Miss Universe 1979

Miss Universe 1979 was the 28th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Perth Entertainment Centre in Perth, Australia, on 20 July 1979.^[a]

Miss Universe 1979
Maritza Sayalero (2020)
Date	20 July 1979[a]
Presenters	Bob Barker Helen O'Connell Jayne Kennedy
Entertainment	Donny Osmond
Venue	Perth Entertainment Centre, Perth, Australia
Broadcaster	CBS (international) Seven Network (TVW) (official broadcaster)
Entrants	75
Placements	12
Debuts	Bophuthatswana Fiji Transkei
Withdrawals	American Samoa Bonaire Curaçao Lebanon Lesotho Morocco New Hebrides Nicaragua
Returns	Antigua British Virgin Islands Mauritius Portugal Saint Kitts
Winner	Maritza Sayalero Venezuela
Congeniality	Yurika Kuroda (Japan)
Best National Costume	Elizabeth Busti (Uruguay)
Photogenic	Carolyn Seaward (England)
← 1978 1980 →

Margaret Gardiner of South Africa crowned her successor Maritza Sayalero of Venezuela. This marks as the first time a woman from Venezuela won the pageant. It was the first time in the pageant's history that the event was held in Australia.

Results

Miss Universe 1979 participating nations and results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss Universe 1979	Venezuela – Maritza Sayalero[1]
1st runner-up	Bermuda – Gina Swainson[1]
2nd runner-up	England – Carolyn Ann Seaward[1]
3rd runner-up	Brazil – Martha Jussara da Costa[1]
4th runner-up	Sweden – Anette Marie Ekström[1]
Top 12	Argentina – Adriana Álvarez Belize – Sarita Acosta  Scotland – Lorraine Davidson South Africa – Veronica Wilson United States – Mary Therese Friel  Wales – Janet Hobson West Germany – Andrea Hontschik †

Final Scores

Country/Territory	Interview	Swimsuit	Evening Gown	Average
Venezuela[2]	9.362 (1)	9.135 (1)	9.416 (1)	9.304 (1)
Bermuda[2]	8.872 (2)	9.027 (2)	9.100 (2)	9.000 (2)
England[2]	8.671 (3)	8.591 (4)	8.936 (3)	8.733 (3)
Brazil[2]	8.509 (4)	8.764 (3)	8.818 (4)	8.697 (4)
Sweden[2]	8.300 (5)	8.127 (7)	8.409 (6)	8.279 (5)
South Africa[2]	7.918 (10)	8.330 (5)	8.454 (5)	8.234 (6)
Belize[2]	8.118 (7)	8.279 (6)	8.118 (10)	8.171 (7)
United States[2]	8.100 (8)	7.709 (12)	8.335 (7)	8.048 (8)
Germany[2]	8.125 (6)	7.882 (10)	8.118 (10)	8.042 (9)
Scotland[2]	7.764 (11)	8.118 (8)	8.218 (8)	8.033 (10)
Argentina[2]	8.009 (9)	8.045 (9)	8.021 (12)	8.025 (11)
Wales[2]	7.380 (12)	7.818 (11)	8.150 (9)	7.783 (12)

Contestants

• Antigua – Elsie Maynard
•  Argentina – Adriana Virginia Álvarez
•  Aruba – Lugina Liliana Margareta Vilchez
•  Australia – Kerry Dunderdale
•  Austria – Karin Zorn
•  Bahamas – Lolita Louise Ambrister
•  Barbados – Barbara Bradshaw
•  Belgium – Christine Linda Bernadette Cailliau
• Belize – Sarita Diana Acosta
•  Bermuda – Gina Ann Swainson
•  Bolivia – María Luisa Rendón
• Bophuthatswana – Alina Moeketse
• Brazil – Martha Jussara da Costa
•  British Virgin Islands – Eartha Ferdinand
•  Canada – Heidi Quiring
•  Chile – María Cecilia Serrano Gildemeister
•  Colombia – Ana Milena Parra Turbay
•  Costa Rica – Carla Facio Franco
•  Denmark – Lone Gladys Joergensen
•  Dominican Republic – Viena Elizabeth García Javier
• Ecuador – Margarita Plaza
•  El Salvador – Judith Ivette López Lagos
•  England – Carolyn Ann Seaward
•  Fiji – Tanya Whiteside
•  Finland – Päivi Uitto
•  France – Sylvie Hélène Marie Parera
•  Greece – Katia Koukidou
•  Guam – Marie Cruz
•  Guatemala – Michelle Marie Domínguez Santos
• Holland – Eunice Bharatsingh
• Honduras – Gina Maria Weidner Cleaves
• Hong Kong – Olivia Chang Man-Ai
•  Iceland – Halldora Björk Jonsdóttir
•  India – Swaroop Sampat
•  Ireland – Lorraine Marion O'Conner
•  Israel – Vered Polgar
•  Italy – Elvira Puglisi
• Japan – Yurika Kuroda
•  Malaysia – Irene Wong Sun Ching
•  Malta – Dian Borg Bartolo
•  Mauritius – Maria Lynda Allard
•  Mexico – Blanca María Luisa Díaz Tejeda
•  New Zealand – Andrea Karke
•  Northern Mariana Islands – Barbara Torres
•  Norway – Unni Margrethe Öglaend
•  Panama – Yahel Cecile Dolande
•  Papua New Guinea – Molly Misbut
• Paraguay – Patricia Lohman Bernie
•  Peru – Jacqueline Brahm
• Philippines – Criselda Flores Cecilio
•  Portugal – Marta Maria Mendoça de Gouveia
• Puerto Rico – Teresa López
• Réunion – Isabelle Jacquemart
• Saint Kitts – Cheryl Chaderton
• Saint Vincent – June de Nobriga
•  Scotland – Lorraine Davidson
•  Singapore – Elaine Tan Kim Lian
• South Africa – Veronica Wilson
• South Korea – Jae-hwa Seo
• Spain – Gloria María Valencia Rijo
•  Sri Lanka – Vidyahari Vanigasooriya
• Surinam – Sergine Lieuw-A-Len
•  Sweden – Annette Marie Ekström
•  Switzerland – Birgit Krahl
• Tahiti – Fabienne Tapare
•  Thailand – Wongduan Kerdpoom
• Transkei – Lindiwe Bam
•  Trinidad and Tobago – Marie Noelle Diaz
•  Turkey – Fusin Tahire Dermitan
•  United States – Mary Therese Friel
•  United States Virgin Islands – Linda Torres
•  Uruguay – Elizabeth Busti
• Venezuela – Maritza Sayalero
•  Wales – Janet Beverly Hobson
• West Germany – Andrea Hontschik †

Notes

1. The event was held at 8:00 am Australia Time (UTC+08:00); for the Americas, this was July 19 in their local times including the United States.