03igup: Miss Universe 2011 Winner Photos

Monday, October 24, 2011

Miss Universe 2011 Winner Photos

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Downes won the Miss New Zealand title and went on to represent her country at the 1983 Miss Universe pageant broadcast live from St. Louis, Missouri in July 1983. After the preliminary competition, Downes made the top twelve cut in sixth place, but placed second in the final evening gown competition, third in the interview competition, and fourth in swimsuit. She made the final five in third place behind Julie Hayek of the USA and Lolita Morena of Switzerland, and was eventually crowned Miss Universe. She wore a midnight blue gown and long gloves during the competition. Downes' win was New Zealand's first in the pageant's history, although Diana Delyse Nottle had placed second runner-up to Shawn Weatherly in 1980 and Donella Thomsen was a semi-finalist in 1981. No other delegate from New Zealand would make the cut until 1992.
After years of relative anonymity, Downes competed in and won the New Zealand version of Dancing with the Stars in 2006 with dance partner Aaron Gilmore.
Shawn Weatherly (1980) · Irene Sáez (1981) · Karen Dianne Baldwin (1982) · Lorraine Downes (1983) · Yvonne Ryding (1984) · Deborah Carthy-Deu (1985) · Bárbara Palacios Teyde (1986) · Cecilia Bolocco (1987) · Porntip Nakhirunkanok (1988) · Angela Visser (1989) · Mona Grudt (1990) · Lupita Jones (1991) · Michelle McLean (1992) · Dayanara Torres (1993) · Sushmita Sen (1994) · Chelsi Smith (1995) · Alicia Machado (1996) · Brook Mahealani Lee (1997) · Wendy Fitzwilliam (1998) · Mpule Kwelagobe (1999)