Jennifer Hosten (born 31 October 1947) is a Grenadian radio announcer, development worker, diplomat, author, model and beauty queen who won the
Miss World 1970
Miss World 1970 was the 20th anniversary of the Miss World pageant, held on 20 November 1970 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, United Kingdom. Jennifer Hosten from Grenada won the crown of Miss World 1970. Although Miss World 1969, Eva Rueber ...
contest, representing
Grenada
Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...
. She became the first black woman and 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
St. George's ( Grenadian Creole French: ''Sen Jòj'') is the capital and largest city of Grenada. The city is surrounded by a hillside of an old volcano crater and is located on a horseshoe-shaped harbour.
St. George's is a popular Caribbean ...
. She was 23 when she won the Miss World contest in November 1970, and so the more likely of the two dates of birth that are reported is 31 October 1947. She studied 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 ...
and then worked for the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's
Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
radio service before becoming a flight attendant.
1970 Miss World contest
The
1970 contest was 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 ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It began with a row because the organisers had allowed two entries from
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, one black, one white. Then during the evening there were protests by
women's liberation
The women's liberation movement (WLM) was a political alignment of women and feminism, feminist intellectualism. It emerged in the late 1960s and continued till the 1980s, primarily in the industrialized nations of the Western world, which resu ...
activists and flour was thrown.
The comedian,
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 ...
, 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
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
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
The Miss Sweden or Miss Universe Sweden (), is the title of the Swedish beauty pageant, qualifying delegates to the Miss Universe competition. In 2009 the pageant renamed as Miss Universe Sweden and the first national final was held on 6 June 200 ...
, while Miss Grenada received only two firsts while receiving the most overall points. Miss Sweden, who was favoured to win, finished fourth. Furthermore, the Premier of Grenada,
Eric Gairy
Sir Eric Matthew Gairy PC (18 February 192223 August 1997) was the first Prime Minister of Grenada, serving from his country's independence in 1974 until his overthrow in a coup by Maurice Bishop in 1979. Gairy also served as head of governmen ...
, 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
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
after the contest and chanted "Swe-den, Swe-den". Four days later the organising director,
Julia Morley
Julia Evelyn Morley (née Pritchard; born 25 October 1939) is an English 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 pageants. She ...
, resigned because of the intense pressure from the newspapers. Years later Miss Sweden, Marjorie Christel Johansson, was reported as saying that she had been cheated out of the title.
Julia Morley's husband,
Eric Morley
Eric Douglas Morley (26 September 1918 – 9 November 2000) was an English television host and the founder of the Miss World pageant and ''Come Dancing'' programme. His widow, Julia Morley, is now head of the pageant and his son, Steve Douglas, ...
, was the chairman of the company that owned the Miss World franchise. To disprove the accusations, Eric Morley put the judging panel's ballot cards on view and described the complex "majority vote system". These cards showed that Hosten had more place markings in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th positions over Miss Sweden and the other five finalists. Julia Morley then resumed her job.
After the contest
Hosten joined Bob Hope on his annual tour to U.S. forces overseas and made numerous other personal appearances all over the world with quiet dignity despite the controversy surrounding her victory. In 1971, a Grenada 15-cent postage stamp was issued to commemorate her victory.
Hosten then worked with
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...
in customer relations, and married David Craig, an IT Manager with IBM. They lived in
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
until 1973, when they moved to
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Canada. Hosten earned a Masters of Arts in Political Science and International Relations from
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...
,
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
. She has two children, a daughter: Sophia Craig, and son: Beau Craig. Jennifer Hosten Craig was
High Commissioner to Canada from Grenada from 1978 to 1981. In 1998 she served as Technical Adviser on Trade to the
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ...
(OECS) while living on the island of
Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
. More recently she worked as a Canadian diplomat (Aid Division) at the Canadian High Commission in Dhaka, Bangladesh before returning to the Caribbean.
In 1992 she published an academic study, ''The Effect of a North American Free Trade Agreement on the Commonwealth Caribbean''.
Hosten opened Jenny's Place, beachfront studio apartments on Grand Anse Beach in Grenada, in August 2005.
In late 2006, Hosten was appointed the National Director of the Miss Grenada World Contest. The event took place on 31 March 2007, and chose only the third Grenadian woman in history to compete at the
Miss World
Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...
finals.
Her autobiography, ''Beyond Miss World'', was published in 2008.
In 2011, Hosten graduated from Yorkville University, New Brunswick, Canada, with a master's degree in Counselling (Psychology). She currently works as a registered psychotherapist in Oakville, Ontario. She has five grandchildren.
Legacy
Jennifer is portrayed by
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw, MBE (; born 21 April 1983) is an English actress. She began acting at the National Youth Music Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and gained acclaim for her roles as Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet'' and O ...
in the 2020 British-French comedy-drama ''
Misbehaviour
Misbehaviour or misbehavior may refer to:
* ''Misbehavior'' (film), a 2016 South Korean film
* ''Misbehaviour'' (film), a 2020 British film
*"Misbehaviour", a song on the 1985 album ''Behaviour''
*"Misbehaviour", a song on the 2012 album ''Come of ...
'' about the
1970 Miss World competition.
Bibliography
* Jennifer Hosten, ''The Effect of a North American Free Trade Agreement on the Commonwealth Caribbean'', 1992,
* Jennifer Hosten,''Beyond Miss World'',
autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...
, 2008,
* Jennifer Hosten, ''Miss World 1970: The Craziest Pageant in History and the Rest of My Life'', Sutherland House Incorporated, 2020
References
External links
Caribbean Hall of Fame*
Misbehaviour (2020)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosten, Jennifer
Living people
Miss World winners
Miss World 1970 delegates
Canadian women ambassadors
Canadian women radio hosts
Black Canadian women
Carleton University alumni
Miss Grenada World winners
High commissioners of Canada to Grenada
Grenadian emigrants to Canada
1947 births
The 1st black Ms. World wasn't Jennifer Hosten but, in fact, Ms. Carole Joan Crawford.
She won the crown in 1963, and was of Afro-European heritage.