Penny Coelen, Anneline Kriel and Rolene Strauss wore the Miss World Crown and Margaret Gardiner the Miss Universe Crown.
In 1958, Penny Coelen was crowned Miss South Africa and then Miss World. Anneline Kriel became Miss World in 1974 and Margaret Gardiner won the Miss Universe title in 1978. More recently, in 2014, with a gap of more than 40 years, Rolene Strauss became Miss World.
Penny Coelen
Anneline Kriel
Margaret Gardiner
Rolene Strauss
The three former Miss Worlds attended the crowning of Miss SA at Sun City last year. For Anneline Kriel, it was familiar territory – she was a familiar face at the casino resort in the 80s when she was married to Casino mogul, Sol Kerzner. She now lives in Mauritius.
Margaret Gardiner was the first African woman to win the Miss Universe title. She was 18 years old when she won. She won the pageant after answering the final question.
She is now working as a print and television journalist in Los Angeles. She is married to Andre Nel, a professor at UCLA.
