Misses World in Showbiz

In number of contestants, the Miss World Pageant edges out the three others — for Misses Universe, International and Earth — to be the No. 1, this year with 120 (breaking 2010’s record of 110) gathered in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, for the grand finals set for tomorrow, Aug. 18, aired live on TV5 starting at 5:30 p.m.

One of the candidates is Miss Philippines Queneerich Rehman who seems to have made a good start. But the big question hangs suspended: Can Queneerich (that’s how her name is spelled, with only one “e” after “u”) equal or hopefully surpass the record of Gwendoline Ruais who placed first runner-up to Venezuela’s Ivian Sarcos in last year’s pageant?

Will this year’s winner venture into showbiz like most of her predecessors?

Here’s the list of Misses World who have been lured by the klieg lights, prepared by Funfare’s “other beauty expert” who previously did the same lists for Misses Universe and International:

1. Denise Perrier of France (1953) had a brief appearance in the James Bond film Diamonds are Forever (1971, with Sean Connery). Her victory was back-to-back with her compatriot Christiane Martel who was crowned Miss Universe also in 1953.

2. Carmen Susana Duijm Zubillaga of Venezuela (1955) was an actress and TV host (her last appearance was in 2005 in the TV series Amor a Palos). She was also a semi-finalist in the 1955 Miss Universe. Her daughter, Carolina Cerruti, was Venezuela’s delegate to the 1983 Miss World contest.

3. Petra Schürmann of Germany (1956) starred in six films. Interestingly, Petra placed third only in the Miss Germany contest but was chosen to compete in the Miss World contest because of her better knowledge of English. She died in 2010 at age 77.

4. Rosemarie Frankland of UK (1961) appeared in three movies, the last was in 1965 in I’ll Take Sweden starring Bob Hope. Before winning the Miss World crown, she was adjudged first runner-up to 1961 Miss Universe Marlene Schmidt of Germany. Rosemarie died in 2000 at age 57.

5. Ann Sidney of UK (1964) played Naomi in Sebastian (1968, with Dick Bogarde and Susannah York), Dana in Performance (1970, with James Fox and Mick Jagger) and Barbara in The Treasure of the Amazon (1985, with Stuart Whitman). In UK television, she appeared in Shindig, Music Hall, The Avengers, Are You Being Served? and The Plank. Ann was in the cast of Birds in the Bush and co-hosted the game show The Better Sex both Australian TV productions. She also played the Regeena in America’s primetime police drama S.W.A.T. Ann’s stage credits include Cinderella, Babes in the Wood and Dick Whittington.

6. Lesley Langley of UK (1965) had a cameo role in the James Bond movie Goldfinger (with Sean Connery), shown a year before she won Miss World.

7. Eva Rueber-Staier of Sweden (1969) appeared in three James Bond movies — The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Octopussy (1983), all with by Roger Moore. Eva was first runner-up to Gloria Diaz in the 1969 Miss Universe contest.

8. Marjorie Wallace of USA (1973, dethroned) was co-host of America’s syndicated showbiz TV program Entertainment Tonight and appeared in the TV series Get Christie Love!, Baretta, The Rock ‘n’ Roll Evening News and Match Game.

9. Helen Morgan of UK (1974, resigned after she was found to be an unwed mom) placed first runner-up to Spain’s Amparo Muñoz (deceased) in the 1974 Miss Universe contest first held here and came back in 1976 to star in Isang Gabi Sa Buhay ng Isang Babae with Joseph Sytangco, Lito Legaspi and Anita Linda. Helen’s second and last film was Slavers, an international film released in 1978.

10. Anneline Kriel of South Africa (1974, replacement) starred with James Ryan in an international film Kill and Kill Again (1981).

11. Cynthia Jean Cameron Breakspeare of Jamaica (1976) pursued a career in reggae recording just like her first husband, the late Bob Marley and son Damian Marley, both Grammy awardees.

12. Mary Ann-Catrin Stävin of Sweden (1977) had a cameo role in Octopussy (1983) and played as Kimberly Jones in A View to a Kill, both James Bond with Roger Moore. She was Tanya in 1986 horror movie House and Heba in the US TV serial drama Twin Peaks.

13. Mariasela Margarita Alvarez Lebrón of Dominican Republic (1982) was host of the weekly talk show Con los Ojos Abiertos (With Open Eyes) in 1991. After five years, she put up her own TV production company, Maralva, S.A., producer of Esta Noche Mariasela (Tonight Mariasela), a four-time winner of Cassandra Awards for Best Special Television Show.

14. Astrid Carolina Herrera Irrazábal of Venezuela (1984) is regarded as her country’s telenovela icon with almost 20 television series credits including Morena Clara (1995) shown in the Philippines over ABC 5.

15. Ulla Weigerstorfer of Austria (1987) hosted a sports program on radio.

16. Lisa Hanna of Jamaica (1993) had a cameo role in How Stella Got Her Groove Back and hosted Jamaica’s popular talk show, Our Voices. She had a brief broadcasting career in the US and was a guest presenter of Xtra, an entertainment TV show. Lisa is currently a member of parliament.

17. Aishwarya Rai of India (1994) debuted in a biopic film Iruvar in 1997. She has appeared in more than 40 movies in English, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali, some of which were international productions. Aishwarya is the recipient of 15 Best Actress trophies and a Best Supporting Award and several acting nominations from various award-giving bodies. She was honored with a life-size wax statue at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museums in London and Times Square, New York. Aishwarya is the only Indian actor who sat as a jury at the Cannes Film Festival (2003). A few months after, fellow Indian Sushmita Sen won 1994 Miss Universe in Manila.

18. Irene Skliva of Greece (1996) pursued a television career and is now a top fashion model gracing Greece’s most popular fashion magazines and runways in Europe.

19. Diana Hayden of India (1997) appeared in the British medical drama TV series Holby City (2003) and in three film credits, the most memorable was Othello: A South African Tale (2005). She studied acting in UK’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Drama Studio London.

20. Linor Abargil of Israel (1998) made a documentary film recalling events of her rape in Milan, Italy, seven weeks before she was crowned Miss World. It was produced and directed by Cecilia Peck, daughter of actor Gregory Peck.

21. Yukta Mookhey of India (1999) first appeared in a guest role in a Tamil movie Poovellam Un Vasam (2001) and did five other films. The last, in 2008, was Memsahab – Lost in a Mirage.

22. Priyanka Chopra of India (2000) debuted in a Tamil film Thamizhan (2002), has completed 42 movies to date and currently doing three for 2013 release. She has six acting awards and her most memorable film was 7 Khoon Maaf (2011) where she received a Filmfare Critics Best Actress, Screen Awards’ Best Villain and merited six nominations.

23. Azra Akin of Turkey (2002) appeared in seven TV series and four movies.

24. Rosanna Diane Davison of Ireland (2003) starred in Vena (2009). She’s the daughter of musician Chris de Burgh of Lady in Red fame. Chris wrote For Rosanna (included in Into the Light album, 2006) in honor of Davison.

25. Unnur Birna Vilhjálmsdóttir of Iceland (2005) appeared in supporting roles in The Higher Force (2008) and Johannes (2009).

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