Miss Universe 1978

Miss Universe 1978 was the 27th Miss Universe pageant, held on 24 July 1978 at the Centro de Convenciones de Acapulco in Acapulco, Mexico. It was the first time in the pageant's history that the event was held in Mexico. Margaret Gardiner of South Africa was crowned by Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad and Tobago at the end of the event. This is the first time South Africa won the pageant.

Miss Universe 1978
Margaret Gardiner
Date	24 July 1978
Presenters	Bob Barker Helen O'Connell
Entertainment	Robert Goulet Violines Mágicos de Villafontana
Venue	Centro de Convenciones de Acapulco, Acapulco, Mexico
Broadcaster	CBS (international) Televisa (official broadcaster)
Entrants	75
Placements	12
Debuts	Lesotho New Hebrides
Withdrawals	Antigua British Virgin Islands French Guiana Guadeloupe Haiti Indonesia Liberia Mauritius Saint Kitts Saint Lucia Sint Maarten Yugoslavia
Returns	Bonaire Guatemala Morocco Saint Vincent Turkey
Winner	Margaret Gardiner South Africa
Congeniality	Sophia Titus (Trinidad and Tobago)
Best National Costume	Alamjeet Kaur Chauhan (India)
Photogenic	Maribel Fernández (Costa Rica)
← 1977 1979 →

Results

Miss Universe 1978 participating nations and results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss Universe 1978	South Africa – Margaret Gardiner
1st runner-up	United States – Judi Andersen
2nd runner-up	Spain – Guillermina Ruiz
3rd runner-up	Colombia – Shirley Saenz
4th runner-up	Sweden – Cécilia Rodhe
Top 12	Belgium – Françoise Moens  Chile – Marianne Müller Holland – Karen Gustafsson  Ireland – Lorraine Enriquez  Israel – Dorit Jellinek  Mexico – Alba Cervera  Peru – Olga Zumaran

Final Scores

Winner   First runner-up   Second runner-up   Third runner-up   Fourth runner-up (#) Rank in each round of competition

Country/Territory	Interview	Swimsuit	Evening Gown	Semifinal Average
South Africa[1]	6.791 (3)	6.590 (4)	6.373 (5)	6.584 (4)
United States[1]	8.155 (1)	7.855 (1)	7.482 (2)	7.830 (1)
Spain[1]	6.500 (5)	6.870 (3)	7.545 (1)	6.971 (3)
Colombia[1]	6.645 (4)	6.282 (6)	6.545 (4)	6.490 (5)
Sweden[1]	7.518 (2)	7.300 (2)	7.355 (3)	7.391 (2)
Belgium[1]	6.230 (6)	6.364 (5)	5.709 (6)	6.101 (6)
Chile[1]	5.073 (9)	5.064 (7)	4.536 (9)	4.891 (7)
Israel[1]	5.260 (8)	4.280 (8)	4.945 (7)	4.828 (8)
Mexico[1]	5.320 (7)	3.260 (11)	4.145 (10)	4.241 (9)
Ireland[1]	3.889 (12)	3.800 (9)	4.756 (8)	4.148 (10)
Peru[1]	4.422 (10)	3.718 (10)	3.573 (11)	3.904 (11)
Holland[1]	3.911 (11)	2.890 (12)	3.573 (11)	3.458 (12)

Judges

The following celebrities judged the final competition:^[2]

• Christiane Martel – Miss Universe 1953 from France
• Dewi Sukarno – Japanese socialite and former first lady of Indonesia
• David Merrick – Tony Award-winning American theatrical producer
• Line Renaud – French singer and actress
• Miloš Forman – Film director from Czechoslovakia
• Ursula Andress – Swiss actress and sex symbol of the 1960s
• Melba Moore – American singer
• Roberto Cavalli – Italian fashion designer
• Wilhelmina Cooper – Founder of Wilhelmina Models
• Anna Moffo – American opera singer
• Mario Moreno "Cantinflas" – Mexican comedian and stage and film actor

Contestants

•  American Samoa – Palepa Sio Tauliili
•  Argentina – Delia Stella Maris Muñoz
•  Aruba – Margarita Marieta Tromp
•  Australia – Beverly Frances Pinder
•  Austria – Doris Elizabeth Anwander
•  Bahamas – Dulcie Louise Millings
•  Barbados – Judy Margot Miller
•  Belgium – Françoise Hélène Julia Moens
• Belize – Christina Margarita Ysaguirre
•  Bermuda – Madeline Francine Joell
•  Bolivia – Raquel Roca Kuikanaga
• Bonaire – Corinne Rosseley Hernandez
• Brazil – Suzana Araújo dos Santos
•  Canada – Andrea Leslie Eng
•  Chile – Marianne Müller Prieto
•  Colombia – Mary Shirley Sáenz Starnes
•  Costa Rica – Maribel Fernández García
• Curaçao – Solange Abigail de Castro
•  Denmark – Anita Heske
•  Dominican Republic – Raquel Josefina Jacobo Jaar
• Ecuador – Mabel Ceballos Sangster
•  El Salvador – Iris Ivette Mazorra Castro
•  England – Beverly Isherwood
•  Finland – Seija Kaarina Paakkola
•  France – Brigitte Konjovic
• Greece – Marieta Kountouraki
•  Guam – Mary Lois Sampson
•  Guatemala – Claudia María Iriarte
• Holland – Karen Ingrid Gustafsson
• Honduras – Olimpia Velásquez Medina
• Hong Kong – Winnie Chan Man-Yuk
•  Iceland – Anna Björk Edwards
•  India – Alamjeet Kaur Chauhan
•  Ireland – Lorraine Bernadette Enriquez
•  Israel – Dorit Jellinek
•  Italy – Andreina Mazzoti
• Japan – Hisako Manda
•  Lebanon – Reine Antoine Semaan
• Lesotho – Joan Libuseng Khoali
•  Malaysia – Yasmin Yusoff
•  Malta – Pauline Lewise Farrugia
•  Mexico – Alba Margarita Cervera Lavat
•  Morocco – Majida Tazi
• New Hebrides – Christine Spooner
•  New Zealand – Jane Simmonds
•  Nicaragua – Claudia Herrera Cortés
•  Northern Mariana Islands – Julias Salas Concepción
•  Norway – Jeanette Aarum
•  Panama – Diana Leticia Conte Vergara
•  Papua New Guinea – Angelyn Muta Tukana
• Paraguay – Rosa María Duarte Melgarejo
•  Peru – Olga Roxana Zumarán Tapullima
• Philippines – Jennifer Mitschek Cortez
• Puerto Rico – Ada Cecilia Flores Perkins †
•  Réunion – Evelyn Pongerand
• Saint Vincent – Gailene Collin
•  Scotland – Angela Mary Kate McLeod
•  Singapore – Annie Mei Ling Lee
• South Africa – Margaret Gardiner
• South Korea – Jung-eun Shon
• Spain – Guillermina Ruiz Domenech
•  Sri Lanka – Dlirukshi Wimalasooriya
• Surinam – Garrance Harriette Rustwijk
•  Sweden – Cécilia Rodhe
•  Switzerland – Sylvia von Arx
• Tahiti – Pascaline Tumia Teriireoo
•  Thailand – Pornpit Sakornvijit
•  Trinidad and Tobago – Sophia Titus
•  Turkey – Billur Lutfiye Bingol
•  United States – Judi Lois Andersen
• United States Virgin Islands – Barbara Henderson
•  Uruguay – María del Carmen da Rosa
• Venezuela – Marisol Alfonzo Marcano
•  Wales – Elizabeth Ann Jones
• West Germany – Eva Marie Gabrielle Gottschalk