Blonde Miss Iceland, Holmfriour “Hofi” Karlsdottir, won the Miss World Contest before a cheering audience in the Royal Albert Hall.

Miss Karlsdottir, 22, performed flawlessly in answering questions during the pageant.  Her smile never faded, and she said afterwards she was never nervous. She broke into delighted smiles as she was crowned

During the swimsuit competition, the 5-foot-8 blonde wore a bathing suit cut far more modestly than the outfits worn by most of the other 77 competitors.

The first runner-up was Miss United Kingdom, Mandy Adele Shires, a 19-year-old model.

Miss U.S.A., Brenda Denton, of Hobbs, N.M., was second runner-up.  Miss Denton, 22, is a computer programming student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

Prizes for the two runners-up were $2,800 and $1,400.

Miss Karlsdottir, a kindergarten school teacher, received the 5,000 pound (7,000-dollar) prize and a work contract worth 25,000 pounds (35,000 dollars) in the competition entered by young women from 78 countries.

She had been first runner-up in the Miss Iceland pageant, with the winner there going to compete for the Miss Universe title.

‘I must be so lucky to have come second and still win Miss World,” she said.

During the pageant, British breakfast television host Anne Diamond interviewed Miss Karlsdottir, who said she began learning English at age 16.

“I love my job very much.  I finished school a year ago,” Miss Karlsdottir said.

The top three were chosen from seven finalists who answered, some shyly, questions about their career hopes and their countries put by judges before a worldwide television audience which, organizers said, totaled 500 million people in 55 countries.

The other finalists were Miss Switzerland, Eveline Glanzmann; Miss Venezuela, Ruddy Rodriguez de Lucia; Miss Jamaica, Alison Jean Barnett and Miss Israel, Maya Wachtenhein.

Along with eight other semi-finalists, the young women paraded in low-cut evening gowns before the sell-out audience of 8,000 people.

Before departing for an early morning coronation ball, Miss Karlsdottir said, “I just feel fantastic and I never expected to win.”

She said she would have to put off any possible plans to marry her boyfriend, law student Elfar Runarsson.  “We are not engaged yet, but we have talked about getting married some day,” she said.

“I will have to leave my nursery schoolchildren for a year as well, and I hope they’ll miss me.”

She said her first task was to telephone her parents because she did not know whether the pageant was being shown on television in Iceland.  “I know that they and my boyfriend will be very proud of me,” she said.

Miss Karlsdottir’s father, Karl, is a civil engineer, and her mother, Asta, is a nurse.

“I can’t believe it really,” said Miss Iceland, the first young woman from her country to win the world title.

Miss Iceland has been ranked by bookmakers second favorite at 4-1 odds.  The favorite in the betting, Miss Jamaica, only made it to the semi finals.

“I will do my best … I love to travel,” the new Miss World said of her year’s work ahead of modeling and promotion contracts, adding she especially wanted to visit warmer climes.

Five continental queens of beauty were also chosen: Miss Zaire for Africa, Miss U.S.A. for the Americas, Miss Israel for Asia, Miss Iceland for Europe and Miss New Zealand for Oceania.

Miss World 1985

1985 November 14
London, England
78 entries

Results
1  Iceland  Holmfridur Karlsdóttir
       Queen of Europe
2  United Kingdom  Mandy Adele Shires 
3  U.S.A.  Brenda Denton
       Queen of Americas

Finalists
4  Venezuela  Ruddy Rosario Rodríguez de Lucia 
5  Jamaica  Alison Jean Barnett 
6  Israel  Maja Wechtenhaim
       Queen of Asia
7  Switzerland  Eveline Nicole Glanzmann

Semi-finalists
Brazil  Leila Rosana Leal Bittencourt 
Ireland  Anne Marie Gannon 
New Zealand  Sheri Anastasia Le Fleming Burrow
       Queen of Oceania
Paraguay  Daisy Patricia Ferreira Caballero 
Poland  Katarzyna Dorota Zawidzka
Puerto Rico  Iris Matias Gonzáles
Sweden  Anne-Bolette Jill Christophersen 
Zaire  Kayonga "Benita" Mureka Tete  
       Queen of Africa 

Remainder
American Virgin Islands  Connie Mary Colaire
Aruba  Jacqueline Deborah van Putten
Australia  Angelina Nasso
Austria  Gabriele Maxonus
Bahamas  Rhonda Lea Cornea
Barbados  Elizabeth "Liz" Dana Wadman
Belgium  An Van Den Broeck
Bermuda  Jannell Kathy Nadra Ford
Bolivia  Carolina Issa Abudinen
Canada  Michelle Irene Tambling 
Cayman Islands  Emily Yvette Hurlston
Chile  Lydia Ana Labarca Birke 
Colombia  Margarita Rosa de Francisco Baquero
Costa Rica  Marianela Herrera Marín
Curacao  Lidushka Pamela Curiel
Cyprus  Juliana Panayiota Kalogirou
Denmark  Jeanette Kröll
Dominican Republic  Maria Trinidad González Hernández
Ecuador  Maria del Pilar de Veintemilla Russo
El Salvador  Luz del Carmen Mena Duke
Finland  Marja Kristiina Kinnunen
France  Nathalie Jones
Gambia  Georgett Salleh
Germany  Marion Morell
Gibraltar  Gail Anne May Francis
Greece  Epi Galanou
Guam  Therese M. Quintanilla
Guatemala  Maricela Luna Villacorta
Holland  Brigitte Bergman
Hong Kong  Aleen Lo Kam-Yu
India  Sharon Mary Clarke
Isle of Man  Fiona Louise Hartley 
Italy  Cosetta Antoniolli
Ivory Coast  Rose Armande Oulla
Japan  Haruko Sugimoto
Kenya  Jacqueline Mary Thom
Korea  Park Eun-kyoung
Lebanon  Mary Khoury
Liberia  Sarah-Laurine Massanuh Horton
Luxembourg  Beatrix Bertine Herma Corneline Tinnemans 
Malaysia  Rosalind Kong Siew Kuen
Malta  Kristina Apap Bologna
Mexico  Alicia Yolanda Carrillo González 
Nigeria  Rosemary Okeke
Norway  Karen Margrethe Moe
Panama  Diana Ester Alfaro Arosemena
Peru  Carmen del Rosario Muro Távara
Philippines  Elizabeth Cuenco
Portugal  Maria de Fátima da Silva Alves Raimundo
Singapore  Joanne Sylvia Mitchell
Spain  Maria Amparo Martínez Cordom
Sri Lanka  Natalie Gunewardene
St. Kitts/Nevis  Karen Marcelle Grant
St. Vincent  Donna Maria Young 
Swaziland  June Hank
Tahiti  Ruth Manea
Thailand  Parnlekha "Por" Wanmuang
Trinidad & Tobago  Ulrica Christina Phillip
Turks & Caicos  Barbara Bulah Mae Capron
Uganda  Helen Acheng
Uruguay  Gabriela de León Muniz
Western Samoa  Angelie Achatz
Yugoslavia  Aleksandra Kosanovic

Awards
Miss Personality  Isle of Man
Miss Photogenic  Zaire

Did not compete
Senegal  Chantal Loubelo
Turkey  Filiz Hulya Kucukbayraktar