# Miss World 1981 > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Miss_World_1981 > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Miss_World_1981.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_World_1981 > Source revision: 1353981197 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) International beauty pageant Miss World 1981 Miss World 1981 Titlecard Date 12 November 1981 Presenters Peter Marshall Judith Chalmers Entertainment Helen Reddy Venue Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom[1] Broadcaster Thames Television Entrants 67 Placements 15 Withdrawals Mauritius Panama Paraguay Swaziland United States Virgin Islands Returns Chile El Salvador French Polynesia Iceland Suriname Winner Pilín León Venezuela ← 1980 1982 → **Miss World 1981**, the 31st edition of the [Miss World](/source/Miss_World) pageant, was held on 12 November 1981 at the [Royal Albert Hall](/source/Royal_Albert_Hall) in [London](/source/London), United Kingdom.[1][2] The winner was [Pilín León](/source/Pil%C3%ADn_Le%C3%B3n) from [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela),[2][3] the first titleholder from her country since [1955](/source/Miss_World_1955). She was crowned by [Miss World 1980](/source/Miss_World_1980), Kimberley Santos from [Guam](/source/Guam). Another Venezuelan, [Irene Sáez](/source/Irene_S%C3%A1ez), had been crowned [Miss Universe 1981](/source/Miss_Universe_1981) in July, making Venezuela one of the few countries to hold both major international titles ([Miss Universe](/source/Miss_Universe) and [Miss World](/source/Miss_World)) in the same year. The Continental Queens of Beauty were awarded for the first time. This edition marked the return of Suriname, which last competed in [1966](/source/Miss_World_1966) and Chile, El Salvador, French Polynesia (as Tahiti), Iceland last competed in [1979](/source/Miss_World_1979). Mauritius, Panama, Paraguay, Swaziland, the United States Virgin Islands withdrew from the competition for unknown reasons. ## Results ### Placements Placement Contestant Miss World 1981 Venezuela – Pilin León[2][3] 1st runner-up Colombia – Nini Johanna Soto 2nd runner-up Jamaica – Sandra Cunningham Top 7 Australia – Melissa Hannan Brazil – Maristela Grazzia United Kingdom – Michele Donnelly United States – Lisa Moss Top 15 Argentina – Helen Natali Belgium – Dominique van Eeckhoudt Canada – Earla Stewart Ireland – Geraldine McGrory Japan – Naomi Kishi Mexico – Dora Pontvianne Trinidad and Tobago – Rachael Ann Thomas Zimbabwe – Juliet Nyathi ### Special awards Award Winner Miss Photogenic Australia – Melissa Hannan[4] Miss Personality Mexico – Dora Pontvianne[5] ## Contestants Countries and territories which sent delegates and results for Miss World 1981[1][3][6] 67 contestants competed for the title. Country/Territory Contestant Age[a] Hometown Argentina Helen Natali 21 Villa María Aruba Gerarda Roepel 24 Oranjestad Australia Melissa Hannan 19 Mosman Austria Beatrix Kopf 21 Lustenau Bahamas Monique Ferguson 18 Nassau Belgium Dominique van Eeckhoudt 19 Waterloo Bermuda Cymone Tucker 21 Smith's Parish Bolivia Carolina Díaz 17 Pando Brazil Maristela Grazzia 17 São Paulo Canada Earla Stewart 22 Pembroke Cayman Islands Donna Marie Myrie 20 George Town Chile Susanna Bravo 19 Santiago Colombia Nini Johanna Soto 18 Bucaramanga Costa Rica Sucetty Salas 18 San José Curaçao Mylene Gerard 21 Willemstad Cyprus Elena Andreou 19 Nicosia Denmark Tina Brandstrup 21 Copenhagen Dominican Republic Josefina Cuello 24 Santo Domingo Ecuador Lucía Vinueza 19 Guayaquil El Salvador Martha Alicia Ortíz 19 San Salvador Finland Pia Nieminen 20 Tampere France Isabelle Benard 19 Vernon French Polynesia[b] Maimiti Kinnander 20 Huahine Gibraltar Yvette Maria Bellido 18 Gibraltar Greece Maria Argyrokastritou 22 Athens Guam Rebecca Arroyo 21 Mangilao Guatemala Beatriz Bojorquez 23 Guatemala City Holland Saskia Lemmers 23 Amsterdam Honduras Xiomara Sikaffy 20 San Pedro Sula Hong Kong Winnie Chin 18 Hong Kong Island Iceland Ásdís Hannesdóttir 23 Reykjavík India Deepti Divakar 22 Bengaluru Ireland Geraldine McGrory[7] 22 Derry Isle of Man Nicola-Jane Grainger 18 Dalby Israel Ninnette Assor 22 Tel Aviv Italy Marisa Tutone 17 Turin Jamaica Sandra Cunningham[6] 24 Kingston Japan Naomi Kishi 18 Kawasaki Jersey Elizabeth Walmsley 18 Saint Helier Lebanon Zeina Challita 19 Beirut Lesotho Palesa Joyce Kalele[1] 18 Maseru Malaysia Cynthia de Castro 20 Malacca Malta Elizabeth-Mary Fenech 19 Żebbuġ Mexico Doris Pontvianne 18 Tampico New Zealand Raewyn Marcroft[8] 18 Hamilton Norway Anita Nesbø 20 Akershus Papua New Guinea Jennifer Abaijah 19 Port Moresby Peru Olga Zumarán 22 Lima Philippines Suzette Nicolas 24 Manila Puerto Rico Andrenira Ruíz 19 San Juan Singapore Sushil Kaur Sandhu 20 Singapore South Korea[c] Lee Han-na 19 Seoul Spain Cristina Pérez Cottrell 18 Málaga Sri Lanka Sonya Elizabeth Tucker 20 Colombo Suriname Joan Boldewijn 18 Paramaribo Sweden Carita Gustafsson 20 Gothenburg Switzerland Margrit Kilchoer 22 Geneva Thailand Massupha Karbprapun 21 Bangkok Trinidad and Tobago Rachael Thomas 21 Diego Martin Turkey Aydan Şener[9] 18 Kilis United Kingdom Michele Donnelly 20 Cardiff United States Lisa Moss 23 Shreveport Uruguay Marianela Bas 23 Montevideo Venezuela Pilin León[2][3] 18 Maracay West Germany Barbara Reimund 18 Stuttgart Western Samoa Julianna Curry 17 Apia Zimbabwe Juliet Nyathi[1] 24 Bulawayo ## Notes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-I_7-0)** Ages at the time of the pageant 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Competed as Tahiti in the pageant 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Competed as Korea in the pageant ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Ribane_2006_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Ribane_2006_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Ribane_2006_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Ribane_2006_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Ribane_2006_1-4) Ribane, N. (2006). [*Beauty: A Black Perspective*](https://books.google.com/books?id=6hoFAQAAIAAJ&q=Miss+World+1981). University of KwaZulu-Natal Press. p. 6. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-86914-087-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-86914-087-8). The Miss World of 1981, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, only had three contestants from African countries: Zimbabwe, Lesotho and ... 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Rome_News-Tribune_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Rome_News-Tribune_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Rome_News-Tribune_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Rome_News-Tribune_2-3) ["New Miss World"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=348&dat=19811113&id=tNsvAAAAIBAJ&pg=3639,2277690&hl=en). *[Rome News-Tribune](/source/Rome_News-Tribune)*. 13 November 1981. Retrieved 25 January 2016. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Weeks_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Weeks_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Weeks_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Weeks_3-3) Weeks, Sally (13 August 1986). ["Venezuelan beauties undergo rigorous training to win international pageants"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19860813&id=6uIzAAAAIBAJ&pg=6730,5611442&hl=en). *[Lodi News-Sentinel](/source/Lodi_News-Sentinel)*. Retrieved 25 January 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["MELISSA HANNAN"](https://www.melissahannan.com/). *melissahannan.com*. Retrieved 28 December 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["DORIS PONTVIANNE REINA DEL DEPORTE Y LA BELLEZA"](https://www.pressreader.com/mexico/el-sol-de-tampico/20201107/282900913110122) (in Spanish). 7 November 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020 – via PressReader. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-W.W._Gaunt_&_Sons_1987_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-W.W._Gaunt_&_Sons_1987_6-1) [*Jamaica*](https://books.google.com/books?id=7_fpD9s0V2AC&q=Miss+World+1981). W.I.L.I.P. series. W.W. Gaunt & Sons. 1987. p. 92. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780245540240](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780245540240). They enthusiastically choose a Miss Jamaica Universe each May and a Miss Jamaica World each September And there are ... have been second runners-up in the Miss World finals — Debbie Campbell in 1979 and Sandra Cunningham in 1981. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Exclusive: Miss Ireland's wardrobe"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-herald-miss-irelands-wardrobe/177139525/). *[Evening Herald](/source/The_Herald_(Ireland))*. 29 October 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 18 March 2026 – via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["'Miss Waikato' wins"](https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/press/1981/08/31/1). *[The Press](/source/The_Press)*. [Christchurch](/source/Christchurch), New Zealand. 31 August 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 1 October 2025 – via [Papers Past](/source/National_Library_of_New_Zealand#Papers_Past). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Tarihi, Güncelleme (4 May 2020). ["Güzeller canlı yayında buluştu"](https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/galeri-1929dan-gunumuze-turkiye-guzelleri-41508916) [Beauties met on live broadcast]. *[Hürriyet](/source/H%C3%BCrriyet)* (in Turkish). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230102125519/https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/galeri-1929dan-gunumuze-turkiye-guzelleri-41508916) from the original on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2025. ## Further reading - [*Ottawa Citizen*](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2194&dat=19810910&id=na4yAAAAIBAJ&sjid=y-4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=6495,5007549&hl=en). September 10, 1981. ## External links - [Official website](http://www.missworld.com) v t e Miss World Editions 1950s 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010s 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020s 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 Related Titleholders Runners-up and finalists Editions Countries Beauty with a Purpose --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Miss World 1981](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_World_1981) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_World_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.