Miriam Jacqueline Stevenson (born July 4, 1933) is an American television host, actress, former model and beauty queen who was crowned

Miss Universe 1954 Miss Universe 1954, the 3rd edition of Miss Universe pageant, was held on 24 July 1954 at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States. There were 33 competitors. Miss USA, 21-year-old Miriam Stevenson won the comp ...

. She was the first American to win the title, and had previously been crowned

Miss USA 1954 Miss USA 1954 was the 3rd Miss USA pageant, held on July 24, 1954 at Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California. Miriam Stevenson, won the competition and later became Miss Universe. She was crowned by outgoing titleholder Myrna Han ...

. Prior to Miss USA, Stevenson was Miss South Carolina USA 1954. She also represented South Carolina in

Miss America 1954 Miss America 1954, the 27th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 12, 1953. Though four women from Pennsylvania had previously held the title (1924, 1935, 1936, 1940), Evelyn Margaret Ay ...

after winning Miss South Carolina 1953, where she placed in the top ten. At Miss Universe, Stevenson received a tied final score with

Martha Rocha Maria Martha Hacker Rocha (Salvador, Bahia 19 September 1932 – Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, 4 July 2020) was a Brazilian model, the first winner of Miss Brasil 1954, and the 1st runner-up to Miss Universe. Career Rocha was born on 19 September 1 ...

of Brazil. In order to break the tie, the woman deemed to have the better physique was crowned the winner, due to a major sponsor of the pageant being

Catalina Swimwear Catalina is a brand of women’s swimwear. It was once one of the oldest clothing manufacturers in California. Their history began in 1907, as Bentz Knitting Mills, a small manufacturer of underwear and sweaters. The name was changed to Pacific K ...

. This was determined to be Stevenson, due to having "fitter" hips than Rocha. She was crowned Miss Universe by outgoing titleholder

Christiane Martel Christiane Martel (born Christiane Magnani on 18 January 1936) is a French actress and beauty queen. She became the second woman to win Miss Universe, in 1953.Hillevi Rombin Hillevi Rombin Schine (September 14, 1933 – June 19, 1996) was a Swedish actress and beauty queen who was crowned as Miss Sweden and is the fourth winner of Miss Universe in 1955. She was crowned Miss Sweden Universe 1955 by Miss Sweden Uni ...

of Sweden as

Miss Universe 1955 Miss Universe 1955, the 4th Miss Universe pageant, was held on 22 July 1955 at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States, with 33 female competitors. This was the first Miss Universe pageant to be aired on televis ...

After acting at

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

for one year through a film contract she won as part of her Miss Universe package, Stevenson made headlines in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' when she announced that she would be returning home to South Carolina to finish her education at

Lander University Lander University is a public university in Greenwood, South Carolina. Campus and housing Lander University is located approximately one half-mile from uptown Greenwood, South Carolina. The main campus sits on 190 acres of land, though this doe ...

instead of continuing her work in Hollywood. In South Carolina, Stevenson found work hosting television programs for WIS, the local NBC affiliate in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city ...

. Here she met her husband Donald Upton; they have two children together, with their son Donald Jr. being a former telecom executive and founder of the global economic development and public affairs firm Fairfield Index, Inc. Until the 1970s, Stevenson was active in the media as a model, television presenter, and actress in national commercials, and also participated as a judge at several

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 ...

competitions.

References

1933 births 20th-century American actresses American beauty pageant winners American female models American film actresses American television hosts Lander University alumni Living people Miss America 1950s delegates Miss Universe 1954 contestants Miss Universe winners Miss USA winners People from Winnsboro, South Carolina 21st-century American women {{US-pageant-bio-stub