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08/04/2022
Toni-Ann Singh, Miss World 2019
By Patrick Green April 8, 2022
There is little doubt that some of the world’s most beautiful women have Caribbean blood in their bodies. The beauty of Caribbean women is not merely about what is seen on the surface however, it goes below the skin; it radiates from the heart. Perhaps it is this inner beauty that shines so much on the outside which allows the islands to provide the world with nine beauty queens at the Miss Universe and the Miss World competitions.
And while nine of our women have been to the beauty pageants’ pinnacle, we must celebrate the others who came close but just missed out on wearing the crown. Fourteen women from the CARICOM islands have been top-five finishers in both pageants; nine in Miss World and five in Miss Universe.
Impact on the world
While all these women shared their beauty with the world, the most significant impact they have made on our global community lies in the causes they supported and fought for before, during, and after their entrance onto the world stage. The list includes poverty eradication, education, civil rights, gender equality and rights, health care, and peace.
In one way or the other, they have not only blessed us with their physical beauty, but they have also created change for the betterment of lives all over the world. 2017 Miss Jamaica Universe and third runner-up at Miss Universe, Davina Bennett, was the first woman to wear an afro hairstyle and place in the top five.
Her decision to be natural, created a profound effect in the pageant world. Two years after her historic act, Miss South Africa won the Miss Universe with her low-cut natural afro, and many black young girls now feel that it is OK to parade their natural looks with confidence.
Of all the CARICOM countries that have entered the two beauty pageants since 1951, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have had the most queens and top five finishers. Jamaica took nine top-five placements in the Miss World and three in Miss Universe. Trinidad and Tobago finished 3rd in the Miss World three times and got two top-five places in the Miss Universe. The other CARICOM countries to have won any of the two major international pageants are Grenada which won the Miss World in 1970, and Bermuda walked away with the Miss World title in 1979. Guyana has been in the top five of Miss World on three occasions.
Jamaica has the distinction of winning the Miss World title four times and is one of four countries to win the title four or more times. The others are India (6), Venezuela (6), and the United Kingdom (4). Jamaica is yet to win as Miss Universe title, with 2010 contestant Yendi Phillips coming the closest with the runner-up spot.
From a technical standpoint, Jamaica could also claim a fifth title. In 1973 3rd place finisher Patsy Yuen was elevated to perform the duties of the queen. The winner, Marjorie Wallace of the United States was fired for “failing to fulfill the basic requirements of the job.” First runner-up Evangeline Pascual of the Philippines was offered the position to complete the duties of Miss World for the remainder of the year, but without holding the title. Pascual refused and Yuen accepted.
Trinidad and Tobago is the only Caribbean island to have won the Miss Universe title, having done so in 1977 and 1998. They are also the only island in the Caribbean to have won both competitions.
As we celebrate World Pageant Day, 2022 (April 8), here are the 30 Caribbean women who showed the world their beauty, raised our flags, and promoted the national brands of our islands.
Carole Joan Crawford – Miss World 1963
A few months after Jamaica celebrated its first year of independence, Carole Joan Crawford took the Jamaican brand worldwide when she won the Miss World title on November 7, 1963. She was the first from the Caribbean to win a beauty pageant. At 5 feet 3 inches, 20-year-old Crawford was considered short by Miss World standards, but she wore a high neckline swimsuit to make her look taller and walked away with the crown ahead of 40 other contestants in London. In honor of her victory, the Jamaican government issued a series of postal stamps with her image.
Carol is now married with Merkens added to her surname. She resides in Canada.
Jennifer Hosten – Miss World 1970
Miss Grenada Jennifer Hosten won the Miss World pageant in 1970, becoming the second Caribbean queen and first black woman to take the crown. She was born in St. George, the capital city of Grenada, to Lyle and Phyllis Hosten. Her father was a famous lawyer. Jennifer has two master’s degrees, one in political science and the other in psychotherapy. She has published two books; ‘The Effect of a North American Free Trade Agreement on the Commonwealth Caribbean’ and her memoir ‘Miss World 1970: How I Entered A Pageant And Wound Up Making History.” The latter chronicles the “craziest and most meaningful pageant ever.” It is her account of the controversial 1970 Miss World contest.
She has worked as a flight attendant, broadcaster, trade negotiator, and business owner. She also has experience in hospitality and academia. Miss Hosten served as Grenada’s High Commissioner to Canada, was the Canadian diplomat to Bangladesh, and was a technical adviser on trade to the St Lucia-based Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. She has two children and is the grandmother of five.
Cindy Breakspeare – Miss World 1976
It was another six years of waiting for another Miss World winner from the Caribbean, and Jamaica was at it again. This time, 21-year-old Cindy Breakspeare took home the crown to give Jamaica its second queen.
Cindy, who was born in Canada but moved to Jamaica at age 5, is the daughter of Louie Breakspeare and Marguerite Spence.
At the time of entering the contest, Prime Minister Michael Manley of Jamaica had barred the country from participating in the competition in protest against apartheid in South Africa. No competition was held in Jamaica to choose a representative.
Prior to the Miss World contest, she was an employee of Spartan Health Club and won the Miss Jamaica Body Beautiful crown. That win gave her a ticket to the Miss Universe Bikini competition, which she also won.
The owner of Spartan health club, Mickey Haughton-James, was asked to send Cindy to the Miss World competition. Contact was made to the organization, which agreed, but only if Cindy wore the Miss Jamaica sash.
Cindy was popular among the contestants, and as the competition moved through the different phases, she became a favorite. Cindy represented her country with the help of private sponsors despite Manley’s order, and the rest is history.
Cindy has been married twice and has three children. One of her children is Damian Marley, who is the son of iconic reggae superstar Bob Marley. The beauty queen is also a Jazz singer.
Janelle Commissiong – Miss Universe 1977
Trinidad and Tobago gave the world the first black Miss Universe when Janelle Commissiong walked away with the crown in 1977 at the coronation show in the Dominican Republic. She is also the first woman from the Caribbean to win the title.
Janelle was born in Trinidad and Tobago from the union of a Trinidadian father and a Venezuelan mother. She migrated to the US when she was 13. While there, she earned a science degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. She represented her country in the Miss Universe competition at 24 and earned her right to the international competition.
Commissiong was named chair of the Tourism Trinidad Destination Management Company in October 2017. From 2012 to 2015, she served as vice-chair of its predecessor agency, the Tourism Development Company. After her first husband passed away in 1989, she took over and managed his boat-building business and opened her own clothing business.
During her reign, Commissiong advocated for black rights worldwide and championed causes for world peace.
In 1977 Trinidad and Tobago awarded her the Trinity Cross, the country’s highest award. Three postage stamps were also issued in her honor. In 2017, Queen Street, located in the capital of Port of Spain, was renamed Queen Janelle Commissiong Street.
Gina Ann Casandra Swainson – Miss World 1979
Bermuda continued the Caribbean reign of beauty queens in 1979 when 21-year old Gina Ann Casandra Swainson won the crown on November 15th at the Royal Albert Hall in London. That year she also became the first runner-up at the Miss Universe competition.
In 1993, Gina opened her own business, ‘Gina of Bermuda,’ selling a makeup range. She currently lives in Britain.
Giselle Laronde – Miss World 1986
After giving the world its first black Miss Universe in 1977, Trinidad and Tobago took their second international pageant crown in 1986, when Giselle Laronde gave the twin island its first Miss World title at age 23. Among the 87 contestants at the Royal Albert Hall in London on November 14, 1986, was Halle Berry, the Hollywood movie star.
Giselle was born in Port-of-Spain but moved to San Fernando when she was ten. She was encouraged to enter the national Miss World audition by friends and family members who thought she had the looks and personality. “They bought a dress and swimsuit and literally picked me up and took me to the final day of selection for our local Miss T & T Show,” she told the Jamaica Gleaner in 2013.
She entered on the last day of the audition after much prodding because she did not consider herself glamorous. She thought of herself as a ‘tom-boy’ and was not too much into make-up, nails, and hair care.
She was surprised when she won and attributed her success to her personality, confidence, intellect, and self-assurance.
She used her prize money to further her education at Goldsmiths College, University of London, earning a Sociology and Communications degree. Trinidad and Tobago awarded her the Chaconia Medal, and BWIA Airlines named a plane after her.
Lisa Hanna – Miss World 1993
Seventeen years after Jamaica’s last queen of the world was crowned, the land of reggae music was back on the throne again. This time, an 18-year-old named Lisa Rene Hanna topped the field of 80 women in South Africa on November 27, 1993, to give Jamaica its third Miss World title.
Lisa Hanna is the product of Rene Hana (Lebanese) and Dorothy Hosang (African and Chinese) from Retreat, in the parish of St Mary, Jamaica.
Hanna, one of Jamaica’s most popular politicians, worked in TV broadcasting and appeared in the romantic comedy, How Stella Got Her Groove Back. She was also a guest presenter on the American entertainment show Xtra and worked as a communications consultant at the Hilton hotel.
Hanna has volunteered with the World Hunger Project, UNICEF, and JAMAL (adult literacy program) to give back to the community. She was also a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations.
She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Arts degrees in communication from the University of the West Indies.
Lisa has been married twice and has a son.
Wendy Fitz William – Miss Universe 1998
Trinidad and Tobago is the only English-speaking Caribbean island to have won the Miss Universe competition. In 1998 Wendy Fitz William became the third black woman and second Trinidadian to have achieved glory at Miss Universe.
Wendy was a teenage model and won the right to represent her country when she won Miss Trinidad and Tobago Miss Universe 1998. Wendy won a nailbiter with Miss Venezuela Veruska Ramirez at the Miss Universe competition in Honolulu, Hawaii. She became the first contestant to have won the title wearing a bikini swimsuit. Wendy worked to support HIV/AIDS awareness and education through her Hibiscus Foundation. Her dedication to the cause won her honors from the United Nations and the title of UNAIDS and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador.
After her reign, Wendy continued her education and was admitted to the bar in 2000. She was also the judge and host of several pageants, including Miss Trinidad and Tobago, Miss Guyana, and Miss Universe. Wendy also worked as a judge on the reality Tv competition, The Caribbean’s Next Top Model and Vice president of investment and promotion at ETeck, a state-owned company. The Red Cross also appointed her the Youth Ambassador for the Caribbean.
Toni-Ann Singh – Miss World 2019
Up to 2019 only three countries won the Miss World title four times. They were India (6), Venezuela (6), and the United Kingdom(4). On December 14 at the ExCel London, one tiny country in the Caribbean changed those numbers. A 23-year old beauty from Morant Bay, Jamaica, named Toni-Ann Singh, placed her country into the top echelons of beauty pageants winners.
From a field of 111 beautiful women, Singh, a singer, advanced to the top 40 by winning the talent section with an incredible performance of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing.”
The day she won, Toni-Ann tweeted: “To that little girl in St. Thomas, Jamaica and all the girls around the world – please believe in yourself. Please know that you are worthy and capable of achieving your dreams. This crown is not mine but yours. You have a PURPOSE.”
Toni-Ann attended Florida State University (FSU), where she majored in women’s studies and is a psychology minor. Before the Miss World competition in Jamaica, her only pageants were the FSU Caribbean Students Association and the Florida Caribbean Students Association contests. She won both.
Toni-Ann created history by being the longest-reigning titleholder. There was no competition in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Miss World Caribbean Runners-up
Miss Universe Caribbean Runners-up
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