13 things about Miss Universe 1968 Martha Vasconcellos

Martha Maria Cordeiro Vasconcellos represented Bahia, Brazil in the 15th edition of Miss Brasil. She represented the country in the 17th edition of Miss Universe.

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BIOGRAPHY

Vasconcellos is a Brazilian psychologist and beauty queen born in Salvador, Bahia. While married to her childhood sweetheart Reinaldo Loureiro, an engineer, she earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas da Universidade Federal da Bahia in Salvador and joined the Escola Brasileira de Pscinálise.

Loureiro and Vasconcellos have a son named Leonardo Vasconcellos Loureiro, an engineer and a daughter named Leilane Vasconcellos Loureiro, the director of Bahia Marina. Leonardo married Karina Barros, an architect, and Leilane married Rodrigo Souza, a business administrator.

Years after winning Miss Universe, Vasconcellos earned her master’s degree in public health from Cambridge College in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Her second husband John Cabell Riely was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

On June 18, 2026, Vasconcellos turned 78. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. She won Miss Bahia 1968.
2. She won Miss Brasil 1968  while she was engaged to Reinaldo.
3. In 1968, she visited the U.S.
4. She won Miss Universe 1968.
5. In 1969, she and Reinaldo got married.
6. In 1971, she gave birth to Leonardo.
7. In 1973, she gave birth to Leilane.
8. In 2000, she moved to the U.S. and married Riely.
9. In 2006, her grandson Guilherme Souza was born.
10. In 2007, her grandson Felipe Loureiro was born.
11. In 2008, while based in Boston, she visited her children, children-in-law and grandchildren in Salvador.
12. In 2012, her second husband passed away.
13. In 2015, the Legislative Assembly of Bahia published her autobiography.

TIMELINE

Vasconcellos is 5’7″ tall. She is the second Miss Universe from Brazil.

1960s

• On June 15, 1968, she won Miss Bahia 1968.
• On June 29, 1968, she represented Bahia at Miss Brasil 1968 and competed against 24 other candidates at the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She won the title while she was engaged to her childhood sweetheart Reinaldo Loureiro, an engineer.
• On July 13, 1968, she represented Brazil at Miss Universe 1968 and competed against 64 other candidates at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, United States. She won the title.
• On June 28, 1969, she crowned her successor Miss Brasil 1969 Vera Fischer at the Ginásio do Maracanãzinho in Rio de Janeiro.
• On July 19, 1969, she crowned her successor Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz at the Miami Beach Auditorium.
• On July 25, 1969, she and Loureiro got married.

2010s

• After Riely passed away on January 22, 2012, she remained in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• On April 9, 2015, she, Leonardo and Leilane attended the launch of her biography written by journalist Roberto Macêdo.