CANCUN, Mexico -- Miss Holland, Angela Visser, a 22-year-old blue-eyed blonde, won the 1989 Miss Universe crown Tuesday in the posh Caribbean resort of Cancun in a contest broadcast to some 600 million people worldwide.
Visser, ofRotterdam, the Netherlands, scored an average 9.7 on a 10-point scale to win the coveted title over 75 other contestants from around the world.
The constestants were judged on their pulchritude, poise and personality, with the winner receiving more than $300,000 in prizes and the opportunity to travel around the world for a year.
First runner up was Miss Sweeden, Louice Drerenstam, followed by Miss USA, Gretchen Polhemus, then Miss Poland, Joanna Gapins, and Adriana Abascal of the host country, Mexico.
Gapins, representing Poland, was the first contestant to officially represent an East Bloc country.
The title of Miss Congeniality was awarded earlier to Miss Turks and Caicos Islands, Sharon Simmons, 17, Miss Photogenic to Wenden, and Miss Traditional Costume to Brazilian Flavia Cavalcante, 20.
The pageant was be hosted by American actors John Forsythe and Emma Samms, stars of the television series 'Dynasty.'
Model Karen Baldwin, the last U.S. title holder and winner of the 1982 Miss Universe pageant in Lima, Peru, was the official contest translator.
An 11-member jury interviewed the competitors and judged the contestants in different competition categories -- including evening wear and swimwear competition -- that counted toward the selection of the finalists.
Among jurors were Mexican singer Emmanuel and English writer Jacqueline Briski. Other members of the jury include Philippine designer Josie Cruz Natori, and the director of the National Chamber of Italian Fashion, Guiseppe Della Schiava.
Cancun, on the northeast corner of the Yucatan peninsula, 775 miles east of Mexico City, was devastated by Hurricane Gilbert last September.
At least 27 residents were killed in the storm, which packed winds of 180 mph, and 90 percent of the town's 85 hotels were damaged. It has cost an estimated $450 million to repair the damage to the town.
A film of the contestants posing in bathing costumes at the architectural ruins of Tulum -- a Maya city sitting on a cliff 90 miles southeast of Cancun -- was televisized during the pageant.
