Miss 2011

Archive for the ‘Singers’ Category

Miss Peru, Gladys Zender Urbina became Miss Universe on July 19, 1957. She was the first Latin American woman to win the Miss Universe . Before being crowned Miss Peru 1957 she studied art and languages, and even wanted to be an aviator. The representative of Max Factor Company, Roman Toporow, while visiting Lima, was impressed by the style and the very Latin features of the young Gladys and affirmed that she “was a perfect beauty”. In the beginning, her family was opposed to her joining the national pageant, but later they supported her by traveling with her to Long Beach.

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Gladys Zender´s victory in Miss Universe pageant had taken the Peruvian and the rest of Latin America by surprise. According to the American press, the traits that made Gladys deserve the title were these: “her captivating personality and her aristocratic bearing” and that “she had been educated in the traditional system of Latin American women”.

Zender married Antonio Meier in 1965, and secluded herself into a family life; they had four children together. Their son, Christian MeierChristian MeierChristian Dietrich Meier Zender is a well-known Peruvian actor and singer in Latin America.