Miss Universe
Downes won the Miss New Zealand title and went on to represent her country at the 1983 Miss Universe pageant broadcast live from St. Louis, Missouri in July 1983. After the preliminary competition, Downes made the top twelve cut in sixth place, but placed second in the final evening gown competition, third in the interview competition, and fourth in swimsuit. She made the final five in third place behind Julie Hayek of the USA and Lolita Morena of Switzerland, and was eventually crowned Miss Universe. She wore a midnight blue gown and long gloves during the competition. Downes' win was New Zealand's first in the pageant's history, although Diana Delyse Nottle had placed second runner-up to Shawn Weatherly in 1980 and Donella Thomsen was a semi-finalist in 1981. No other delegate from New Zealand would make the cut until 1992.
Read more about this topic: Lorraine Downes
Famous quotes containing the word universe:
“I pray every single second of my life; not on my knees, but with my work. My prayer is to lift woman to equality with man. Work and worship are one with me. I can not imagine a God of the universe made happy by my getting down on my knees and calling him “great.””
—Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906)
“When we lose love, we lose also our identification with the universe and with eternal values—an identification which alone makes it possible for us to lay our lives on the altar for what we believe.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 3, ch. 2 (1962)