maricruz Aponte 18 Santa Cruz de la Sierra Brazil Adriana Alves 18 Rio de Janeiro British Virgin Islands Carmen Nibbs 18 Tortola Canada Dominique Dufour 22 Laval Cayman Islands Donna Myrie 20 George Town Chile Soledad Hurtado 19 Valparaíso Colombia Ana Edilma Cano 18 Medellín Costa Rica Rosa Inés Solís[7] 19 San José Curaçao Maria Maxima Croes 22 Willemstad Cyprus Katia Angelidou 18 Larnaca Denmark Tina Brandstrup 20 Copenhagen Dominican Republic Lucía Peña 17 Puerto Plata Ecuador Lucía Vinueza 18 Guayaquil England Joanna Longley 25 Windsor Fiji Lynn McDonald - Suva Finland Merja Varvikko 20 Forssa France Isabelle Benard 23 Normandy Gibraltar Yvette Dominguez 19 Gibraltar Greece Maria Nikouli[8] 18 Athens Guadeloupe Rosette Bivuoac 17 Basse-Terre Guam Bertha Harmon 17 Hagåtña Guatemala Yuma Lobos 19 Guatemala City Holland Ingrid Schouten 20 The Hague Honduras Leslie Sabillón 19 Francisco Morazán Hong Kong Irene Lo 21 Hong Kong Iceland Elisabet Trausdóttir 17 Reykjavík India Rachita Kumar 19 Bombay Ireland Valerie Roe[9] 21 Dublin Israel Dana Wexler 17 Giv'atayim Italy Anna Kanakis 20 Messina Japan Mineko Orisaku 20 Kyoto Malaysia Audrey Loh - Kuala Lumpur Malta Susanne Galea 19 St Julians Martinique Ghislaine Jean-Louis - Fort-de-France Mexico Judith Grace 18 Monterrey Namibia Antoinette Knoetze 22 Windhoek New Zealand Donella Thomsen[10] 21 Birkenhead Northern Mariana Islands Juanita Mendiola 17 Tinian Norway Mona Olsen 20 Oslo Panama Ana María Henríquez 21 Panama City Paraguay María Isabel Urízar 18 Asunción Peru Gladys Silva 20 Lima Philippines Maria Caroline Mendoza 18 Manila Portugal Ana Paula Machado Moura - Lisbon Puerto Rico Carmen Lotti Rodríguez 20 Guaynabo Réunion Patricia Abadie - Saint-Paul Saint Kitts Marva Warner - Sandy Point Scotland Anne McFarlane 18 Glasgow Singapore Florence Tan 21 Singapore South Africa Daniela di Paolo - Durban South Korea Lee Eun-jung 18 Seoul Spain Frances Ondiviela 24 Las Palmas Sri Lanka Renuka Varuni Jesudhason - Matale Sweden Eva-Lena Lundgren 19 Piteå Switzerland Bridget Voss 21 Bern Tahiti Tatiana Teraiamano 18 Papeete Thailand Massupha Karbprapun 21 Bangkok Transkei Kedibone Letlaka - Tsolo Trinidad and Tobago Romini Samaroo - San Fernando Turkey Şenay Unlu - Ankara Turks and Caicos Islands Frances Gloria Rigby - Grand Turk United States Kim Seelbrede 20 Germantown United States Virgin Islands Marise Cecile James - Saint Croix Uruguay Griselda Anchorena 20 Montevideo Venezuela Irene Sáez 19 Caracas Wales Karen Stannard 22 Newport West Germany Marion Kurz 20 Bavaria Western Samoa Lenita Schwalger - Apia

## Withdrawals

- Mauritius - Carole Fitzgerald was homesick and then withdrew.[1]

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-A_4-0)** Ages at the time of the pageant

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-robesonian_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-robesonian_1-1) ["Venezuelan wins title: Miss Universe"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=baI_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=HlYMAAAAIBAJ&dq=&pg=2963%2C2759000). *The Robesonian*. [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press). July 21, 1981. Retrieved 13 November 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-buzzle_2-0)** ["Miss Universe Facts & Figures"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071212124938/http://www.buzzle.com/articles/miss-universe-facts-figures.html). buzzle.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2010.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-scores_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-scores_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-scores_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-scores_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-scores_3-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-scores_3-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-scores_3-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-scores_3-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-scores_3-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-scores_3-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-scores_3-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-scores_3-11) ["Miss Universe 1981 - Full Show"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HzdQVbxHDM). *tttpageant*. March 10, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2025 – via [YouTube](/source/YouTube).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Nos sentimos a gusto compitiendo en Miss Universo dicen las chicas"](https://books.google.com/books?id=O3pEAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Miss+Argentina%22&pg=PA4&article_id=1315,2032133) [We feel comfortable competing in Miss Universe says the girls]. *La Opinion* (in Spanish). 13 July 1981. p. 7. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via [Google Books](/source/Google_Books).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Miss Aruba naar New York"](https://www.delpher.nl/nl/kranten/view?query=%22Miss+Universe%22&facets%5Bperiode%5D%5B%5D=2%7C20e_eeuw%7C1980-1989%7C1981%7C&page=1&coll=ddd&identifier=ddd:010640466:mpeg21:a0097&resultsidentifier=ddd:010640466:mpeg21:a0097&rowid=9) [Miss Aruba to New York]. *Amigoe* (in Dutch). 27 March 1981. p. 5. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Delpher.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Highlights of the week"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52262107). *Australian Women's Weekly*. 22 July 1981. p. 161. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Trove.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Rosa Inés Solís"](https://prensacr.info/data/6198662a445c2c2d4462b784). *La República* (in Spanish). 17 April 1982. p. 21. Retrieved 28 September 2025 – via Prensa CR.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Gatzios, Akis (22 November 2023). ["Μαρία Νικούλη: Πού βρίσκεται σήμερα και τί κάνει η Σταρ Ελλάς του 1981"](https://www.anagnostis.org/2023/11/22/synentefxi-me-ti-maria-nikouli-mia-fora-star-hellas-panta-star-hellas-pou-vrisketai-simera-kai-ti-kanei/) [Interview with Maria Nikouli: Once a Star Hellas, always a Star Hellas – Where is she today and what is she doing?]. *Anagnostis.org* (in Greek). Retrieved 26 September 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Danker, Trevor (7 June 1981). ["Trevor Danker's Diary"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/sunday-independent-dublin-ed-miss-uni/169695376/). *[Sunday Independent](/source/Sunday_Independent_(Ireland))*. p. 17. Retrieved 18 March 2026 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Comer, Peter (16 April 1981). ["Winner picked others"](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/press/1981/04/16/6). *[The Press](/source/The_Press)*. [Christchurch](/source/Christchurch), New Zealand. p. 6. Retrieved 30 January 2026 – via [Papers Past](/source/National_Library_of_New_Zealand#Papers_Past).

## External links

- [Miss Universe official website](http://www.missuniverse.com)

v t e Miss Universe 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Titleholders Runners-up and finalists Editions Countries Scorings

v t e Miss Universe 1981 national titleholders IND: Rachita Kumar ITA: Anna Kanakis MEX: Judith Grace ESP: Frances Ondiviela SWE: Eva-Lena Lundgren USA: Kim Seelbrede VEN: Irene Sáez (winner)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Miss Universe 1981](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Universe_1981) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Universe_1981?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.