Hillevi Rombin Schine (September 14, 1933 – June 19, 1996) was a Swedish actress and beauty queen who was crowned as

Miss Sweden Miss Sweden or Miss Universe Sweden (in Swedish: ''Fröken Sverige''), is the title of the Swedish beauty pageant, qualifying delegates to the Miss Universe competition. In 2009 the pageant renamed as Miss Universe Sweden and the first nationa ...

and is the fourth winner of

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 St ...

in 1955. She was crowned Miss Sweden Universe 1955 by Miss Sweden Universe 1954, Ragnhild Olausson. In 1996, she became the first Miss Universe title holder to die.

Biography

She grew up in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the ca ...

Uppland Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...

, and was the Swedish national

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

champion before she competed in the pageant. A remarkable athlete, Rombin excelled in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, and downhill

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

. After winning the pageant, she left Sweden for

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) * Hollywoo ...

to fulfill her acting contract with

Universal Pictures 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 Americ ...

, part of the prize package as Miss Universe. She studied acting along with John Gavin,

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

, and

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and producer best known for her starring role as Jeannie in the sitcom '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965-1970). Other notable roles include Roslyn Pierce opp ...

, among the other contract actors. Universal put her in a couple films, with just one or two lines, to give her some exposure and experience. She was credited for small speaking roles in two films. In '' The Benny Goodman Story'' (1955) she asks for an autograph and in ''

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

'' (1957) she appears as a flight attendant near the film's end. During her year reign as Miss Universe, while traveling around the U.S., she met her future husband

G. David Schine Gerard David Schine, better known as G. David Schine or David Schine (September 11, 1927 – June 19, 1996), was the wealthy heir to a hotel chain fortune who became a central figure in the Army–McCarthy hearings of 1954 in his role as the ch ...

, whose family was in the hotel business and would later himself be in the film and music businesses. She discontinued her acting career to focus on married life, soon starting a large family with Schine. They had six children, and their marriage lasted almost 40 years until their deaths together in 1996. She, her husband, and one of their sons died in a plane crash in 1996, the result of an engine failure shortly after take-off. She was 62 years old and the first Miss Universe to die. She and her husband and their son are buried together at

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

Filmography

References

External links

Hillevi Rombin
at Findagrave
Picture as Miss Universe
*
"The Official Hillevi Rombin Website"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rombin, Hillevi 1933 births 1996 deaths Accidental deaths in California Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Miss Sweden winners Miss Universe 1955 contestants Miss Universe winners People from Uppsala Swedish beauty pageant winners Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States

Biography

Filmography

See also

References

External links