Lisl Goldarbeiter (23 March 1909 – 14 December 1997) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

model and actress, who in 1929, became the first and only Austrian to win the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

title. She also participated in the

Miss Europe Miss Europe is a beauty pageant for women from all over Europe. It was established in February 1927 by , the European distributor of Paramount, as a one-off event where the winner was to star in a film directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. A ...

competition in 1929.

Life

Goldarbeiter was born on 23 March 1909, in

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. She was born in a middle-class

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. She was the daughter of Izidor Goldarbeiter (b.1877), a fashion dealer from

Szeged, Hungary Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, and, Aloisia

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 ...

Schimek (1884–1967). On 11 June 1929, Goldarbeiter became the first-ever non-American to win the Miss Universe beauty pageant, which was held in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

. Lisl was voted Miss Universe 1929 in a unanimous decision by the jurors. Miss United States took the second place and the third, fourth and fifth places were also taken by Americans representing

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

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 ...

and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Of the 34 contestants, 27 were from

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In the same year of 1929, she finished second at the Miss Europe beauty contest in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In the summer of 1930 Goldarbeiter married Fritz Spielmann, who came from a

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Viennese classicism * Viennese coffee house, an eating establishment and part of Viennese ...

industrialist family and whom she had met in Paris. They divorced in 1937. During WWII, because her mother was Protestant, she did not suffer Nazi persecution. She married her second cousin Marczell "Marci" Tenczer in 1949. Marci and Goldarbeiter grew up together in Vienna, and he continued to live in Goldarbeiter's house after she married Spielmann. Marci was an amateur filmmaker. Goldarbeiter's modeling talent was discovered by Marci during the early 1920s. He used to take photographs of her when he moved to Vienna from

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

in the late 1920s. Lisl Goldarbeiter died on 14 December 1997 in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. She is buried in the

Farkasréti Cemetery Farkasréti Cemetery or Farkasrét Cemetery (, ) is one of the most famous cemeteries in Budapest. It opened in 1894 and is noted for its extensive views of the city (several people wanted it more to be a resort area than a cemetery). It compris ...

In popular culture

Films

Miss Universe 1929 – Lisl Goldarbeiter. A Queen in Wien
(2006, Documentary).

Literature

* *

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldarbeiter, Lisl 1909 births 1997 deaths Models from Vienna Actresses from Vienna Miss Europe 20th-century Austrian actresses Austrian female models Miss Universe Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery People of Hungarian-Jewish descent Austrian people of Jewish descent Jewish Austrian actresses Jewish female models