Miss Brasil 1968 and Miss Universe 1968 Martha Maria Cordeiro Vasconcellos was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. She turned 78 on June 18, 2026.
Miss Brasil 1968
On June 15, 1968, Vasconcellos 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.
It was the 15th edition of the national beauty pageant that selects the Miss Universe candidate of Brazil. These were the results:
| PLACEMENT | CANDIDATE |
| Miss Brasil 1968 | Martha Cordeiro Vasconcellos (Bahia) |
| 1st runner-up | Ainda Ângela Carmelia Stecca (Minas Gerais) |
| 2nd runner-up | Maria da Glória Carvalho (Guanabara) |
| 3rd runner-up | Josemary Vasconcelos Corrêia (Rio de Janeiro) |
| Top 8 | Maria Pilar Matos (Distrito Federal) Delzi Captan (Parana) Evelize Brietzig (Santa Catarina) Mariluce Facci (Sao Paulo) |
| Top 25 | Carmen Ferreira Nunes (Acre) Cláudia Virgínia Lisboa (Alagoas) Maria de Fátima de Souza (Amazonas) Vera Maria Veras (Ceara) Dalva Riva (Espirito Santo) Maria Anunciada Fernandes da Cunha (Goias) Vilma das Graças Castro Sales (Maranhao) Maria Auxiliadora Campos (Mato Grosso) Clara Marcos Pinto (Para) Ilona Pinheiro de Sá (Paraiba) Maria Eunice Mergulhão Maciel (Pernambuco) Ana Aurora Aragão (Piaui) Maria Suely Pereira da Silva (Rio Grande do Norte) Elizabeth Borella Finardi (Rio Grande do Sul) Marisa Corrêia (Rondonia) Ângela Maria Martins (Roraima) Leonísia Fonseca Mota (Sergipe) |
Gunha was Miss Congeniality and Vasconcellos was Miss Photogenic. The judges were:
- Adalgisa Colombo
- Antonio Manoel Silveira
- Bem Novack
- Bibi Ferreira
- Dalal Achcar
- Donatello Grieco
- Evandro Castro Lima
- Justino Martins
- Maria Aparecida Pedrossiam
- Maria Raquel de Andrade
- Mário Moraes
- Nei Cidade Palmeira
- Orlando Zancani
- Oscar Ornstein
Miss Universe 1968
Representing the United States, Sylvia Louise Hitchcock was 21 years old when she was crowned Miss Universe 1967 at the Miami Beach Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida, USA on July 15, 1967. She bested 55 other candidates.
On July 13, 1968, Hitchcock crowned Vasconcellos as her successor at the Miami Beach Auditorium. It was the 17th edition of the international beauty pageant founded by Catalina Swimwear manufacturer Pacific Knitting Mills.
Runner-up to Hitchcock was Anne Braafheid of Curacao. The respective second, third and fourth runners-up were Leena Brusiin of Finland, Peggy Kopp of Venezuela and Dorothy Anstett of the U.S.
Bob Barker, then 44, hosted the coronation ceremony, which aired on CBS and WTVJ. Congo-Kinshasa, Malta and Yugoslavia were represented in the competition for the first time.
A total of 65 women competed for the Miss Universe 1968 crown. These were the candidates:
| PLACEMENT | CANDIDATE |
| Miss Universe 1968 | Martha Maria Cordeiro Vasconcellos (Brazil) |
| 1st runner-up | Anne Marie Braafheid (Curacao) |
| 2nd runner-up | Leena Marketta Brusiin (Finland) |
| 3rd runner-up | Peggy Kopp Arenas (Venezuela) |
| 4th runner-up | Dorothy Catherine Anstett (United States) |
| Top 15 | Nancy Wilson (Canada) Dánae Monserrat Salas Sarradell (Chile) Jennifer Lowe Summers (England) Elizabeth Cadren (France) Miranta Zafiropoulou (Greece) Miriam Friedman (Israel) Tone Knaran (Norway) Anne-Marie Hellqvist (Sweden) Apantree Prayutsenee (Thailand) Daliborka Stojsic (Yugoslavia) |
| Top 65 | María del Carmen Jordán Vidal (Argentina) Sandra Croes (Aruba) Laureen Jones (Australia) Brigitte Kruger (Austria ) Brenda Fountain (Bahamas) Sonja Doumen (Belgium) Victoria Martin (Bermuda) Roxana Bowles Chávez (Bolivia) Ilse Maria De Jong (Bonaire) Sheila Jayatilleke (Ceylon) Luz Elena Restrepo González (Colombia) Elizabeth Tavares (Congo-Kinshasa) Ana María Rivera (Costa Rica) Gitte Broge (Denmark) Ana María Ortiz (Dominican Republic) Priscila Álava González (Ecuador) Lilian Atterer (Germany) Arlene Vilma Chaco (Guam) Claudie Paquin (Haiti) Nathalie Heyl (Holland) Nora Idalia Guillén (Honduras) Tammy Yung (Hong Kong) Helen Knuttsdóttir (Iceland) Anjum Mumtaz Baig (India) Tiffany Scales (Ireland) Cristina Businari (Italy) Marjorie Bromfield (Jamaica) Yasuyo Lino (Japan) Kim Yoon-jung (Korea) Sonia Fares (Lebanon) Lucienne Krier (Luxembourg) Maznah Binte Mohammed Ali (Malaysia) Kathlene Farrugia (Malta) Perla Olivia Aguirre Muñoz (Mexico) Christine Mary Antunovic (New Zealand) Margine Davidson Morales (Nicaragua) Sachie Kawamitsu (Okinawa) María Esther Brambilla (Peru) Rosario Rosello Zaragoza (Philippines) Marylene Carrasquillo (Puerto Rico) Helen Davidson (Scotland) Yasmin Saif (Singapore) Monica Fairall (South Africa) Yolanda Legarreta Urquijo (Spain) Jeannette Biffiger (Switzerland) Rekaia Dekhil (Tunisia) Zuhal Aktan (Turkey) Mayela Berton Martínez (Uruguay) Sadie Sargeant (Virgin Islands) Judith Radford (Wales) |
Iino was Miss Amity, Stojšić was Miss Photogenic and Restrepo won the Best National Costume award. The judges were:
- Dong Kingman
- Earl Wilson
- Edilson Cid Varela
- Edwin Acosta Rubio
- Hideo Den
- Miriam Stevenson
- Orna Porat
- Sara Lou Harris Carter
- Yousuf Karsh
Maria Eugenia Torres of Paraguay was originally included in the list. However, she was not be able to compete during the coronation ceremony.
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