Miriam Stevenson

Miriam Jacqueline Stevenson (born July 4 1933, in Winnsboro, South Carolina) is an American television host and beauty queen who won the Miss USA pageant as Miss South Carolina USA in 1954.^[1] She was the first Miss USA to hold the Miss Universe crown.^[2]

Her win over Brazil's Martha Rocha was memorable because there was a tie between the two women for the crown. As Catalina Swimwear was the major sponsor of the pageant in its early years, the tie-breaking judgment finally came down to who had the better physical figure, which went in Stevenson's favor, for she had the "fitter" hips. She was crowned by Miss Universe 1953, Christiane Martel of France.^[3]

Stevenson gave the car she won in her Miss Universe prize package to Rocha as a consolatory prize.^[4]

After a one-year stint in Hollywood at Universal Studios through the contract she won in the pageant, Stevenson made headlines in Variety magazine by returning home to South Carolina to complete her education. She hosted television shows for the local NBC affiliate in Columbia, WIS-TV. It was here that she met her future husband, Donald Upton (co-writer of the song "Christmas Eve in My Hometown"). She was active in the media through the 1970s as a model, Miss Universe pageant judge, and actress in national commercials. They had two children. Their son, Donald Upton, Jr., is a former telecom executive and founder of the global economic development and public affairs firm Fairfield Index, Inc.

References

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Christiane Martel	Miss Universe 1954	Succeeded by Hillevi Rombin
Preceded by Susan Day	Miss South Carolina USA 1954	Succeeded by Sara Stone
Preceded by Mary Griffin	Miss South Carolina 1953	Succeeded by Polly Suber