Martha Rocha
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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 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 ...
.


Career

Rocha was born on 19 September 1932 in
Salvador, Bahia Salvador (English: ''Savior'') is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisine ...
. At the age of 18, in 1954, after winning the title of Miss Bahia in her home state, she became the first
Miss Brazil Miss Brazil ( pt, Miss Brasil) is a Brazilian national beauty pageant, held annually since 1954. The competition has gone through several incarnations throughout its history, while its main purpose has been to select the Brazilian representative ...
to become a finalist of the
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 ...
pageant. However, despite wide acclamation, even in the US, for her to win the title of Miss Universe, it was
Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...
,
Miriam Stevenson Miriam Jacqueline Stevenson (born July 4, 1933) is an American television host, actress, former model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1954. She was the first American to win the title, and had previously been crowned Miss USA 195 ...
, who won the title. It is said that the final judgment came down to the fact that Miriam's hip measurement was smaller than that of Martha. The narrower look was the "standard measure" at that time. It is also said that after her victory, Miriam donated one of the two cars she had won (at Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants) to Martha, since she already had one even before taking part in beauty pageants. After Miss Universe, she worked as a model and advertising girl at Hollywood studios. For example, she earned US$30,000 to do a Gessy Lever advertisement. Martha Rocha became a Brazilian reference of beauty and her name was used for a cake, a song, in poetry, and street names in the state of Bahia, Santa Catarina and São Paulo. Martha participated in international horse championships alongside Queen Elizabeth II, and met Prince Charles, among other celebrities. She also imprinted her hands into the Ipanema Walk of Fame, in 2013. Her name was given to the famous Martha Rocha aquamarine, found near Teófilo Otoni, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It weighed 134 pounds and yielded more than 300,000 carats of superb blue gems. It is said that the color was so intense and rich that it was likened to her eyes, and even today her name is a classification of tone and intensity when rating the finest-color aquamarines.


Personal life and death

Martha was the seventh of eleven children of engineer Álvaro Rocha and his wife Hansa. Martha married Argentinian banker Álvaro Piano and had two sons with him before his death in a plane crash when she was about 23 years old. She married for the second time Rio de Janeiro businessman Ronaldo Xavier de Lima, with whom she lived for 13 years and had a daughter, the artist Claudia Xavier de Lima. In 2001, Rocha was diagnosed with breast cancer, but the disease was soon controlled. In the last years of her life, she lived at a nursing home in
Volta Redonda Volta Redonda () is the name of a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro state of Brazil with an area of 182.81 km2, located from 350m to 707m above the sea level (22°31'23" S, 44°06'15" W) an ...
. She died in
Niterói Niterói (, ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forms ...
on 4 July 2020 after suffering
respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...
which was followed by a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. She was 87 years old. She was buried at the cemetery Santíssimo Sacramento, in
Niterói Niterói (, ) is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forms ...
the next day.Martha Rocha, 1ª Miss Brasil, morre em Niterói, no RJ
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocha, Martha 1932 births 2020 deaths Brazilian female models Miss Brazil winners Miss Universe 1954 contestants