Renée Rebecca Dangoor (; December 1925 - 9 July 2008) was the first

beauty queen A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...

in the history of Iraq, being crowned in 1947. She belonged to a distinguished family of

Baghdadi Jews Baghdadi Jews (; ) or Iraqi Jews are historic terms for the former communities of Jewish migrants and their descendants from Baghdad and elsewhere in the Middle East. They settled primarily in the ports and along the trade routes around the In ...

. Her father, Moshe Dangoor (1888–1962), was a prominent doctor in Baghdad, whose father was the Chief Rabbi of Baghdad, Ezra Dangoor (1848–1930). Her mother was Sybil Luna Dangoor. Her paternal uncle, Eliahou Dangoor (1883-1976), father of her future husband, ran the Ezra Reuben Dangoor Print (established in Baghdad in 1904 by his father), one of the oldest in Iraq, said to be the world's largest printer of books in Arabic. She was born in Shanghai, where her family temporarily lived for business. The family moved back to Baghdad when she was still a child. Renée Dangor was crowned Miss Baghdad on 31 December 1946, aged 21. In September 1947, she was awarded the title of

Miss Iraq There are a number of Iraqi beauty pageants. Miss Iraq is one of the national beauty pageants in Iraq. Others include Miss World Iraq and Miss Earth Iraq. History In 2015 the first season after 43 years absence, the official national beauty ...

. The celebration was held at the Iraqi Flying Club, during the New Year's Benefit Ball. In November 1947, she married her cousin, Naim Dangoor (1914–2015), with whom she had four sons, one of whom is British businessman and philanthropist David Dangoor. The family left Iraq in 1959 although Naim Dangoor continued managing the family business in Iraq for some years, until it was expropriated from him. Her memorial webpage records a lecture by her, held in October 1990, on the subject of the Jews of Shanghai and their plight during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Death

Renée Dangoor, died on 9 July 2008, aged 82, from

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dangoor, Renée Iraqi female models Iraqi beauty pageant winners Iraqi emigrants to the United Kingdom 1925 births 2008 deaths People from Baghdad Iraqi expatriates in China Dangoor family People from Shanghai Iraqi Jews Jewish female models