Antigone Costanda ( ar, أنتيجون كوستان) ( el, Αντιγόνη Κωνσταντά, born c. 1934 in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

) is an Egyptian designer, model and beauty queen who won Miss World 1954. The pageant took place on October 18, 1954, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with the participation of 16 contestants. In addition to

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, Costanda speaks

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and French fluently. The

-Egyptian beauty was the first

Miss Egypt Miss Egypt ( ar, ملكة جمال مصر) is a national beauty pageant in Egypt. Since 2016, Miss Egypt has been directed by Dr. Amaal Rezk. History Early years The first Miss Egypt contest was held in 1927. Charlotte Wassef won the compet ...

candidate to win the title of Miss World for Egypt. According to

Eric Morley Eric Douglas Morley (26 September 1918 – 9 November 2000) was a British TV host and the founder of the Miss World pageant and ''Come Dancing'' TV programme. His wife, Julia Morley, is now head of the pageant and his son Steve Douglas is one of ...

's 1967 book, "The Miss World Story", Costanda was positively beaming as she claimed that her victory was also for the Miss World 1953 second runner-up status of

Marina Papaelia Myshimarina (Marina) Papaelia ( gr, Μαρίνα Παπαηλία, born c. 1931) was the first runner-up of Miss Egypt 1953. Papelia was sent to represent Egypt at Miss World 1953 when the winner, Antigone Costanda Antigone Costanda ( ar, أ ...

. The following year, during the 1955

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss Int ...

beauty pageant held in London, Costanda did not attend the event because of political hostilities between Egypt and

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

over the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

actress

Eunice Gayson Eunice Elizabeth Sargaison (17 March 1928 – 8 June 2018), known professionally as Eunice Gayson, was an English actress best known for playing Sylvia Trench, James Bond's love interest in the first two Bond films ('' Dr. No'' and '' From Russi ...

crowned Miss

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

as the new Miss World. Prior to winning Miss World, Costanda was gaining experience in the modelling profession and was appearing in numerous publications. Winning Miss World further helped her to reach the top of her profession, becoming a successful model in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, Italy and Greece. Her career in later years moved into interior design. She ran a company designing the interior of

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

buildings. She was one of the judges at the Miss Egypt 2006 contest.

External links

Miss Egypt winners Miss World winners Living people Miss World 1954 delegates 1930s births People from Alexandria Egyptian people of Greek descent {{Egypt-bio-stub