1985 Deborah Carthy-Deu PUERTO RICO

Miami, Florida USA

1st runner-up     Teresa Sanchez   SPAIN 2nd runner-up     Kayonga Benita Mureka ZAIRE 3rd runner-up     Silvia Cristina Martinez   VENEZUELA 4th runner-up     Andrea Beatriz Lopez URUGUAY SEMI-FINALISTS Márcia Giagio Canavezes de Oliveira   BRAZIL Karen Elizabeth Tilley   CANADA Claudia van Sint Jan del Pedregal   CHILE Olivia Marie Tracey   IRELAND Laura Elena Martinez-Herring   USA

1985 was another year for controversy.  South Africa was supposed to have sent a delegate but she did not arrive as anti-apartheid groups theatened to stage demonstrations if she did.  This was the start of a long absence of South Africa in the pageant, only to resurface in 1995.  On the lighter side, a sensation that year was Zaire's Benita Mureka who became the first black African finalist and runener-up.  The eventual winner, Deborah Carthy-Deu was not an early favorite as were Mises Colombia, Holland, and Canada.  Pageant night proved to b e her shining moment as she flew past the favorites to win the crown. She was the second Puerto Rican to win after 1970's Marisol Malaret.

Deborah's official photograph as Miss Universe 1985

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