The beautiful maid from Malmo - Anita Ekberg's first visit in the United States

11/07/2021 10:51:00 PM

For some reason there are very few informations regarding the first visit in the United States of the breathtakingly beautiful fashion model and actress Anita Ekhberg. And the few lines of text from wikipedia are totally wrong.

So I think its time to actually find what really happened and take a look at some lovely photographs.

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The most photographed, most pursued and most popular girl at the recent Miss America contest in Atlantic City (1951 - my annotation) was the blue-eyed blonde, who boasts a sunny face and stunning figure, a five-word english vocabulary - "yah, no, hamburger, El Moroco, ice cream," - and was not eligible for the contest. The beautiful blonde was 20-year-old Anita Ekberg who, as Miss Sweden, was guest of honor. A model from Malmo, she won her title in Stockholm this summer (1951 - my annotation) and with it got a trip to the U.S. After visiting model agencies which gave her professional tips, and milliners, who found she inspired them, Anita flew back to Sweden a few days ago (1951 - my annotation) with plans to learn more english words, slim her bottom four inches to meet U.S. model agency specifications, and return for a modeling career.

Beside sea in Atlantic City, Miss sweden shows the exuberance which distracted press photographers covering beauty pagent. Besides creating a big publicity splash, Miss Sweden actually did some swimming. Her dimensions (36-24-38) are bigger than U.S. models'.

Befurred in bed at photo studio, Miss Sweden gets idea of modeling chores she will face in the U.S.

Tricks of trade are shown to Miss Sweden by Eileen Ford, head of Ford Model agency. Quick noste tilt is recommended just before a picture is taken.

As a model for a wholesale dress house in Malmo, Anita Ekberg never has had to worry about how she would photograph. When she was taken to modeling agencies in New York, she was told she would have to diet and also learn a lot of professional tricks to get along in the highly comptetitive american field. Eileen Ford showed her how to tilt her nose, to suck in her cheeks and pull her neck out of her shoulders. "All this," Mrs. Fordexplained through an interpreter, "will give you a more interesting face. All the good models look like fish today, with their mouths a bit open." Miss Ekberg went back to her hotel room and worker hard before a mirror to acquire the fishy look.