SPECIAL COVERAGE: MISS UNIVERSE

1994

After 20 years, Manila became the host of
Miss Universe pageant. The first one was
1974. 1994 Miss Universe might be called as
one of the best pageant production ever in
history. There were 77 countries participating in the pageant, it
was supposed 78 contestants that year but the first candidate
ever from the country of Lithuania did not make it to Manila.
Miss USA, Lu Parker was the first delegate to arrive in Manila
while 3 delegates from Africa, Misses Zimbabwe, Swaziland and
Nigeria were the last ones to arrive there. The contestant that endured the longest flight to Manila that
year was Miss Puerto Rico, who endured an agonizing 31 hours of flying time.
There were some early favorites in the pageant,
including Misses Belgiums Christelle Roelandts
(the most local favorite), Venezuelas Minorka
Mercado
(the
tallest
delegate
who
stands
62 and
Miss
Photogenic), Colombias Carolina Gomez, Australias Michelle
van Eimeren (ended up marrying a Filipino singer named Ogie
Alcasid), Italys Arianna David, Slovak Reps Silvia Lakatosova
(the first representative of Slovakia to Miss Universe), USAs Lu Parker and the hometown girl
Philippines Charlene Gonzales.
Mabuhay! Two former Miss Universe titleholders from the Philippines , Gloria Diaz (1969) and
Margarita Moran (1973) welcome all viewers worldwide to the pageant. Its a great opening number of
Miss Universe 1994 hosted by Bob Goen with special commentator of Arthel Neville and former Miss
Universe Hollands Angela Visser. After opening number and introducing host and co-host, it was the
time for Parade of Nations where all delegates wearing their national costumes.
Then, it was the introduction of Angela Visser as commentator who favored Misses Belgium,
Venezuela, Australia and Netherlands. After that, the announcement of Top 10 semifinalists. They were
Misses India, Venezuela, Greece, Switzerland, USA, Italy, Sweden, Slovak Republic, Philippines and
Colombia. All people were surprised by the early elimination for Misses Belgium (22nd) and Australia
(11th).

`' .
Here are the profiles of all semifinalists in Miss Universe 1994 (arranged by their preliminary scores):
Miss Colombia Carolina Gomez (9.268)
Though she was not the topnotcher in swimsuit, interview and evening gown,
she averaged the highest during the preliminaries with a composite score of
9.267. During the semifinal, she topped the Evening Gown competition. Her
interview skill might as well be the best among all Colombians who joined MU.
Carolina became an actress and a model in her country and has maintained a
whistle-bait figure to date.

Miss Greece Rea Toutonzi (9.256)
She topped the swimsuit and evening gown competitions during the preliminaries,
yet she lagged behind Carolina by a berth of 0.01 in the composite scores landing
her to 2nd place. She failed to impress the judges during the semifinal and she
missed the Top 6. Currently, Rea is a top international model especially in Europe.

Miss India Sushmita Sen (9.253)
She aced the preliminary interview competition and scored well too in swimsuit
and evening gown competitions. She made India proud that year! Today, Sushmita
is a famous Bollywood actress in her native country, India. She, however gained a
lot of weight but still beamingly beautiful.

Miss Philippines Charlene Gonzales (9.225)
Charlene was not as glamorous that year as today but she exuded calmness
during her interview. That must be the reason why she placed 2nd behind
Sushmita in the preliminary interview by a thin of 0.01. Among the Top 10
finishers that year, she might have the most serene and happiest lovelife. She
ended up marrying Aga Muhlach, ex-boyfriend of Dayanara Torres, and now living
quiescently with their twin kids.

Miss USA Lu Parker (9.202)
Lu is an epitome of a woman with substance and character. She really has a
special heart for children as shown in the final. When Sushmita was announced
as the new MU and other candidates started to hover around her, you can clearly see Lu
approached one Little Sister and carried the little girl around and walked over to the other ladies
congratulating Sush. It was such a very nice gesture of her. After Miss Universe, she worked as a
broadcaster and had just recently published her own book.

Miss Italy Arianna David (9.159)
She is remembered as the woman who wore the most stunning and the most
mysterious evening gown in Miss Universe. She became an actress in Italy and a
celebrated TV personality. She has maintained her slim figure and occasionally
graces fashion shows in her homeland.

Miss Venezuela Minorka Mercado (9.126)
Many people thought that Minorka had ace the preliminary of MU 1994, she only
placed 7th. She, however, topped the swimsuit competition during the semifinals
and she was the tallest among 77 entrants. She was also adjudged as Miss
Photogenic and Best in Philippine Terno. After MU 1994, Minorka has faded from
the limelight. While her compatriots became celebrities in their homelands, she is
only remembered as a stunner in MU 1994. Her life after that to the present is
unknown to the world.

Miss Sweden Dominique Forsberg (9.000)
She was clearly the underdog from the Top 10 that year. Her eloquence and wit
dutched her to the semifinal. Now, Dominique has aged a lot physically and she
happily raising her own family.

Miss Switzerland Patricia Fssler (8.973)
She had the most stunning eyes among the Top 10. She was 3rd place in the Most Photogenic
Award. She participated in Miss World 1993 but failed to place herself in the semifinal of that
pageant. Now, Patricia works as a model, photographer and a well-known human rights activist
in Switzerland.

Miss Slovak Republic Silvia Lakatosova (8.946)
Silvia was clearly the most elegant and had the best catwalk among the Top 10
that year. She almost missed the semifinal by placing 10th overall in the
preliminary and beating Miss Australia by only 0.02. She topped the interview
portion during the semifinal, which is quite surprising for non-English speaking
country. She is now happily married and continues her modelling career. She is
also the national director of Miss Slovak Republic to MU.
No black candidates entered the semifinal, Miss Namibias Barbara Kahatjipara was at 21st
place won Miss Congeniality award. She even bet the most local favorite, Miss Belgiums Christelle
Roelandts at 22nd place.
There were 10 sensational ladies, and now its the
time for swimsuit competition. The stage was
beautifully and perfectly designed with the
background of a waterfall. All semifinalist wore
beautiful dark blue swimwears from Jantzen and
Frederico-Leon shoes. Miss Venezuela, Minorka Mercado got the highest score in swimsuit competition
and won $1,000 cash prize from Jantzen.

Picture: All semifinalists in Jantzen swimsuit (From L to R: Misses India, Greece, USA, Sweden,
Philippines, Colombia, Slovak Rep., Italy, Switzerland and Venezuela).


Semifinal Swimsuit Scores:
Venezuela (9.752)
India (9.722)
Colombia (9.638)
USA (9.510)
Slovak Republic (9.447)
Philippines (9.425)
Italy (9.325)
Greece (9.288)
Switzerland (9.197)
Sweden (9.078)
After swimsuit competition, its the time for interview. Before
beginning the interview competition,
host Bob Goen introduced us then
Philippine President Fidel Ramos and
the First Lady Amelita Ramos. He
also informed that the pageant
would be held in Namibia next year!
And the first representative of South
Africa since 1984 would compete
next year. Then, the interview competition began... Miss India gave the
best answer and proved her depth intelligence, Miss Venezuela shared
her experience in the national volleyball team in Spanish, Miss Greece
told about her modelling career, Miss Switzerland gave nice responses,
Miss USA shared about her experience as a high school teacher and she
spoke in Tagalog a bit, Miss Italy looked so nervous but she gave a joke,
Miss Sweden told about the Laapland in Sweden, Miss Slovak Republic looked so elegant and she
responded well, Miss Philippines told about her part-time acting career, and Miss Colombia told about
what she did to help all teenage unwed mothers in Colombia. Surprisingly, Miss Slovak Republic won this
interview competition.

Semifinal Interview Competition:
Slovak Republic (9.668)
Colombia (9.655)
Venezuela (9.592)
Philippines (9.587)
India (9.562)
USA (9.478)
Sweden (9.423)
Italy (9.378)
Switzerland (9.298)
Greece (9.027)
After the break,
there was a very special
musical number. Peabo
Bryson and Dayanara
Torres who wore the red
gown sang the hit song
A Whole New World.
All contestants also sang
the song by wearing
elegant gown in black
and white. The stage was set by a big globe.
Then, the show was continued by Evening
Gown competition. Many people thought that
Miss Italy would win this competition. The stage was design classy with a beautiful fence. All Little
Sisters sang You Are My Star. Miss India wore a simple white gown, Miss Venezuela wore a beautiful
white gown with a cleft on her thigh, Miss Greece wore a green gown, Miss Switzerland wore a simple
gown with flower motive, Miss USA wore a black gown, Miss Italy wore a very stunning and elegant
black gown and she looked like a beautiful enchanter, Miss Sweden wore a simple yellow gown, Miss
Slovak Republic wore a white gown, Miss Philippine wore a looked-alike doll golden gown and Miss
Colombia wore a very shining gown with zebra motive. And Miss Colombia got the highest score in this
competition.

Semifinal Evening Gown Competition:
Colombia (9.897)
Venezuela (9.843)
India (9.792)
Philippines (9.720)
Italy (9.708)
Slovak Republic (9.700)
USA (9.697)
Sweden (9.643)
Switzerland (9.623)
Greece (9.618)
And now, its the time for Top 6 Announcement, they were:
Colombia (9.730)*
Venezuela (9.729)*
India (9.692)*
Slovak Republic (9.605)*
Philippines (9.577)*
USA (9.561)*

Italy (9.470)
Sweden (9.381)
Switzerland (9.373)
Greece (9.311)
In Top 6 Question, all 6 finalists did a good job to answer the judges questions. Miss Colombia and
Venezuela gave their best answer. And of course, Miss Colombia got the highest average score.
Top 6 Finalists Average Scores:
Colombia (9.62)*
Venezuela (9.61)*
India (9.60)*

USA (9.54)
Slovak Republic (9.45)
Philippines (9.43)
And then, Bob Goen announced the Top 3, they were: Misses
Venezuela, India and Colombia. And the final question was:
What for you is the essence of being a woman?
Miss India gave the best answer, she said: I think being a
woman is a Gods gift which all of us must appreciate. The origin
of a child is a mother, and she is a woman. And a woman is one
who shares love, to share and show the man about love,
carrying,sharing its all about. Thats the essence of a woman.
Thank you.
`
Then, there was a video clip of the prize package modeled by
Miss Universe 1993, Dayanara Torres. And the new Miss Universe
would get more than $225,000 in cash and prizes, including:
$40,000 employment contract from MISS UNIVERSE, Inc.
$10,000 cash plus swimwear and sportwear from
JANTZEN, INC.
$10,000 cash plus eyewear collection from RAY.BAN
$3,000 cash plus an active/casual shoes collection from
PAYLESS SHOESOURCE
$2,000 cash plus a years supply of !exclamation
fragrance products from COTY
$2,000 cash or a one week trip for two to Hawaii plus a
generous supply of suncare products from HAWAIIAN
TROPIC
$35,000 shopping spree at RUSTANS, the Philippines
premier department store
The all-new Firebird convertible from PONTIAC DIVISION
The stunning, 1994 Miss Universe Diamond Signature
Brooch designed by Lauren Pipkorn of HAMMERMAN
Jewelers, New York
An exquisite, $20,000 18 karat gold and diamond Italian
designed Swiss Ladies Watch from BERTOLUCCI WATCH COMPANY
A $12,000 shopping spree of leather or fur coats and jackets awarded by world-famous
FLEMINGTON FUR COMPANY
A $10,000 South Sea Pearl Jewelry Ensemble from JEWELMER INTERNATIONAL
A pair of first class tickets to any worldwide destinations on PHILIPPINE AIRLINES, including Asia,
Australia, Europe, the Middle East and USA
$10,000 worth of MINOLTA photo equipment
An extensive assortment of fashionable formal footwear by FREDERICO-LEONE
A personal appearance travel wardrobe and luggage from Miss Universe, Inc.
The beautiful Miss Universe Trophy
The dazzling Miss Universe crown from INTERNATIONAL GEM & JEWELRY SHOW
During her reign, Miss Universe 1994 will reside in a luxury apartment in Los Angeles, California,
USA.
And then, Dayanara Torres did her farewell walk as
the reigning Miss Universe. After that, Bob Goen
introduced two former Miss Universe titleholders from
the Philippines: Gloria Diaz and Margarita Moran. Then,
he announced the final results. The 2nd runner-up was
Miss Venezuela, Minorka Mercado. She looked
dissatisfied for this result. And then there were two, India
and Colombia. The 1st runner-up was Miss Colombia,
Carolina Gomez and that meaned Miss India, Sushmita
Sen was the new Miss Universe. Miss India looked so surprised!!!

Miss Sen looked so
beautiful that night as she
walked like a humble queen.
And then she sat on her throne, and all contestants congratulated her.


.`''`' ''
Miss Romania, Mihaela Ciolacu and Miss Russia, Inna Zobova
almost didnt make it to the pageant. They both had lavoyers in
Bangkok, Thailand where they were detained by airport police
for lack of documents in order to enter that country. After
hours of intense scrunity, the police let them go. Since Miss
Romania was stripped of her sash in Thailand, the welcoming
commitee had a hard time finding her at the airport when she
finally arrived in Manila.
Miss Australia, Michelle van Eimeren ended up marrying a
Filipino singer named Ogie Alcasid.
Miss Mauritius, Viveca Babajee ended up staying in the
Philippines and became an actress. She was involved in a controversy during an acting
award ceremony where she announced a different winner than what the official card
said.
The Filipino crowd favorite during the entire pre-pageant activities was Miss Belgium,
Christelle Roelandts. Unfortunately, the preliminary judges had a different opinion. She
didnt make the semifinala and ended up in 22nd place overall.
If there had been 15 semi-finalists during that year like they have today, the other five
delegates would have been Miss Australia, Michelle van Eimeren; Miss Russia, Inna
Zobova; Miss Thailand, Areeya Chumsai; Miss Peru, Karina Calmet and Miss Denmark,
Gitte Andersen.
Miss USA, Lu Parker was the first delegate to arrive in Manila while 3 delegates from
Africa, Misses Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Nigeria were the last ones to arrive.
The shortest contestant was Miss Northern Marianas, who stands at 54, while the
tallest was Miss Venezuela, who stands 62.
The contestant that endured the longest flight to Manila that
year was Miss Puerto Rico, who endured an agonizing 31 hours
of flying time.
70% of the contestants that year were still at school and over
40% work as models in their own countries.
They actually awarded second and third place winners for the
national costume competition, which were won by Miss
Mexico and Miss Russia respectively.
There were supposed to be 78 contestants that year but the
first candidate ever from the country of Lithuania didnt make
it to Manila.

` .`''`'
Argentina Solange Magnano
Aruba Alexandra Ochoa (1st RU International 94)
Australia Michelle van Eimeren
Bahamas Meka Knowles
Belgium Christelle Roelandts (SF
International 93)
Bolivia Cecilia OConnor-dArlach
Brazil Valeria Peris
British Virgin Islands Delia Jon
Baptiste
Bulgaria Nevena Marinova
Canada Susane Rothfos
Cayman Islands Audrey Ebanks
(World 93)
Chile Constanza Barbieri
Colombia Carolina Gomez*
Cook Islands Leilani Brown
Costa Rica Yasmin Morales
Curacao Jasmin Clifton
Cyprus Maria Vasiliou
Denmark Gitte Andersen
Dominican Republic Vielka Valenzuela Lama
Ecuador Mafalda Arboleda
Egypt Ghada El-Salem
El Salvador Claudia Mendez
Estonia Eva-Maria Laan
Finland Henna Merilainen
France Valerie Claisse
Germany Tanja Wild
Great Britain Michaela Pyke
Greece Rea Toutonzi*
Guam Christina Perez
Guatemala Katya Schoenstedt
Honduras Jem Haylock
Hong Kong Mok Hoi-Yan
Hungary Szilvia Forian
Iceland Svala Bjork Arnardottir (4th RU Europe 93)
India Sushmita Sen*
Ireland Pamela Flood (World 93)
Israel Ravit Yarkoni
Italy Arianna David*
Jamaica Angelie Martin
Japan Chiaki Kawahito
Korea Sun-young Goong
Luxemburg Sandy Wagne (International & Europe 94)
Malaysia Liza Koh
Malta Paola Camilleri
Mauritius Viveka Babajee (World 93)
Mexico Fabiola Perez Rovirosa
Namibia Barbara Kahatjipara (World 93)
Netherlands Irene van der Laar
New Zealand Nicola Brighty (World 93)
Nigeria Suzan Hart (World 94)
Northern Marianas Elizabeth Tomokane
Norway Caroline Saetre
Panama Maria Sofia Velasquez
Paraguay Liliana Gonzales
Peru Karina Calmet
Philippines Charlene Gonzales*
Poland Joanna Brykczinska
Portugal Monica Pereira (Europe 94)
Puerto Rico Brenda Robles (International 93)
Romania Mihaela Ciolacu
Russia Inna Zobova
Singapore Paulyn Sun
Slovak Republic Silvia Lakatosova
(Europe 93) *
Spain Raquel Rodriguez
Sri Lanka Nushara Pramali (World
94)
Swaziland Nicola Smith
Sweden Dominique Forsberg*
Switzerland Patricia Fssler
(World 93)*
Taiwan (R.O.C) Joanne Wu
(World 94)
Thailand Areeya Chumsai
Trinidad & Tobago Lorca Chelsea
Gatcliffe
Turkey Banu Usluer
Turks and Caicos Eulease Walkin
Uruguay Leonora Dibueno (World 92)
USA Lu Parker*
Venezuela Minorka Mercado*
Zimbabwe Yvette DAlmeida-Chakras
NOTE : * Top 10 Semi-finalists
`
Carlos Arturo Zapata, a famous fashion designer (COLOMBIA)
Florence LaRue, a singer and actress (USA)
Richard Dalton, a famous professional celebrity hairstylist (SCOTLAND)
Beulah Quo, an Asian-American actress (USA)
Dr. Emilio T Yap (PHILIPPINES)
Stephanie Beacham, a British actress (UK)
Jonas McCord, a film director (USA)
Mona Grudt, Miss Universe 1990 (NORWAY)

Miss Photogenic: Miss Venezuela Minorka Mercado
Miss Congeniality: Miss Namibia Barbara
Kahatjipara
Best National Costume: Miss Philippines Charlene
Gonzales
Best Kodak Smile Award: Miss Thailand Areeya
Chumsai
Best in Philippine Terno: Miss Venezuela Minorka
Mercado
Most Beautiful Eyes: Miss Colombia Carolina Gomez
Best in Swimsuit: Miss Greece Rea Toutonzi
Most Beautiful Hair: Miss Belgium Christelle Roelandts & Miss Philippines Charlene Gonzales
Philippine Airlines Ambassador to the World: Miss Denmark Gitte Andersen
Minolta Photo Contest: Miss Denmark Gitte Andersen
We hope you can enjoy our special coverage for MISS UNIVERSE 1994. If you have a suggestion or
request, you can send to universalbeauty@rocketmail.com or najib_lubis@hotmail.com
Coming soon in . section:
.: Miss Universe 1992
.: Miss Universe 1993

Sources: Global Beauties, Ben Kramers Pageantlovers, Missology.org,
Wikipedia, Pageant Almanac, Beau Land, Veestarz