13 things about Miss Universe 1952 Armi Kuusela

Armi Helena Kuusela Williams is a Finnish-American entrepreneur, philanthropist, model and beauty queen based in La Jolla, San Diego, California, United States. She was born in Muhos, Finland to Aarne Aleksander Kuusela and Martta Elisabet Aapontytär Kuusela.

BIOGRAPHY

Williams’s first husband Virgilio “Gil” Villanueva Hilario is Filipino. Her second husband Albert “Al” N. Williams is American.

Hilario and Armi owned and operated Gilarmi Corporation, a real estate development company in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines. They have five children namely Arne Hilario, Anna-Lisa Hilario, José “Jussi” Hilario, Eva-Maria Hilario and Miguel “Mikko” Hilario.

Al served as the consul general of the U.S. in Spain and in Turkiye. After his retirement in 1989, he and Armi moved to La Jolla.

On August 20, 2025, Armi turned 91. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. She entered a women’s college in Porvoo, Finland in 1951 and became the first ever Miss Universe in 1952.
2. She gave birth to her first child in 1955 and her fifth child in 1965.
3. She attended Miss Universe 1974 in the Philippines and Miss Universe 1976 in Hong Kong, China.
4. From 1979 to 1983, she and Al lived in Barcelona, Spain.
5. She and Al underwent Turkish language training in Washington, D.C., USA from 1983 to 1985 and lived in Izmir, Turkiye from 1985 to 1989.
6. She became a member of the Director’s Circle of the San Diego Museum of Art and the Chancellor’s Associates at the University of California, San Diego in La Jolla in 1992, a Bravissimo Circle Patron of the San Diego Opera in 1994 and a charter member of the Patrons of the Prado for the benefit of San Diego’s Balboa Park museums in 1995.
7. In 1996, she became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
8. In 2000, she received the Deming Award from the Burnham Cancer Research Institute and the Paul Harris Award for Philanthropy from the International Rotary Foundation.
9. In 2008, she received the Fishman Foundation Award.
10. In 2010, she became a member of the International Bipolar Foundation and the Angel’s Angels of the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory.
11. In 2012, she was awarded the Order of the White Rose of Finland with the rank of Knight.
12. From 2013 to 2018, she served as honorary co-chair of the San Diego Youth Symphony and Conservatory’s annual gala to raise scholarships for the children.
13. She was admitted into the Order of Saint John, a British order of chivalry, as a member in 2014 and was promoted to the rank of Officer in 2018.

TIMELINE

Armi is 5’5″ tall. She speaks Finnish, English, Filipino, Spanish, Turkish, Swedish and German.

1950s

• On May 24, 1952, Armi won Suomen Neito 1952.
• On June 28, 1952, she represented Finland at Miss Universe 1952, competed against 29 other candidates in Long Beach, California, United States and won the title.
• On January 23, 1953, her only Finnish film “Maailman kaunein tyttö” was released in Finland.
• On February 22, 1953, her world tour as Miss Universe 1952 started. One of the places she visited was Baguio City, Philippines where she met Gil.
• On May 4, 1953, she and Gil got married at the Saint Ignatius Church in Yatsuya, Tokyo, Japan.
• On July 17, 1953, her successor Christiane Martel was crowned Miss Universe 1953 in Long Beach by Julie Adams instead of her.
• She and Gil co-starred in her only Filipino film “Now and Forever”, which was released in the Philippines on December 30, 1953.
• On July 18, 1955, she gave birth to Arne.
• On April 28, 1957, she gave birth to Anna-Lisa.

1960s

• On December 3, 1962, she and Gil visited her family in Muhos.

1970s

• On July 21, 1974, she and Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz attended Miss Universe 1974 at the Folk Arts Theater in Pasay, Metro Manila.
• On September 7, 1975, her husband Gil died of heart attack.
• On July 11, 1976, she and her fellow former Miss Universe titleholders Margarita Moran and  Akiko Kojima attended Miss Universe 1976 at the Lee Theatre in Hong Kong.
• On June 8, 1978, she and Al got married.

2010s

• On August 20, 2014, she celebrated her birthday at her family home in Muhos.
• In July 2019, the San Diego Youth Symphony paid tribute to her and Al for their commitment to supporting music education for many years.

2020s

• On March 18, 2022, she and Al attended the La Jolla Music Society‘s WinterFest Gala in San Diego.