Miss World 1958

 Miss World 1958

 Miss World 1958, the 8th annual Miss World pageant, was held on October 13, 1958 at Lyceum Theatre, London, United Kingdom. 22 contestants competed for the Miss World. The winner was Penelope Anne Coelen, who represented South Africa. The 18-year-old secretary from Durban enraptured the audience with her poise and beauty. She gained widespread international attention during her reign and received several lucrative modelling offers. After her reign as Miss World 1958, she tried her luck out in Hollywood with the help of James Garner, but failed her screen test but managed to launch her own clothing and endorsed beauty products as well as perfumes. Later she returned to South Africa, married wealthy sugar cane farmer Graeme Rey from the KwaZulu-Natal Province and she remains today a prominent socialite in South Africa, race-horse owner, and is a renowned pistol shot. She swore that she would never go through the terror of competing again, noting that it was "too nerve-wracking," yet that being a Miss World contestant and titleholder was "something I would not have liked to miss."