Marite Ozers (born Mārīte Ozere; April 9, 1944) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 1963. Ozers was born in

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, and immigrated with her family to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s amidst

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Her father was Maksis Ozers, while she had an elder sister Spulga, elder brother Alnis, and six younger siblings. Ozers began competing in pageantry in order to earn money for university, later winning Miss Illinois USA 1963. As Miss Illinois USA, she was crowned Miss USA 1963, becoming the first naturalized citizen to win the title. She later represented the United States at Miss Universe 1963, where she placed in the Top 15. In a 2011 interview, Ozers revealed that she had initially planned to compete in

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

, but felt discouraged from doing so due to her naturalized status and Latvian origin. She instead opted to compete for Miss USA because of its connection to

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

, where she felt a candidate with an international background would be more easily accepted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozers, Marite 1944 births American beauty pageant winners American people of Latvian descent Latvian emigrants to the United States Latvian World War II refugees Living people Miss Universe 1963 contestants Miss USA 1960s delegates Miss USA winners Naturalized citizens of the United States Models from Chicago