Miss Universe In Memory of Amparo Muñoz 1954-2011 (Part 3) Amparo Muñoz Quesada (June 21, 1954 -- February 27, 2011), was a Spanish actress who, in 1974, became the first, and only (to the present-day), Spaniard to win the Miss Universe pageant.\r
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Amparo Muñoz came from the town of Vélez-Málaga, Andalusia, where she had won the city title, to compete at the Miss Spain contest held in Lanzarote. After winning, she went on to Miss Universe 1974 Pageant in Manila, Philippines, where she won, only to give up her crown later that year.\r
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She became an instant celebrity in Spain, alongside the likes of Nino Bravo, Pedro Carrasco, Rocío Dúrcal, Rocío Jurado, Camilo Sesto, La Pandilla and other Spanish celebrities of the 1970s, following her victory at Miss Universe with a fruitful show business career.\r
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In 1979, Muñoz acted in the comedy Mama Turns 100, by Carlos Saura. This was followed by performances in 1982s Todo un Hombre (Hes all a Man), 1999s A Paradise Under the Stars and 2003s El Tahur. In the late-1990s, she returned to the mainstream Spanish cinema with the movie Familia, by Fernando León de Aranoa and started a new life as an actress.\r
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In this article it was noted that she had had a long standing illness that could have contributed to her death from an abnormal growth in my cerebellum . requiring her to undergo chemotherapy.\r
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Muñoz died on February 27, 2011, aged 56, from undisclosed causes, in her native Málaga.
