Armi Kuusela

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Armi Kuusela (center) with Elpidio Quirino , 1953
Armi Kuusela at the Helsinki Summer Olympics, 1952

Armi Helena Kuusela (born August 20, 1934 in Muhos , Finland ) is a Finnish model and actress . In 1952 she won the first ever Miss Universe election .

Life

Armi Kuusela was born in 1934 as one of six children of Aarne Aleksander Kuusela (1902–1969) and Martta Elisabeth Kyrö (1903–1963) in Muhos, Finland. After graduating from school in Muhos, Kuusela attended the women's university in Porvoo from 1951 . After graduating there, she planned to study at the University of Helsinki .

On May 24, 1952, Kuusela won the Finnish beauty pageant Suomen Neito and was sent to Long Beach to participate in the Miss Universe election . The election with a total of 30 participants from all over the world took place on June 28, 1952 and was won by the then 17-year-old Kuusela.

Due to her increasing popularity in her home country, Armi Kuusela was seen in two Finnish films in 1953: In the romantic comedy Maailman kaunein tyttö and in Now and Forever . The latter was about her love affair with the Filipino businessman Virgilio Hilario, whom she met on a trip around the world after the Miss Universe election. She was also seen in several television productions and two short films in the following years. After less than a year, Kuusela voluntarily gave up the title of Miss Universe on May 4, 1953 and married Hilario in Tokyo .

After her wedding to Hilario, Kuusela ran several apartments in Metro Manila , including in Makati City , where she lived at the time . On September 7, 1975, Virgilio Hilario died of a heart attack. On June 8, 1978, Kuusela married the US diplomat Albert Williams. The couple lived in Barcelona and Izmir before moving to La Jolla , California .

In 2012 Armi Kuusela was awarded the Finnish Order of the White Rose for her services . She continues to support charities and cancer research at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. Kuusela lives in California but owns a summer house in Finland and visits her old home regularly.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1953: Maailman kaunein tyttö
  • 1953: Now and Forever
  • 1959: Finlandia-katsaus 425 (short film)
  • 1959: SF-katsaus 44 (short film)
  • 1993: Virtaset yes Kekkonen

Web links

Commons : Armi Kuusela  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alina Koskela: Iki-ihana Armi Kuusela 85 vuotta! Katso unohtumattomat kuvat suomalaisten rakastamasta kauneuskuningattaresta. In: Ilta-Sanomat. August 20, 2019, accessed November 2, 2019 (Finnish).
personal data
SURNAME Kuusela, Armi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kuusela, Armi Helena (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish model and actress
DATE OF BIRTH August 20, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Muhos , Finland