Miss World 1970

Jennifer Josephine Hosten
GRENADA

Jennifer Hosten was the winner of one of the most controversial pageants ever. First there were the protests by feminists and Britain's Liberal Party militants, who objected against the participation of a white (Miss South Africa) and a black contestant (Miss Africa South) from South Africa. It was the first time it happened, and the liberals believed it would propagate the policy of apartheid. Then came the victory of Miss Grenada, a woman whose odds to win were of 100 to 1 before the pageant. What was very peculiar about her surprising victory was the fact that one of the judges was Sir Eric Gairy, the prime minister of Grenada. In any case, Jennifer deserves credit for being the first ever black woman to win one of the three major beauty crowns. The first runner-up was also black: Miss Africa South. The favorite, Miss Sweden, got most votes for 1st place (4 against 2 of Miss Grenada), but ended up only was 3rd runner-up thanks to Miss World's complex 'majority voting system'.