MISS UNIVERSE 1997
FRIDAY, MAY 16, 1997
Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
74 contestants
PRESENTERS: george hamilton & marla maples trump
entertainment: enrique iglesias
Results
1 USA Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee
2 VENEZUELA Marena Josefina Bencomo Jiménez (1st RU Coffee '96, Top 6 South America '96)
3 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO Margot Rita Burgeois
Top 6
4 CURACAO Verna Angela Maria Vasquez
5 ITALY Denny Andeína Méndez de la Rosa
6 PANAMA Lía Victoria Borrero González (winner International '98)
Top 10
7 ESTONIA Kristiina Heinmets (2nd RU Baltic Sea '98)
8 PUERTO RICO Ana Rosa Brito Suárez (International '90, World '93)
9 SWEDEN Victoria Lagerström
10 INDIA Nafisa Joseph
Awards
Miss Amity AUSTRALIA
Miss Photogenic PHILIPPINES
Best National Costume 1) COLOMBIA, 2) HONDURAS, 3) PERU
Best in Swim Suit CURACAO
Remainder
ARGENTINA Nazarena Vanesa González Almada (International '93, South America '96, Banana '97, Nuestra Belleza '97, Sudamericana '97)
ARUBA Karen-Ann Peterson
AUSTRALIA Laura Csortan (SF World '97)
BAHAMAS Nestaea Sandra Sealy
BELGIUM Laurence Borremans (SF World '96)
BELIZE Sharon Domínguez (Nuestra Belleza '94)
BERMUDA Naomi Darrell
BOLIVIA Helga Bauer Salas (Coffee '97)
BONAIRE Jhane-Louise Landwier (World '96)
BRAZIL Nayla Fernanda Affonso Micherif (Nuestra Belleza '97)
BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS Melinda Penn
BULGARIA Krasimira Todorova
CANADA Carmen Kempt
CHILE Claudia Paulette Delpín Corssen
COLOMBIA Claudia Elena Vásquez Ángel
COSTA RICA Gabriela Aguilar Chavarría (winner Banana '95, winner Asia Pacific '96)
CROATIA Kristina Cherina
CYPRUS Korina Nicolaou
CZECH REPUBLIC Petra Minarova (World '96)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Cesarina Mejía
ECUADOR Maria José López Verdu
EGYPT Eiman Abdallah Thakeb
EL SALVADOR Carmen Irene Carrillo Vilanova (Nuestra Belleza '97)
FINLAND Karita Hanna-Maria Tuomola (winner Baltic Sea '98, 1st RU Scandinavia '98)
FRANCE Patricia Spéhar (SF International '98)
GERMANY Agathe Neuner (withdrew Europe '97)
GREECE Elina Zisi
GUATEMALA Carol Annabella Aquino Bonilla (Maja '95, Nuestra Belleza '97, Coffee '98)
HONDURAS Joselina García Cobos (Coffee '97)
HONG KONG Lee San-San (1st RU Chinese International '97)
HUNGARY Ildiko Kecan
ICELAND Solveig Lilja Gudmundsdóttir (Europe '96)
IRELAND Fiona Mullally
ISRAEL Dikla Hamdi
JAMAICA Nadine Julian Thomas
KOREA Eun-hee Lee
LEBANON Dalida Chammai
MALAYSIA Trincy Low Ee Bing (World '95)
MALTA Claire Grech
MAURITIUS Cindy Cesar
MEXICO Rebeca Lynn Tamez Jones
NAMIBIA Sheya Shipanga (World '97)
NEW ZEALAND Marina Alofagia McCartney
NORTHERN MARIANAS Melanie Sibetang
PARAGUAY Rossana Elizabeth Jiménez Pereira (Sudamericana '97, Coffee '98)
PERU Claudia Maria Dopf Scarsi
PHILIPPINES Abbygale Williamson Arenas
POLAND Agnieszka Zielinska (World '96, 1st RU Europe '97, 1st RU World University '97)
PORTUGAL Lara Antunes (SF Europe '97)
ROMANIA Diana Maria Urdareanu
RUSSIA Anna Baychik
SINGAPORE Tricia Tan Siew Siew
SLOVAK REPUBLIC Lucia Povrazníková
SOUTH AFRICA Mbali Gasa
SPAIN Inés Sainz Esteban
SWITZERLAND Mélanie Winiger (World '96)
TAIWAN Hai-Ta Chiou
THAILAND Suangsada Rodprasert
TURKEY Yesim Cetin
TURKS & CAICOS Keisha Delancy
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS Vania Thomas (SF World '89)
UKRAINE Nataliya Nadtochey (Globe '96, SF Europe '97, World '98)
URUGUAY Adriana Cano García
ZIMBABWE Lorraine Magwenzi
WITHDREW:
WESTERN SAMOA Maryjane Moe McKibben (quit after 2 days)
NO SHOWS:
DENMARK Mette Ravn Ibsen
GREAT BRITAIN Liz Fuller
NETHERLANDS Leoni Boon
NICARAGUA Luz Maria Sánchez Herdocia
NIGERIA Emma Komlosy
NORWAY Eva Sjoholt
ZAMBIA Tukuza Tembo
HAITI Katia Brisson
REPLACED:
CHILE Hetu'u Rapu (underage)
GERMANY Nadine Schmidt
IRELAND Niamh Marie Redmond
ISRAEL Mirit Greenberg (under age)
RUSSIA Alexandra Petrova
UKRAINE Natalya Shvachko
DEBUTS: Croatia
WITHDRAWALS: Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Denmark, Ghana, Great Britain, Indonesia, Netherlands, Norway, Sri Lanka
RETURNS: Bermuda, Mauritius, US Virgin Islands
JUDGES:
Preliminary competition
1- Jorge Arrizurieta - Director of public affairs for Huizenga Holdings.
2- Tommy Baratta - Owner of Biz Bistro.
3- Andrea Contant - World-class fitness expert and a former Ms Fitness World Champion.
4- Fritz Dominique - Model
5- Lyndi Greene - Agency director of MTM Miami.
6- Brooke Landau - Television host and model.
7- Eric Omores - Owner of Bash nightclub in Miami Beach.
8- Tommy Puccio - Club and restaurant promoter.
9- Bambi Torres - Fashion photographer.
10- Roslyn Williams - Executive director of the South Florida Black Film Festival.
Final telecast
1- Pat O'Brien - CBS sports reporter.
2- Mike Love - Lead singer of the Beach Boys.
3- Cristina Saralegui - Univision talk-show host.
4- Eva Herzigova - International model.
5- Monique Pillard - President of Elite Model Management.
6- Carolina Herrera - Venezuelan Fashion designer.
7- James E. Billie - Entertainer and chief of the Seminole Tribe of Florida.
8- Ingrid Seynhaeve - Fashion model.
9- Tommy Ford - Actor and Film Director.