13 things about Miss Universe 1974 Amparo Muñoz

Amparo Muñoz Quesada represented Spain in the 23rd edition of Miss Universe. The international beauty pageant was founded in 1952 by Pacific Knitting Mills, a clothing company based in California, United States.

BIOGRAPHY

Born in Vélez-Málaga, Malaga, Andalusia, Spain, Muñoz was a Spanish actor, model and beauty queen who was the eldest of five siblings. Her father was a blacksmith and her mother was a housewife.

After finishing high school, Muñoz worked as an administrative office assistant for a newspaper agency in Malaga. The agency’s director encouraged her to join El Certamen de Belleza de Costa del Sol 1973, which she won.

Aside from Muñoz’s three marriages, she also had romantic relationships with Maximo Valverde, Antonio Flores, Jose Coronado and a Spanish politician. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. When she was young, she and her family were so poor her godparents started helping raise her in 1961.
2. In 1968, she appeared in an episode of the television show “Hora Once”.
3. She won Miss España 1973 and Miss Universe 1974.
4. She and Patxi Andión got married in 1976, separated in 1978 and divorced in 1983.
5. In 1980, she met Chilean antique dealer Flavio Labarca and starred in “Dedicatoria”, which was produced by Elias Querejeta and nominated for Palme d’Or at the 1980 Festival de Cannes in Cannes, France.
6. After getting married in 1983, she and Labarca lived in the Philippines but they separated after his arrest in Madrid, Spain in 1984.
7. She starred in “La Luna Negra”, which premiered at the 1988 San Sebastian International Film Festival in Donostia-San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain.
8. From 1991 to 1994, she was married to Víctor Santiago Rubio Guijarro, a businessman.
9. She starred in “Familia”, which was produced by Querejeta and screened at the 1996 Vancouver International Film Festival.
10. She starred in “Fotos”, which was presented at the 1997 Sitges Film Festival in Sitges, Catalonia, Spain, and “Elles”, which premiered at the 1997 Palm Springs International Film Festival in Palm Springs, California.
11. She starred in “Un Paraíso Bajo Las Estrellas”, which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, USA.
12. In 2003, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
13. In 2011, she died at age 56.

TIMELINE

Muñoz was 5’7″ tall. She is the first Miss Universe from Spain.

1970s

• On August 26, 1973, she won Miss España 1973 in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain.
• She made her film acting debut in “Vida Conyugal Sana”, which was released in Spain on October 25, 1973.
• On July 21, 1974, she represented Spain at Miss Universe 1974, competed against 64 other candidates at the Folk Arts Theater in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines and won the title.
• In January 1975, she stopped fulfilling her duties as Miss Universe 1974 but she was never dethroned.
• On July 19, 1975, her successor Miss Universe 1975 Anne Marie Pohtamo was crowned at the National Gymnasium in San Salvador, El Salvador by Kerry Anne Wells. 
• She and Andion co-starred in “La Otra Alcoba”, which was released in Spain on May 3, 1976.
• On May 16, 1976, she and Anion got married on May 16, 1976.
• She starred in “Mamá Cumple Cien Años”, which was produced by Querejeta, released in on September 17, 1979 and nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 52nd Academy Awards.

1980s

• On June 24, 1983, he and Labarca got married in Bali, Indonesia.
• She starred with Gloria Diaz and PJ Abellana in the Filipino film “Hayop sa Ganda”, which was released in the Philippines on July 15, 1983.

1990s

• In February 1991, she married Guijarro.

2000s

• On November 16, 2005, she released her memoir titled “La Vida es Elprecio”.
• She starred in the TV film “El Cas de la Nuvia Dividida”, which was released in Spain on October 14, 2006.

2010s

• On June 21, 2010, she turned 56.
• On February 27, 2011, she died in Malaga.
• On March 1, 2011, she was cremated.