Sunday, August 16, 2009
The first Miss Universe to originate from the Asiat, Akiko was a 22-year-old model from Tokyo, Japan when she bested four other finalists from Norway, the USA, England, and Brazil for the 1959 Miss Universe crown in Long Beach, California. At 5'7", Akiko measured 37-23-38 inches, which many believed as "incredible dimensions" for an Asian. She denied having undergone breast surgery. Akiko settled into a quiet married life
after her reign.
1st runner-up Jorunn Kristiansen NORWAY
2nd runner-up Terry Lynn Hungtington USA
3rd runner-up Pamela Anne Searle
ENGLAND
4th runner-up Vera Ribeiro BRAZIL
SEMI-FINALISTS
Hélène Savigny BELGIUM
Olga Pumarejo Korkor COLOMBIA
Françoise Saint-Laurent FRANCE
Carmela Künzel GERMANY
Zoidsa Kouroukli GREECE
Sigridur Thorvaldsdottir ICELAND
Rina Issacov ISRAEL
Oh Hyun-joo KOREA
Zuzanna Cembrowska POLAND
Marie-Louise Ekstrom SWEDEN
