Before moving to Miami Beach, Venezuela’s 18-year old Sylvia Martinez, who stands 1,81m, is crowned Miss South America at Lima’s Teatro Municipal. Thus Venezuela enjoyed a streak of third consecutive Miss South America Universe wins from 1983 to 1985.
2.Miami Beach (FL) hosts Miss Universe for the second year in a row.
3.The Republic of Chile qualifies for the semi-finals for the first time since 1978 under the leadership of Claudia van Sint Jam. She did not win the event but she won many admirers in Miami Beach. Claudia is without a doubt one of the most outstanding beauties from Chile.
4.British-born author Frederick Forsyth, who has been famous with his best-selling book “The Dogs of War”, appears as one of the telecast judges.
5.Foreign-born American delegates haven’t good luck! For the first time in history, a Latin American-born American woman competes for the States in MU, following winning the right during Miss USA 1985 (major national pageant). Additionally, she, Laura Martinez-Herring, becomes the third foreign-born American to do so. Like Miss USA 1963 Marite Ozers,who was born in the Soviet republic of Latvia, and the Hungarian-born Maria Judith Reminyi,former Miss California and national winner in the latter half of the 1960s, Miss USA Universe 1985 does not reach the semis. Laura, ex-Miss Texas, came to the U.S. with her family from the United Mexican States.
6.Venezuela and Spain are the obvious favorites but El Salvador and Colombia as well as Holland and USA have their chances.
7.Global artists such as Spain’s singer Rocio Jurado, India’s actor Victor Banerjee, and Cuba’s singer Olga Guillot are telecast judges.
8.Deborah Carthy-Deu of Puerto Rico defeats Teresa Sanchez of Spain to win the trophy and leading the island to its third major world title after Marisol Malaret’s win in 1970 and Wilnelia Merced’s triumph at Miss World 1975. Meanwhile, Zaire’s 18-year old Kayonga “Benita” Mureka Tete is second runner-up at Florida, becoming the first black woman from sub-Sahara Africa to reach the finals.
9.Fair-haired Andrea Lopez from Uruguay, who stands 1,77m-tall, is fourth runner-up. She is one of the youngest entries.
10.Because of its policy of apartheid, the Republic of South Africa, an international pariah since the early 1960s, is barred from the pageant.
11.An emerging name at MU: Julia Haydee Mora from El Salvador. She is no stranger to Salvadorans after being one of the most popular models in the Central American republic. Despite El Salvador’s civil war (one of the world’s most bloodless), Miss ES, Julia Haydee Mora, made a trip to Miami Beach (FL) to compete in the Miss Universe Pageant in July 1985, where she was one of the pre-pageant favorites to win the international crown, along with Teresa Sanchez of Spain and Silvia Martinez from Venezuela (and Miss South America 1985). In the meantime, she became the third contestant from El Salvador to be considered a favorite at Miss Universe after Maribel Arrieta in the mid-1950s and Iris Ivette Mazorra in 1978. Unfortunately, Miss Mora did not make the semifinals in the States. A few years later, she became an actress and Tv presenter.