Queens of Beauty shows the 1955 Miss Universe competition. This was only the 4th Miss Universe pageant, and was held on 22 July 1955 at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium with 22 female competitors. Miss Sweden, 21-year-old Hillevi Rombin, won the competition and was crowned by outgoing titleholder Miriam Stevenson from USA. The first runner-up was Maribel Arrieta of El Salvador.

Winner Hillevi Rombin Schine (September 14, 1933 – June 19, 1996) was a Swedish actress and beauty queen who was crowned as Miss Sweden and then Miss Universe in 1955. She was crowned Miss Sweden Universe 1955 by Miss Sweden Universe 1954, Ragnhild Olausson. In 1996, she became the first Miss Universe title holder to pass away, when she was killed in a plane crash.

The Miss Universe pageant shown in this film was founded in 1952 by Pacific Knitting Mills, a California-based clothing company and manufacturer of Catalina Swimwear. The company was the sponsor of the Miss America pageant until 1951, when the winner, Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose for publicity pictures wearing one of their swimsuits. So in 1952 Pacific Knitting Mills organized the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, co-sponsoring them for decades to follow.

The first Miss Universe Pageant was held in Long Beach, California in 1952. It was won by Armi Kuusela from Finland, who gave up her title, though not officially, to get married, shortly before her year was completed. Until 1958, the Miss Universe title, like that of Miss America, was dated by the year following the contest, so at the time Ms. Kuusela’s title was Miss Universe 1953.

Since its founding by Pacific Mills, the pageant has been organized and conducted by the Miss Universe Organization. Eventually Pacific Mills and its subsidiaries were acquired by the Kayser-Roth Corporation, which was in turn acquired by Gulf and Western Industries.

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