Julia Evelyn Morley (née Pritchard; born 25 October 1939) is a British businesswoman, charity worker, and former model. She is the chairman and CEO of the Miss World Organization, which organizes the Miss World and

Mister World The Mister World competition is a male beauty pageant sponsored by the Miss World Organisation. The competition was founded in 1996. The entrants compete in various activities including waterskiing, mountain biking, and marathon running. The cur ...

. She is the

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

of Miss World creator, the late Eric Morley who was in charge of organizing the pageant from its inception in 1951 until his death in 2000.

Life and career

Born in London, she worked as a model, and met Eric Morley, then a director of Mecca Dancing, at a dance hall in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

; the couple married in 1960. She became chairman of Miss World after her husband died in 2000. As chairman of Miss World, she introduced "Beauty With A Purpose", which raises money in support of sick and disadvantaged children. In 2009, Morley used the opening of the Miss World Festival to launch the

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

International Children’s Fund with a Charity Dinner which raised over $400,000 for nutritional, educational and medical projects in Haiti. She was conferred with the Priyadarshini Award for her ‘Save the Children’ campaign. In 2016, Morley received the Variety Humanitarian Award. Morley was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for charitable and voluntary services to disadvantaged people in the UK and abroad.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Julia 1939 births Living people host Beauty pageant owners English female models British chairpersons of corporations 20th-century English businesswomen English humanitarians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century English businesswomen