Biography – Miss Universe 1977
1977 was the year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac. It was certainly a good year for those people who were born in the years 1929, 1941 and 1953. Trinidad Tobago has long been known as one of the most beautiful countries in the Third World, but the Caribbean island is also the birthplace of the first blacks. Miss Universe Pageant in History. Her name: Janelle Penny Commissiong.
In 1953 Janelle “Penny” Commissiong, the daughter of a Venezuelan mother and a Trinidadian father, came into the world in Port of Spain, Trinidad Tobago, a country famous for its music and athletes such as Ato Bolton and Hasely Crawford. In the 1960s she moved with her family to the United States.
In New York City, she studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She returned to Port of Spain in 1976, the year Miss Trinidad and Tobago, Margaret Elizabeth McFarlane, won the title of Miss Congeniality. The following year, Janelle Commissiong had been selected to represent the Island in the 1977 Miss Universe pageant in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
During the Miss Universe beauty pageant, Miss TT was very popular, but she was not the favorite for the title. Miss Austria, Eva Maria Durerner, was a great favorite until the last second. She resembles Farrah Fawcett, an actress best known for her role on the 1970s television series Charly Angel’s. Other favorites included Miss Colombia, Aura Maria Mojica, an exotic girl from Cali; and Miss Nicaragua, Beatriz Lacayo Obregón, a spectacular Latin Barbie from Managua. But none favorite did not speak English very well.
Miss Trinidad-Tobago was elected Miss Photogenic 4 days before the final. She was the second black woman to win the award in Miss Universe History. On July 16, at the National Theater in Santo Domingo, Janelle Commissiong was spectacular in the semifinal and final. It was a very good day for her. Miss Austria did not show the same talent compared to Miss TT. Minutes later, Janelle Commissiong was full of Miss Universe.
Miss Trinidad and Tobago attracted international attention in 1977 because she was contested as the first black woman in the Miss Universe chronology. At the end of the transmission, via satellite, the Trinidadian celebrated the triumph of Janelle Commissiong. Port of Spain was a carnival. All the newspapers had the same story. The New York Times said that “Miss Universe 1977 was a black bomb.” Certainly the world did not have a black Miss Universe until 1977.
There were 12 judges: Oscar de La Renta (Dominican designer), Dionne Warwick (American singer), Gordon Parks (American photographer), Roberto Cavalli (Italy designer), Marisol Malaret (former Miss Universe), Wihelmina (Netherlands designer ) and other personalities. When Janelle introduced herself as Miss Universe, Dionne Warwick said, “I felt like I won.”
After her reign, she had an interview with Joaquín Balaguer, President of the Dominican Republic (a fan of the Miss Universe pageant) at the National Palace. Like Miss Universe, she visited many nations around the world: from Iceland, Argentina, Hong Kong, Peru, Puerto Rico to the United States.
In 1978 Janelle went to Chile, where she was a special judge in the “Miss Beaches of South America” contest. During her reign, she had been an advocate for black rights and world peace. She wants to meet with Idi Amin Dada, one of the worst dictators of the 20th century.
Like Roberto Clemente, Mary Eugenia Charles, Marlene Ottey, Billy Ocean and Tim Duncan, he is an icon in the Caribbean…