Pearl Jansen
{{short description|South African beauty queen and singer (born 1950)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Pearl Jansen
| image =
| caption =
| occupation =
| title = Miss World 1970
(1st Runner-Up)
| birth_name = Pearl Gladys Jansen
| birth_date = 1950
| birth_place = Bonteheuwel, Cape Town
| website =
}}
Pearl Gladys Jansen (sometimes spelled Janssen, born 1950 in Bonteheuwel) is a South African singer and beauty pageant titleholder who was first runner-up in the Miss World beauty contest in the UK in 1970. She was the first coloured woman to represent her country at this level. She competed as "Miss Africa South" due to apartheid.{{Cite news |last=Flanagan |first=Jane |title=The story of Misbehaviour: feminists, flour bombs and the first black Miss South Africa |newspaper=The Times |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/africa/article/the-story-of-misbehaviour-movie-feminists-flour-bombs-and-the-first-black-miss-south-africa-29bc56ppq |access-date=2022-03-31 |issn=0140-0460}}
Biography
Jansen was 20 when she entered the 1970 beauty contest. She has stated that after the contest nothing changed for her because of apartheid.{{cite news |last1=Isaacs |first1=Lisa |title=Apartheid buried my achievement, says Bonteheuwel's Miss World runner-up at film premiere |url=https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/news/apartheid-buried-my-achievement-says-bonteheuwels-miss-world-runner-up-at-film-premiere-44962880 |accessdate=14 November 2020 |work=IOL |date=16 March 2020}} At age 58, she fulfilled her dream of becoming a singer.{{Cite web |title=District Six Legends at His People Centre |url=http://www.capetowntoday.co.za/entertainment/music/413-district-six-legends-at-his-people-centre.html |access-date=2022-03-07 |website=Cape Town Today}}
= 1970 Miss World contest =
The 1970 contest was held in London, United Kingdom. It began with a row because the organisers had allowed two entries from South Africa, one black, Pearl Jansen, and one white, Jillian Jessup.{{cite web|title=Miss World 1970: Beauty Queens and Bedlam, BBC2, review: the real stars were Pearl Jansen and Jennifer Hosten|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/miss-world-1970-beauty-queens-bedlam-bbc2-review-pearl-jansen-jennifer-hosten-408872|first=Sarah|last=Hughes|website=i|date=16 March 2020 |accessdate=25 July 2023}} Then during the evening women's liberation activists staged a protest and threw flour.{{cite news|last=Pape|first=Gordon|title=Cattle show: Miss Grenada wins, Bob Hope loses |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=q8gyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Mu0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1761,1750527&dq=miss-grenada&hl=en|accessdate=17 January 2011|newspaper=Ottawa Citizen|date=21 November 1970}} The comedian Bob Hope was also heckled. Jennifer Hosten, Miss Grenada, won, becoming the first black woman to win Miss World, and Pearl Jansen placed second.
Legacy
In the 2020 British comedy drama Misbehaviour about the 1970 Miss World pageant,{{Cite news |via=PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions |url=https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/sunday-times-1107/20200202/281951724801564 |access-date=2025-05-03 |title=Pearl is a queen again — 50 years later |last=Keeton |first=Claire |date=2020-02-02 |work=Sunday Times |url-access=subscription}} the actress Loreece Harrison portrays Jansen with a strong Afrikaans accent, which substantially differs from Jansen's own Cape accent.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ify8rZk91kI |title=1970 Miss World Runner-Up Pearl Jansen Reveals How New Film Misbehaviour Changed Her Life {{!}} Lorraine |date=2020-03-10 |last=Lorraine |access-date=2025-05-04 |via=YouTube}}
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ify8rZk91kI
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- Jennifer Hosten, Miss World 1970: The Craziest Pageant in History and the Rest of My Life, Sutherland House Incorporated, 2020
External links
- {{IMDb name|nm11512263}}
{{Miss World 1970 delegates}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Pearl}}
Category:Miss World 1970 delegates
Category:People from Cape Town