Jennifer Hosten
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
| Born |
October 27, 1953 St. George's, Grenada |
|---|---|
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Title(s) |
Miss World 1970 (Winner) Miss Grenada 1970 (Winner) Miss World Caribbean 1970 |
Jennifer Hosten (born October 27, 1953) is a Grenadian radio announcer, development worker, diplomat, author, model and beauty queen who won the Miss World 1970 contest, representing Grenada. She became the first woman from her country to win the title. The whole contest had been controversial even before the result had been announced. Afterwards allegations were made about the influence of the Prime Minister of Grenada, who was on the judging panel.
She was born in St. George's, Grenada. She was 22 when she won the Miss World contest in December 1970 and so the more likely of the two dates of birth that are reported is October 31, 1947. She studied in London and then worked for the BBC's Caribbean radio service before becoming a flight attendant.
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, one white. Then during the evening there were protests by Women's Liberation activists and flour was thrown. The comedian, Bob Hope, was also heckled.
Even greater controversy then followed after the result was announced. Jennifer Hosten won becoming the first Black woman to win Miss World and the black contestant from South Africa was placed second. The BBC and newspapers received numerous protests about the result and accusations of racism were made by all sides. Four of the nine judges had given first-place votes to Miss Sweden, while Miss Grenada received only two firsts while receiving the most overall points. Miss Sweden, who was favored to win, finished fourth. Furthermore, the Prime Minister of Grenada, Sir Eric Gairy, was on the judging panel. Although there were judges from several other countries which also took part in the contest, there were many accusations that the contest had been rigged. Some of the audience gathered in the street outside Royal Albert Hall after the contest and chanted "Swe-den, Swe-den". Four days later the organising director, Julia Morley, resigned because of the intense pressure from the newspapers. Years later Miss Sweden, Majorie Christel Johansson, was reported as saying that she had been cheated out of the title.
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