Penelope Anne Coelen | |
|---|---|
 Coelen in 1958 | |
| Born | 15 April 1940 |
| Occupation(s) | Model, Actress |
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
| Title | Miss World 1958 Miss South Africa 1958 |
| Major competition(s) | Miss South Africa 1958 (Winner) Miss World 1958 (Winner) |
Penelope Anne Coelen (born 15 April 1940) is a retired South African actress, model and beauty queen who was Miss World 1958. She was the first major international titleholder to come from Africa.
Penelope Anne Coelen was from Durban, and attended Durban Girls' High School. [1] [2]
In the 1958 Miss World pageant, a total of 22 contestants from Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa competed in the finals. Europeans dominated the semi-finals, but Penelope Anne Coelen, an 18-year-old secretary who played piano in the talent competition, was selected for the crown. [3]
She gained widespread international attention during her reign and received several lucrative modelling offers. The South African designer of her gowns, Bertha Pfister, also gained increased attention. [4]
After her reign as Miss World 1958, she tried her luck out in Hollywood with the help of James Garner, but failed her screen test. She later managed her own line of clothing and endorsed beauty products, particularly perfumes. She appeared as a contestant on the television game show To Tell the Truth on 25 November 1958. [5] She celebrated the 2014 Miss World win of South Africa's Rolene Strauss, and gave public appearances with the younger woman. [6] [7] [8]
Coelen returned to South Africa, and married wealthy sugarcane farmer Michel "Micky" Rey from the Natal Province. They raised five sons. She ran a guesthouse, [9] worked as a beauty consultant, and gave lectures. Her son Nicholas Rey died in 2016, twelve years after he was severely injured in a polo accident. [10] [11] The Nicholas Rey Foundation Trust, founded in 2007, is named in his memory. [12] Her husband Micky Rey died in 2019. [13]
Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Miss International, and Miss Earth, it is one of the Big Four international beauty pageants.
Chief Ibiagbanidokibubo Asenite 'Agbani' Darego, MFR is a Nigerian model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World in 2001. She was the first black African to win Miss World.
The following lists events that happened during 1958 in South Africa.
Anneline Kriel is a South African actress, model, and beauty queen. She won Miss South Africa and Miss World in 1974 after the UK's Helen Morgan resigned only four days after her victory. Kriel is the second South African woman to hold the title of Miss World after Penelope Coelen in 1958. Since then, she has worked as a model, an actress, and an artist.
Durban Girls' High School is a public high school for girls located in Glenwood, a suburb of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1882 and is home to over 1200 students.
Miss World 1975, the 25th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 20 November 1975 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK. 67 contestants took part in the pageant won by Wilnelia Merced of Puerto Rico. She was crowned by Anneline Kriel of South Africa. Runner-up was Germany, Marina Langer, third place was Vicki Harris representing the United Kingdom, fourth place was Maricela Maxie Clark of Cuba, and Yugoslavia's Ladija Verkovska completed the top five.
Megan Lynne Young is a Filipino-American actress, model, television presenter and beauty queen who won the Miss World Philippines 2013 title and was later crowned as Miss World 2013. She is the first Filipina to win the title of Miss World.
Rachael "Richa" Maria Adhia is a Tanzanian model and beauty pageant contestant who won Miss Earth Tanzania 2006 and Miss Tanzania 2007. She is of Indian descent with family origins from Calangute, Goa. She represented Tanzania in both Miss Earth 2006 in the Philippines and Miss World 2007 in China. So far, she remains the only Tanzanian beauty pageant contestant to have represented her country in both of the International contests. In 2010 she was also chosen to represent Tanzania at Miss India Worldwide pageant.
Miss South Africa is a national beauty pageant in South Africa that selects South African representatives to compete in two of the Big Four international beauty pageants, Miss World and Miss Universe, and also selects another representative to participate in minor international pageant Miss Supranational. The Miss South Africa organisation resorted to a contemporary format in selecting representatives which was inaugurated in 2018. Following their newer method, both a Miss World South Africa and a Miss Universe South Africa were selected as representatives. From 2021 onwards, the winner of Miss South Africa will be competing in Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss Supranational. The current Miss South Africa 2022 is Ndavi Nokeri.
Miss World 1958, the 8th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 13 October 1958 at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom. Penelope Anne Coelen of South Africa was crowned by Marita Lindahl of Finland at the end of the pageant. She became the second woman from Africa to win the title after Egypt in 1954.
Penelope, often used in reference to Homer's character, is a female first name of Greek origin. It is of uncertain meaning but may be derived from the Greek word penelops, which means duck or refers to another water fowl sacred to the Ancient Greeks. The name might also be derived from the Greek pene meaning web and either ops meaning eye or lepo, meaning unraveled, implying the meaning weaver. The name was revived in the Anglosphere by the mid-16th Century and has since been in occasional use.
Melinda Bam is a South African TV Personality, presenting popular TV show Pasella & Wies Jou Poppie, international model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss South Africa 2011, becoming the official representative of her country to Miss Universe 2012. She has a swimwear line called Bambshell, for which she worked with South African swimwear brand.
Marilyn Ramos is a South African designer, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss South Africa 2012, becoming the official representative of her country to Miss Universe 2013 and Miss World 2013. Ramos represented South Africa at Miss World 2013 and Miss Universe 2013, failing to place in both competitions. She entered the pageant twice before she emerged the winner. She also held the title for the longest in SA pageant history- 16 months until she has crowned Rolene Strauss on 30 March 2014 as her successor.
Miss World 2014, the 64th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 14 December 2014 at the ExCeL London in London, United Kingdom. 121 contestants competed for the crown. Megan Young of the Philippines crowned her successor Rolene Strauss of South Africa at the end of the event. This is the second time that South Africa has won the title outright and the third time they have held the title.
Rolene Strauss is a South African beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss South Africa 2014 and was later crowned Miss World 2014. She is the third South African woman to be crowned Miss World, after Penelope Anne Coelen in 1958 and Anneline Kriel in 1974.
Miss South Africa 2014, the 59th edition of the Miss South Africa pageant, was held on 30 March 2014 at Sun City Superbowl.
Liesl Laurie is a South African model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss South Africa 2015. She has represented her country at the Miss World 2015, in Sanya, China on 19 December 2015.
Mireia Lalaguna Royo is a Spanish model, actress and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World 2015. She was previously crowned Miss World Spain 2015, becoming the first woman from Spain to win Miss World.
The Miss South Africa 2015 pageant took place on March 29, 2015 at the Sun City Superbowl. The pageant was broadcast on M-Net and Mzansi Magic. The final was contested by 12 girls who were selected after weeks of challenges at Sun City International. The pageant was hosted by television and radio personality Thomas Mlambo.
Miss World 1958 contestants | |
|---|---|
Miss South Africa winners in the Big Four international beauty pageants | ||
|---|---|---|
| Miss Universe |  | |
| Miss World | ||
| Miss International |
| |
| Miss Earth |
| |
| |||
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
