Gabriella Brum

Reluctant winner of the 1980 Miss World pageant, Gabriella Brum was born in 1960 in Germany, to parents of German and British descent. Brum’s parents met when her father, Edward Brum from London, served in Germany with the British Army; however, their relationship lasted just a few short years.

By the time Brum had turned eighteen, she had grown into a six foot, one inch, blue-eyed blonde beauty; the tallest contestant competing in the Miss World competition. Brum’s personal life outside of the competition, however, worried Miss World contest organizer, Julia Morley. Brum was living in Los Angeles with fifty-two-year-old cameraman and producer, Benno Bellenbaum at the time, whom she had met at a party in West Berlin one year prior. Bellenbaum commented that "it was kind of love at first sight" with Brum, who had been a student at a school of theater costume design in Germany before being expelled in the spring of 1980 for unknown reasons.

The Miss World 1980 competition marked the first in the pageant’s history when contestants were judged for personality and intelligence as well as beauty. When Brum was crowned, her victory was immediately met with controversy. Speculation arose that Brum had an unfair advantage, as a friend of Benno’s was serving on the panel of judges. One day after winning the title, Brum resigned, initially claiming that her boyfriend disapproved of her having the title. Brum gave back the $50,000 she had received in prize money and public appearance fees and caught the first flight home. Although she was forced to abdicate her throne, Brum initially feigned resignation, stating "I realized that I had no intention of being part of all that show biz...My career as a costume designer is more important to me."

However, it was later revealed that Brum was forced to resign by the Miss World organization because she had posed nude in photos taken by Bellenbaum that were later leaked to the London press. The scandal was reminiscent of Vanessa Williams’s Miss America 1984 victory, in which she was later forced to give up her crown after nude photographs surfaced of the star.

Brum's crown was turned over to the competition’s First Runner-Up Kim Santos, a nineteen-year-old from Guam. Santos vowed not to follow in the footsteps of her predecessor, stating "I wouldn't pose for nude photos if I were offered a million dollars.''

Brum went on to parlay her career into modeling for Playboy and other magazines, and currently still resides in Los Angeles.

YUDDY