The Jamaica Observer’s Entertainment Desk continues with the 14th of its biweekly feature looking at seminal moments that have helped shape Jamaica over the past 60 years.

JAMAICA has fared exceptionally well on the beauty pageant stage. It is at the Miss World contest that the country’s presence and power has been most successful with four winners – Carole Joan Crawford in 1963; Cindy Breakspeare in 1976; Lisa Hanna in 1993; and Toni-Ann Singh in 2019.

A year after the country gained independence, the petite Crawford, standing five feet three inches, became the first black woman to win Miss World.

Crawford recalled in an interview that her return to Jamaica from London sparked a huge celebration:

“The reception when I returned was simply fantastic. The airport was filled with people welcoming me. The Government had issued millions of commemorative stamps with my picture in my swimsuit on it. There were receptions with [Prime Minister] Sir Alexander Bustamante and Governor General Sir Clifford Campbell and his wife. I was presented with the gold key to the city of Kingston,” she noted.

Thirteen years later, Jamaica was again the toast of London when 22-year-old fitness instructor Breakspeare brought home the title. Her win was not without controversy. A number of countries withdrew their delegate to protest the presence of South Africa which was under Apartheid rule. There were calls for Jamaica to do so, but Breakspeare went ahead.

It would be another 17 years before another Jamaican beauty wore the prestigious crown. Hanna, an 18-year-old co-host of Rappin’, a weekly television programme, stunned the audience to take the title in Sun City, South Africa.

Twenty-six years would elapse before Singh wowed judges in London to take the crown. Due to COVID-19, Singh became the longest reigning title-holder in Miss World history. Her reign lasted from December 2019 to March 2022.

Other Jamaican beauties who have fared well at Miss World include Patsy Yuen, who acted as Miss World in 1973 following the resignation of the winner. Debbie Campbell, Sandra Cunningham, Cathy Levy, Allison Barnett, Sandra Foster, Erica Aquart, Chistine Straw, Jade Fulford, Sara Lawrence, Yendi Phillipps, Sanetta Myrie, and Kadijah Robinson all placed in the Top 10.