Rosemarie Franklin (1 February 1943 – 2 December 2000) born in Rhosllanerchrugog a village near Wrexham. She was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

actress, model and beauty queen who won

Miss World 1961 Miss World 1961, the 11th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 9 November 1961 at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom. The winner was Rosemarie Frankland of United Kingdom. She was crowned by Bob Hope. Frankland also was a f ...

, having previously finished as first runner-up at

Miss Universe 1961 Miss Universe 1961, the 10th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant, was held on 15 July 1961 at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, United States. Marlene Schmidt of West Germany, Germany was crowned the winner by outgoing title ...

Biography

Born in

Rhosllannerchrugog RhosllanerchrugogDavies, Jenkins and Baines (eds) ''The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales'', 2008, p.752 (also spelled Rhosllannerchrugog, or simply Rhos) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It lies within the histor ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

, north-east

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in 1943, Frankland moved to

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

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 ...

, as a child. She took part in many beauty pageants and won the title of

Miss Wales Miss Wales is a national beauty pageant in Wales. Rules Miss Wales is open to unmarried women from age 16 to age 24, and is organized by Vibe Models. Contestants must not have had children, must be British citizens and must reside in Wales. ...

and, later in 1961 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 ...

, she became (as Miss United Kingdom) the first British woman and the seventh

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

(Sweden won the two first contests, France won in 1953, Germany three years later, Finland in 1957 and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1959) to win 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. She also was the first runner-up at

. Together with

Gina Swainson Gina Ann Casandra Swainson (born 6 June 1958) is a Bermudian model and beauty queen who won Miss World 1979 and the first runner-up at Miss Universe 1979. Miss Universe Prior to competing in Miss World, she participated in Miss Universe and plac ...

, who won the Miss World title as Miss Bermuda in 1979, Frankland is one of the two women who came closest to winning both

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 ...

and Miss World, having been second at Miss Universe before winning Miss World.

Helen Morgan Helen Morgan may refer to: *Helen Morgan (singer) Helen Morgan (née Riggins; August 2, 1900 – October 9, 1941) was an American singer and actress who worked in films and on the stage. A quintessential torch singer, she made a big splash in ...

who was also Miss Wales and Miss United Kingdom, achieved the same feat, but she resigned the Miss World title four days after being crowned. When

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

crowned her as Miss World, he commented that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. As part of her tenure as Miss World, she joined Hope at a

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

concert in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and reportedly had an affair with the comedian lasting many years, later becoming his personal assistant. After Miss World, Frankland embarked on a short-lived acting career. Her most substantial (and last) role was in the 1965 film, ''

I'll Take Sweden ''I'll Take Sweden'' is a 1965 American comedy film directed by Frederick de Cordova, and starring Bob Hope, Frankie Avalon, and Tuesday Weld. Plot Single father Bob Holcomb, a widower, is unhappy with the guitar-playing boy Kenny his daughter ...

'' starring

. In 1970, she married

the Grass Roots The Grass Roots are an American rock band that charted frequently between 1965 and 1975. The band was originally the creation of Lou Adler and songwriting duo P. F. Sloan and Steve Barri. In their career, they achieved two gold albums, two ...

singer/guitarist,

Warren Entner Warren Entner (born 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, organist and guitarist for the rock and roll band, The Grass Roots. He then became a manager for several successful heavy metal/rock groups. Overview Entner is best known for his voc ...

and went to live in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 1976, she gave birth to their only child together, a daughter, Jessica. The couple divorced in 1981.

Death

According to reports, Frankland died from a drug overdose in December 2000 in

Marina del Rey, California Marina del Rey (Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination of the greater Los Angeles area. The p ...

, after battling depression. Her ashes were flown back to Wales and were buried at Rhosllannerchrugog Cemetery in February 2001.

Filmography

* ''

We Shall See ''We Shall See'' is a 1964 British drama film directed by Quentin Lawrence and starring Maurice Kaufmann, Faith Brook and Alec Mango. It was adapted from a 1926 novel ''We Shall See!'' by Edgar Wallace, and was made at Merton Park Studios as part ...

'' (1964) - Waitress * ''

The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''The E ...

'' (1 episode, 1964) - Waitress * ''

The Beauty Jungle ''The Beauty Jungle'' (also known as Contest Girl) is a 1964 British film directed by Val Guest. Plot Shirley lives in Bristol. While on a seaside holiday at Butlins holiday camp a young typist Shirley Freeman (Janette Scott) is persuaded by a ...

'' (1964) - Miss Australia (uncredited) * '' A Hard Day's Night'' (1964) - Brunette Showgirl (uncredited) * ''

'' (1965) - Marti (final film role)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankland, Rosemarie 1943 births 2000 deaths 20th-century British actresses Drug-related deaths in California Miss United Kingdom winners Miss Universe 1961 contestants Miss World 1961 delegates Miss World winners People from Rhosllanerchrugog Welsh beauty pageant winners Welsh expatriates in the United States Welsh female models Welsh film actresses Welsh television actresses 2000 suicides United Service Organizations entertainers