Pearl Jansen

Pearl Gladys Jansen (sometimes spelled Janssen, born 17 June 1950 in Bonteheuwel) is a South African singer and beauty pageant titleholder who was first runner-up in the Miss World beauty contest in the UK in 1970. She was the first coloured woman to represent her country at this level. She competed as "Miss Africa South" due to apartheid.^[1]

Pearl Jansen
Born	Pearl Gladys Jansen (1950-06-17) 17 June 1950 (age 75) Bonteheuwel, Cape Town
Title	Miss World 1970 (1st Runner-Up)

Biography

Born on the 17 June 1950 to Alfred Martin Janssen and Selina Dorothy Abrahams, Jansen was 20 when she entered the 1970 beauty contest. She has stated that after the contest nothing changed for her because of apartheid.^[2] At age 58, she fulfilled her dream of becoming a singer.^[3]

1970 Miss World contest

The 1970 contest was held in London, United Kingdom. It began with a row because the organisers had allowed two entries from South Africa, one black, Pearl Jansen, and one white, Jillian Jessup.^[4][2] Then during the evening women's liberation activists staged a protest and threw flour.^[5] The comedian Bob Hope was also heckled. Jennifer Hosten, Miss Grenada, won, becoming the first black woman to win Miss World, and Pearl Jansen placed second.

Legacy

In the 2020 British comedy drama Misbehaviour about the 1970 Miss World pageant,^[6] the actress Loreece Harrison portrays Jansen with a strong Afrikaans accent, which substantially differs from Jansen's own Cape accent.^[7]