Armi Kuusela
Twenty-nine contestants participated in the first Miss Universe pageant in 1952, held in Long Beach, California, USA. The pageant was held on 29 June 1952, and Armi Kuusela, as Miss Finland, captured the crown. Born 20 August 1934, at her crowning she was only 17 years old.
Even though a part of winning the pageant was a contract with Universal Studios, she chose not to take advantage of it after refusing the first part they chose for her (in a movie with Abbott and Costello) and arguing over the contract (by way of her sister Sirkka since she was a minor and did not speak English), probably because they suggested she should marry Tony Curtis to avoid issues with her work permit.
Less than a year later, on 4 May 1953, Armi chose to give up her Miss Universe crown before her year was complete to marry Filipino businessman Virgilio Hilario. They were married in Hong Kong, but then lived in the Philippines where they had a family of five children: Arne, Anna-Lisa, Jussi, Eva-Maria, and Mikko. She was also in one film in Finland and one in the Philippines around this time.
Hilario died on 7 September 1975, and Kuusela married Albert Williams on 8 June 1978 and moved to La Jolla, a community in San Diego, California.
As of 2003, she and her husband were still living in San Diego. She is still active in her community and involved in cancer research.
