As of 2019, Jamaica has the distinction of having four beauty queens that have gone on to win Miss World crowns. Jamaican contestants that are Miss World title holders are Carole Joan Crawford in 1963, who was also the first woman of color to win the competition; Cynthia Jean Cameron Breakspeare (Cindy Breakspeare) in 1976; Lisa Hanna in 1993; and Toni-Ann Singh in 2019.

The top five countries with the most Miss World wins are India with 6; Venezuela with 6, United Kingdom with 5; and Jamaica with 4. That’s not to say that Jamaican beauty queens haven’t made a good showing in other contests.

Many were runners-up in the Miss World competition, not to be confused with the Miss Jamaica World pageant. Jamaican women have been standouts, ranking as finalists, semi-finalists, in the Top 5, and scholarship winners in a variety of international competitions.

Jamaican women are intelligent, beautiful, talented, and display a variety of desirable attributes on the pageant stage and off. The following are some things people may not be aware of about Jamaican Miss World queens.

Carole Crawford – She’s the most diminutive woman in the history of the Miss World pageant at 5’3” tall. Born in 1943, the model was honored with a commemorative stamp in Jamaica and the key to the city in Kingston. She’s married and lives in Canada.

Cindy Breakspeare – The beauty queen is the mother of Damian Marley, son of reggae legend, Bob Marley. The Canadian-Jamaican is a musician and jazz singer born in Toronto in 1954. She’s pursuing a career as a recording artist and founded a Rastafarian craft store in Jamaica.

Lisa Hanna – Born in Jamaica in 1975, she’s a member of Jamaica’s Parliament and the former Minister of Youth and Culture. She was in the film “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” and hosted a Jamaican talk show. She and her husband operate Lydford Logistics, a manufacturing, commercial warehouse, and shipping business.

Toni-Ann Singh – She was born in 1996 in Jamaica and the family immigrated to the U.S., settling in Florida. She has a degree in Women’s Studies and Psychology.