Cynthia Jean Cameron Breakspeare (born October 24, 1954) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

- Jamaican

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

singer, musician and beauty queen. Breakspeare was crowned

Miss World 1976 Miss World 1976, the 26th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 18 November 1976 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom. The winner was Cindy Breakspeare from Jamaica. She was crowned by Miss World 1975, Wilnelia Merced ...

. Breakspeare is the mother of

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

musician

Damian Marley Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Early life, education and family Damian Marley is the youngest son of reggae musician Bob Marle ...

, through her relationship with

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

, who remained married to

Rita Marley Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...

until his death. Bob Marley is said to have written the songs ‘

Turn Your Lights Down Low "Turn Your Lights Down Low" is a song by Jamaican reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers from their 1977 album, '' Exodus''. It is the only song on side B of the album that was not released as a single. However, a remastered version featuring La ...

’ and '

Waiting in Vain "Waiting in Vain" is a song written by reggae musician Bob Marley and recorded by Bob Marley & The Wailers, for his 1977 album '' Exodus''. Released as a single, it hit number twenty-seven in the UK Singles Chart. The single was one of only ...

' about her.

Life and career

Breakspeare was born in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, to a Jamaican father, Louis Breakspeare, who was a British-Jamaican of multiracial ancestry, and a white Canadian mother of British origin, Marguerite Cochrane. She has three brothers and one sister. Breakspeare moved to Jamaica when she was four years old, and attended the Immaculate Conception High School, graduating in 1973. As a teenager, Breakspeare participated in beauty pageants, including Miss Jamaica Body Beautiful and Miss Universe Bikini. She was invited to participate in the

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 ...

competition in 1976 held in London. Despite Jamaica's anti-apartheid protest of the pageant, Breakspeare accepted the invitation and won the title on November 19, 1976, becoming the second Jamaican to do so.

Personal life

Breakspeare had a relationship with reggae musician

beginning in 1977, lasting until his death in 1981. From their relationship she gave birth to a son,

(aka Jr. Gong), in 1978. Three years later, Breakspeare married senator

Tom Tavares-Finson Tom Tavares-Finson (born 7 July 1953) is a Jamaican attorney-at-law and President of the Senate of Jamaica. Biography Tavares-Finson was born in Kingston, Jamaica.. He was educated at the Jamaica College; McMaster University (Ontario, Canada) ...

in 1981 with whom she has a son Christian (b. 1982) and a daughter Leah (b. 1986). Breakspeare and Tavares-Finson later divorced in 1995. Breakspeare married musician Rupert Bent II in 1999. Breakspeare has been pursuing her career as a recording artist and entrepreneur. She founded a Rastafarian craft store called Ital Craf in Jamaica. Breakspeare has four grandsons from her three children. Breakspeare remains a personality in Jamaica, occasionally featuring in local media.Jamaica Observer article, 2014
/ref>

Filmography

* '' Marley'' (2012), interviewee

References

External links

Jamaican Hall Of Fame: Cindy Breakspeare
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breakspeare, Cindy 1954 births Canadian people of Jamaican descent Canadian people of British descent 20th-century Black Canadian women singers Jamaican female models Marley family Miss Jamaica World winners Miss World winners Miss World 1976 delegates Canadian emigrants to Jamaica Musicians from Kingston, Jamaica Musicians from Toronto Living people