Hillevi Rombin
Rombin as Miss Universe in 1955
Born
Hillevi A.K. Rombin

(1933-09-14)September 14, 1933
Uppsala, Sweden
DiedJune 19, 1996(1996-06-19) (aged 62)
Los Angeles, California
Spouse
​
(m. 1957)​
Beauty pageant titleholder
TitleMiss Sweden 1955
Miss Universe 1955
Major
competition(s)		Miss Sweden 1955
(Winner)
Miss Universe 1955
(Winner)

Hillevi Rombin Schine (September 14, 1933 – June 19, 1996) was a Swedish actress and beauty queen who was crowned as Miss Sweden and is the fourth winner of Miss Universe in 1955. She was crowned Miss Sweden Universe 1955 by Miss Sweden Universe 1954, Ragnhild Olausson. In 1996, she became the first Miss Universe title holder who had died.[1]

Biography

Hillevi Rombin in 1956
Hillevi Rombin in 1956

She grew up in Uppsala, Uppland, and was the Swedish national decathlon champion before she competed in the pageant. A remarkable athlete, Rombin excelled in gymnastics, track & field, and downhill skiing. After winning the pageant, she left Sweden for Hollywood to fulfill her acting contract with Universal Pictures, part of the prize package as Miss Universe. She studied acting along with John Gavin, Clint Eastwood, and Barbara Eden, among the other contract actors. Universal put her in a couple of films, with just one or two lines, to give her some exposure and experience. She was credited for small speaking roles in two films. In The Benny Goodman Story (1955) she asks for an autograph[2] and in Istanbul (1957) she appears as a flight attendant near the film's end.[3]

During her year reign as Miss Universe, while traveling around the U.S., she met her future husband G. David Schine, whose family was in the hotel business and would later himself be in the film and music businesses. She discontinued her acting career to focus on married life, soon starting a large family with Schine. They had six children, and their marriage lasted almost 40 years until their deaths together in 1996.[4]

She, her husband, and one of their sons died in a plane crash in 1996, the result of an engine failure shortly after take-off. She was 62 years old and the first Miss Universe to die. She and her husband and their son are buried together at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.[5]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1957 The Adventures of Hiram Holliday Episode: "Sturmzig Cuneiform"
1957 Istanbul Air Hostess (final film role)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gerard David Schine Bio".
  2. ^ Internet Movie Database: The Benny Goodman Story (1956), accessed March 8, 2011
  3. ^ Internet Movie Database: Istanbul (1957), accessed March 8, 2011
  4. ^ "G. David Schine Is Married". New York Times. October 23, 1957. Retrieved 2008-03-11. G. David Schine, former investigator for the late Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, and Miss Hillevi Rombin of Upsala, Sweden, who won ...
  5. ^ Lawrence Van Gelder (June 21, 1996). "Crash Kills G. David Schine, 69, McCarthy-Era Figure". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-11. G. David Schine, a catalytic figure in the fierce drama that brought to a climax the chapter in American history known as the McCarthy era, was killed on Wednesday when a single-engine plane piloted by his son Berndt crashed shortly after takeoff from Burbank, Calif. Mr. Schine, who was 69 and lived in Los Angeles, died with his wife, Hillevi, 64, and their son, 35. No one else was aboard the plane. ...

External links

Awards and achievements Preceded by Miriam Stevenson Miss Universe 1955 Succeeded by Carol Morris
Miss Universe titleholders
Miss Universe 1955, national titleholders
Miss Sweden winners in the Big Four international beauty pageants
Major international pageant titleholders (1955)
Miss Universe Organization titleholders (1955)
Categories