Kiki Håkansson, the first-ever winner of the Miss World beauty pageant, passed away on November 4, at the age of 95. Her death was confirmed today by the official Miss World Instagram account, with a picture of Håkansson.
Kerstin “Kiki” Margareta Håkansson was born on June 17, 1929, in Sweden.
She bagged the Miss Sweden World competition in 1951, after which she participated in the inaugural Miss World pageant. She won the contest on July 29, 1951, at the age of 23, at the Lyceum Ballroom, now known as the Lyceum Theatre.
Although she won the title of Miss World, the pageant was then named Festival Bikini Contest when the organiser, Eric Morley, wanted to advertise swimwear at a British festival. She was crowned in a bikini, which was frowned upon, and even condemned by Pope Pius XII.
When Morley decided to make the Miss World pageant an annual event, bikinis were banned and replaced with modest swimwear, making Håkansson the one-and-only titleholder to be crowned in a bikini.
The pageant is now headed by Morley’s wife, Julia Morley, after his death in 2000. “Kiki was a true pioneer and it was therefore fitting that Kiki would have her place in history in becoming the first ‘Miss World’.”
“We will continue through eternity to celebrate the memory of the first ever Miss World, Kerstin (Kiki) Håkansson, who is forever in our hearts,” Juila wrote in the Instgram post.
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