Janelle Commissiong

Trinidadian politician and model (born 1953)

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Janelle Commissiong

T.C.

Commissiong in 2014

Born|  (1953-06-15) 15 June 1953 (age 72)

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Other names|

* Penny
* Janelle Commissiong-Chow

Education| Fashion Institute of Technology
Height| 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Spouse|

Brian Bowen

(died 1989)​

* Alwin Chow

Beauty pageant titleholder
Title| Miss Trinidad & Tobago 1977
Miss Universe 1977
Hair color| Brown
Eye color| Brown
Major
competition(s)| Miss Trinidad & Tobago 1977
(Winner)
Miss Universe 1977
(Winner)
Miss Photogenic 1977
(Winner)

Janelle "Penny" Commissiong, T.C. (born, 15 June 1953) is a Trinidadian politician, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1977.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Janelle Commissiong was born on 15 June 1953 in Port of Spain, to Lucy Maria Joseph and Ruel Commissiong.[1][2] Commissiong's mother was Venezuelan and her father was Trinidadian.[1] Commissiong has one older sister, Gail.[1]

In 1958, Commissiong's parents moved to Venezuela and later migrated to New York City.[1][2] During this time Commissiong and her sister remained in Trinidad and lived with their aunts.[1] Commissiong studied at Bishop Anstey High School.[3] In 1966, Commissiong to migrated New York City, and was educated at Erasmus Hall High School.[1][2]

Commissiong studied fashion at the Fashion Institute of Technology [citation needed]. In 1976, Commissiong returned to Trinidad. [1]

## Career

[edit]

Commissiong was selected to represent the country at the 1977 Miss Universe competition in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

She was elected Miss Photogenic four days before the final, becoming the first black woman to win these awards in Miss Universe history. On July 16, in the National Theater of Santo Domingo, Commissiong was crowned Miss Universe, attracting international attention as the first black winner in the chronology of Miss Universe.[citation needed]

During her reign, she was an advocate for black rights and world peace. Commissiong was awarded the Trinity Cross, the country's highest award, in 1977. After winning the Miss Trinidad and Tobago Universe title, she went on to be crowned Miss Universe 1977 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and in the process became the first black woman to win the prestigious pageant crown. After winning the title, she was most commonly known as 'Penny' because she was small as a penny.

Commissiong was named chair of the newly formed Tourism Trinidad Destination Management Company in October 2017. From 2012 to 2015 she had served as vice-chair of its predecessor agency, the Tourism Development Company.[4]

## In popular culture

[edit]

A Trinidad & Tobago postage stamp depicting Commissiong

In honour of Commissiong's Miss Universe 1977 winner, Three postage stamps were commissioned of Commissiong by the Trinidad and Tobago Postal Service.[1]

In 2017, Queen Street in Port of Spain was renamed to Queen Janelle Commissiong Street in tribute of Commissiong's 1977 Miss Universe win.[1]

## Personal life

[edit]

She married Brian Bowen, founder of Bowen Marine, who died in an accident in November 1989. After his death, she married businessman Alwin Chow. [citation needed]

## See also

[edit]

* Giselle LaRonde
* Wendy Fitzwilliam

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Regis, Jancie (2021). "Queen Janelle Commissiong Street Port of Spain". NALIS Blog. Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: National Library and Information System Authority. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
2. ^ a b c "HOMMEWRK Presents JANELLE PENNY COMMISSIONG". HOMMEWRK. 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
3. ^ "Bishop Anstey celebrates anniversary". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
4. ^ "Penny Commissiong heads new tourism agency". looptt.com. 4 October 2017. Archived from the original on 3 November 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2018.

* Janelle Commissiong at bestoftrinidad.com
* The Penny that didn't drop \- biography at nalis.gov.tt

Awards and achievements

Preceded by

Rina Messinger

|  Miss Universe
1977 | Succeeded by

Margaret Gardiner

* v
* t
* e

Miss Universe titleholders

1950s|

* Armi Kuusela (1952)
* Christiane Martel (1953)
* Miriam Stevenson (1954)
* Hillevi Rombin (1955)
* Carol Morris (1956)
* Gladys Zender (1957)
* Luz Marina Zuluaga (1958)
* Akiko Kojima (1959)

1960s|

* Linda Bement (1960)
* Marlene Schmidt (1961)
* Norma Nolan (1962)
* Iêda Maria Vargas (1963)
* Corinna Tsopei (1964)
* Apasra Hongsakula (1965)
* Margareta Arvidsson (1966)
* Sylvia Hitchcock (1967)
* Martha Vasconcellos (1968)
* Gloria Diaz (1969)

1970s|

* Marisol Malaret (1970)
* Georgina Rizk (1971)
* Kerry Anne Wells (1972)
* Margie Moran (1973)
* Amparo Muñoz (1974)
* Anne Marie Pohtamo (1975)
* Rina Messinger (1976)
* Janelle Commissiong (1977)
* Margaret Gardiner (1978)
* Maritza Sayalero (1979)

1980s|

* Shawn Weatherly (1980)
* Irene Sáez (1981)
* Karen Baldwin (1982)
* Lorraine Downes (1983)
* Yvonne Ryding (1984)
* Deborah Carthy-Deu (1985)
* Bárbara Palacios (1986)
* Cecilia Bolocco (1987)
* Porntip Nakhirunkanok (1988)
* Angela Visser (1989)

1990s|

* Mona Grudt (1990)
* Lupita Jones (1991)
* Michelle McLean (1992)
* Dayanara Torres (1993)
* Sushmita Sen (1994)
* Chelsi Smith (1995)
* Alicia Machado (1996)
* Brook Lee (1997)
* Wendy Fitzwilliam (1998)
* Mpule Kwelagobe (1999)

2000s|

* Lara Dutta (2000)
* Denise Quiñones (2001)
* Oxana Fedorova/Justine Pasek (2002)
* Amelia Vega (2003)
* Jennifer Hawkins (2004)
* Natalie Glebova (2005)
* Zuleyka Rivera (2006)
* Riyo Mori (2007)
* Dayana Mendoza (2008)
* Stefanía Fernández (2009)

2010s|

* Ximena Navarrete (2010)
* Leila Lopes (2011)
* Olivia Culpo (2012)
* Gabriela Isler (2013)
* Paulina Vega (2014)
* Pia Wurtzbach (2015)
* Iris Mittenaere (2016)
* Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters (2017)
* Catriona Gray (2018)
* Zozibini Tunzi (2019)

2020s|

* Andrea Meza (2020)
* Harnaaz Sandhu (2021)
* R'Bonney Gabriel (2022)
* Sheynnis Palacios (2023)
* Victoria Kjær Theilvig (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Miss Universe 1977 national titleholders

* AUT: Eva Maria Düringer Cavalli
* FIN: Armi Aavikko
* IDN: Siti Mirza Nuria Arifin
* MEX: Felicia Mercado
* TTO: Janelle Commissiong'
* USA: Kimberly Tomes
* VEN: Cristal Montañez

* v
* t
* e

Major international pageant titleholders (1977)

Miss World
Mary Stävin

Miss Universe
Janelle Commissiong

Miss International
Pilar Medina

|
|

* v
* t
* e

Miss Universe Organization titleholders (1977)

Miss Universe
Janelle Commissiong

Miss USA
Kimberly Tomes

|

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template