Marita Lindahl (17 October 1938 – 21 March 2017) was a Finnish model and beauty queen who won the 1957

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, after being crowned Miss Finland 1957 by Miss Finland 1956, Sirpa Helena Koivu. She became the first woman from Finland to win the title and the third Nordic woman; after Sweden had won the two first contests. The pageant was held 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 ...

. Lindahl was described by pageant director

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 ...

as having "the haunting beauty and intrigue of a Greta Garbo". The first runner-up was Lilian Madsen from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, second runner-up Adele Kruger from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and third runner-up Jacqueline Tapia from

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. Lindahl ran one of the most popular restaurants in Helsinki. Later she moved to

. She lived in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lindahl, Marita Miss World winners Miss Finland winners 1938 births Miss World 1957 delegates 2017 deaths Finnish expatriates in the United Kingdom