Kerstin Margareta " Kiki" Håkansson (23 July 1929 – 4 November 2024) was a Swedish model and beauty queen who was the first winner of 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, Mi ...

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

Miss World 1951

Originally the ''Festival Bikini Contest'', Miss World was organized by

Eric Morley Eric Douglas Morley (26 September 1918 – 9 November 2000) was an English television host and the founder of the Miss World pageant and ''Come Dancing'' programme. His widow, Julia Morley, is now head of the pageant and his son, Steve Douglas, ...

as a mid-century advertisement for swimwear at the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Labour Party cabinet member Herbert Morrison was the prime mover; in 1947 he started with the ...

. Håkansson was a photo and fashion model when she was crowned Miss Sweden World in 1951 and subsequently won the London pageant. Håkansson wore a

bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...

during the crowning ritual, after which she was condemned by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

and some countries with strong religious traditions threatened to withdraw delegates. In 1952, bikinis were banned from the pageant and replaced with more modest swimwear. While they were eventually reintroduced to Miss World, Håkansson remains the only winner to have received her crown while wearing one.

Later life

Håkansson declined an Italian film contract and an American modelling contract and continued her modelling career in Europe, working for the ''Comité français de l'élégance''. She studied French couture sewing, and judged several beauty pageants. She married Dallas Anderson, an American sculptor whom she met when he was studying in Europe; after nine years in Copenhagen, they moved to the United States, where Håkansson retired from modelling and Anderson became a faculty member at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

in Utah.

Personal life and death

Håkansson and her husband had three children. She died in her sleep on 4 November 2024 in California, at the age of 95.

References

Notes

External links

* * 1929 births 2024 deaths Miss World winners Miss World 1951 delegates Models from Stockholm Swedish beauty pageant winners {{model-stub