Tributes have been paid after the death of Nantwich-born Yvonne Ormes – one of the most successful beauty queens of her generation.
Yvonne, who more recently lived in Lancashire, has passed away aged 74.
As a 19-year-old from Nantwich she stormed into national headlines in 1968 after being crowned Miss Great Britain.
Her success helped put the town on the map with residents rallying support for her.
Yvonne recently met with beauty queen judge and author Sally-Ann Fawcett (pictured) at a “Beauties Reunited” event.
Sally-Ann paid tribute to her, saying: “It was an honour to meet this beautiful, elegant and humble lady at the Beauties Reunited event in Wigan.
“She will be forever missed by her family, daughter – and her many, many friends from the beauty contest world.”
Yvonne’s her path to stardom began at the age of 17 when she entered and won the Miss Nantwich competition in 1966.
At the time she was working in a local hairdressing salon, and admitted in a previous interview that she had “caught a bit of a bug for it” in entering beauty contests.
She made it through the Miss Great Britain heats in 1968 at the former Belle Vue Zoological Gardens in Manchester.
And then she went on to be crowned overall winner in the final held at the lido at Morecambe, next to the Midland Hotel.
“When my number was called out, number 24, I could not believe it. I was not expecting to win, it was life-changing,” Yvonne recalled in an interview with the Chronicle in 2013.
She became one of only two women to win the triple titles of Miss Great Britain (1968), Miss England and Miss United Kingdom (both 1970).
She was a runner up in Miss World and she was in high demand appearing on shows with huge stars such as Des O’Connor and Bob Hope’s Christmas Show.
“When I was in Miss World, the whole of Nantwich was tuned in watching,” she recalled.
“I suppose it was something positive for the town and helped to put it on the map.”
She further made history by being the first winner to wear the now-Miss World crown, when it was designed for Miss UK in 1970.
Yvonne also held the distinction of being the only British beauty queen to be immortalised on film, when actress Emily Tebbutt played her in the 2020 smash hit movie “Misbehaviour”.
(Main image courtesy of Sally-Ann Fawcett)
Recent Comments