Karen Brucene Smith-Galvan (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Smith; born June 21, 1951) is an American model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World USA 1971 and Miss International 1974.

Early life

Galvan was born and raised in

Port Lavaca, Texas Port Lavaca ( ) is a city in Calhoun County, Texas, Calhoun County, located in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 12,248 at the 2010 census and 11,557 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Calhoun County ...

, by parents David Bruce Smith and Belle Dunlap-Smith, and grandmother Adela Dunlap. She grew up with four sisters: Cynthia, Darlene, Carrie, and Suzanne; and one brother, Robert Bruce. Her father, David Bruce, named her after him, Brucene. Galvan graduated from Calhoun High School in 1969 and was a former student at Victoria College and a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

in elementary education at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

when she decided to participate in Miss World USA.

Miss World USA 1971

Galvan competed against 47 delegates in her

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

's national beauty pageant, Miss World USA, held in

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

, capturing the crown and the right to represent the United States in

Miss World 1971 Miss World 1971 was the 21st Miss World pageant, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, United Kingdom, on 10 November 1971. Jennifer Hosten of Grenada crowned Lúcia Petterle of Brazil at the end of the event. Although Petterle co ...

. After her win, Calhoun County honored Galvan with a public reception and proclaimed October 24 as Brucene Day. As the official representative of her

to the

pageant, held in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, she was a bookies' favorite and became one of the top seven finalists, placing sixth overall. After the competition, Galvan joined

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

for his 21st Christmas tour overseas.

Miss International 1974

On October 9, 1974, Galvan represented the United States as Miss American Beauty in the Miss International 1974 pageant in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and was crowned the eventual winner of the title, receiving two million yen in first-prize money.

Life after Miss International

In January 1975, Galvan was briefly signed by

Wilhelmina Models Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, New York. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Miami and London. Founded in 1967 by Wilhelmina C ...

, but New York City's

jet set The jet set is a social group of wealthy and fashionable people who travel the world to participate in social activities unavailable to ordinary people. The term was introduced in 1949 and replaced " café society"; it reflected a style of life ...

lifestyle proved to be overwhelming for her small-town upbringing, and she returned to Austin one month later. After crowning Miss International 1975, Galvan stayed for six months in Japan, working as a

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

and making appearances across the country. Then she returned to the United States and continued her work as a model in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

for three more years. In 1980, Galvan married husband David with whom she has six children, and moved to

Helotes, Texas Helotes ( ) is a city in Bexar County, Texas, United States, located on the far northwestern side of San Antonio. It is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan statistical area. Its population was 9,030 at the 2020 census. History ...

, near the

Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ameri ...

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

's metropolitan area to focus on raising her family.

References

External links

Official Miss International website - Past titleholders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brucene 1951 births Living people People from Port Lavaca, Texas Miss International winners American beauty pageant winners Miss International 1974 delegates Miss World 1971 delegates