Born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, Apasra Hongsakula turned 79 on January 16, 2026. She is Air Force Group Captain Perm Hongsakula and Kayoon Hongsakula‘s daughter and Paveena Hongsakula‘s older sister.
Before becoming a beauty queen, Apasra was sent by her parents to a girls secondary school in Penang, Malaysia to learn English. In December 1964, she was crowned Miss Thailand 1964 in Bangkok.
Miss Universe 1965 candidates
Miss Universe 1964 Kyriaki Tsopei (Κυριακή Τσοπέη) of Athens, Greece was 21 years old when she crowned Apasra at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, United States on July 24, 1965. It was the 14th edition of the international beauty pageant.
Runner-up to Hongsakula was Virpi Miettinen of Finland. In third, fourth and fifth places were Sue Downey of the U.S., Ingrid Norman of Sweden and Anja Schuit of Holland, respectively.
From the pageant’s inception, delegates wore the Holland sash. In 1991, Paulien Huizinga became the very first delegate to officially wear the Netherlands sash.
A total of 56 women competed for the Miss Universe 1965 crown. These were the candidates:
- Aruba – Dorinda Croes
- Australia – Pauline Verey
- Austria – Karin Ingberg Schmidt
- Bahamas – Janet Thompson
- Belgium – Lucy Emilie Nossent
- Bermuda – Elaine Simons
- Bolivia – Patricia Estensoro Terazas
- Brazil – Maria Raquel Helena De Andrade
- British Guiana – Cheryl Viola Cheeng
- Canada – Carol Ann Tidey
- Ceylon – Shirlene Minerva De Silva
- Colombia – María Victoria Ocampo Gómez
- Costa Rica – Mercedes Pinagal
- Cuba – Alina De Varona
- Curaçao – Ninfa Elveria Palm
- Denmark – Jeannette Christjansen
- Ecuador – Patricia Susana Ballesteros
- England – Jennifer Warren Gurley
- Finland – Virpi Liisa Miettinen
- France – Marie-Therese Tullio
- Germany – Ingrid Bethke
- Greece – Aspa Theologitou
- Holland – Anja Christina Maria Schuit
- Hong Kong – Joy Drake
- Iceland – Bára Magnúsdóttir
- India – Persis Khambatta
- Ireland – Anne Elizabeth Neill
- Israel – Aliza Sadeh
- Italy – Erika Jorger
- Jamaica – Virginia Hope Redpath
- Japan – Mari Katayama
- Korea – Kim Eun-ji
- Luxembourg – Marie-Anne Geisen
- Malaysia – Patricia Amelia Augustus
- Mexico – Juana Jeanine Acosta Cohen
- New Zealand – Gay Lorraine Phelps
- Norway – Britt Aaberg
- Okinawa – Leiko Arakaki
- Panama – Sonia Inés Ríos
- Paraguay – Stella Castell Vallet
- Peru – Frieda Holler Figallo
- Philippines – Louise Patricia Aurelio Vail
- Portugal – Maria Do Como Paraiso Sancho
- Puerto Rico – Deborah Danielle Perez
- Scotland – Mary Young
- South Africa – Veronika Edelgarda Hilda Prigge
- Spain – Alicia Borras
- Sweden – Ingrid Norman
- Switzerland – Yvette Revelly
- Thailand – Apasra Hongsakula
- Tunisia – Dolly Allouche
- Turkey – Hilal Nebahat Çehre
- United States – Sue Ann Downey
- Uruguay – Sonia Raquel Gorbarán Barsante
- Venezuela – María Auxiliadora de las Casas McGill
- Wales – Joan Boull
Apasra Hongsakula
Currently, there are only two Miss Universe winners from Thailand. Representing the country, Apasra and Porntip Nakhirunkanok won the title in 1965 and 1988, respectively.
Apasra was married to M.R. Kieatikhun Kitiyakara from 1967 to 1969 and Suthikiati Chirathivat from 1985 to 1995. She gave birth to her son Patsarakorn Chirathivat in 1986.
As a judge, Apasra participated at Miss Universe 1973 in Greece and Miss Universe 1979 in Australia. In 1992, the Miss Universe Organization presented her a new crown in Bangkok.
On December 19, 2022, Apasra attended the unveiling of the 12th Miss Universe crown, which was crafted by Mouawad, at the TRUE ICON HALL of ICONSIAM in Bangkok. The crown was won by R’Bonney Gabriel of the U.S. at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA on January 14, 2023 while Anna Sueangam-iam of Thailand was unplaced.
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