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Corinne Ben-Ami

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Corinne Ben-Ami
Born1939 (1939)
Bucharest, Romania
NationalityAmerican
Other namesCorina Barzely; Korina Barzely; Corina "Atara" Barzely; Atara Barzely; Corinne Weissman
Beauty pageant titleholder
TitleMiss Israel 1957

Corinne Ben-Ami (born 1939) is an American artist and former model and Israeli beauty queen (known at that time as Corina "Atara" Barzely) who was crowned Miss Israel in 1957 and subsequently competed in the Miss Universe pageant.

Early life

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Born in Bucharest, Romania, in 1939, Ben-Ami is the daughter and only child to Jewish parents Jeanette and Emil Barzely. In the aftermath of World War II, the family was forced to flee from Romania to Israel.[1][2] Ben-Ami attended Montefiore Technical High School in Tel Aviv.[3]

Miss Israel Beauty Pageant of 1957

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While wrapping up her senior year of high school, Ben-Ami was selected to compete in the Miss Israel national beauty pageant of 1957 in Tel Aviv, which was sponsored by La'Isha, an Israeli lifestyle magazine for women, and TIA, a cosmetics company. During the competition, she was chosen from 20 finalists and crowned "Miss Israel" on June 6, 1957, succeeding former beauty queen Sara Tal. Ben-Ami adopted the Hebrew first name Atara to represent Israel in the Miss Universe pageant.[4][5][6]

Miss Universe Beauty Pageant of 1957

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Ben-Ami competed as Atara Barzely in the Miss Universe competition in Long Beach, California, in July 1957. Her contestant profile at the time described her as having black hair and brown eyes, with measurements of 5’ 6’’, 115 pounds, 35-23-35; being fluent in French and Romanian languages (this was in addition to English, Spanish, and Hebrew); and excelling in the sport of swimming.[7] In contrast with most of the other contestants who expressed the desire to become film actresses after the competition, Ben-Ami planned to study bacteriology in college and marry her fiancé.[8][9][10] When the pageant was over, she stayed in the U.S. for several more weeks to help her homeland by promoting the Israel Bonds fall and winter campaign; she addressed over 30 meetings during that period.[11][12][13]

Personal life

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Upon returning to Israel after the Miss Universe competition, Ben-Ami continued to model, and in 1958, she married Eugene Weissman.[14] The couple settled in the United States; they share two sons, Ian Weissman (a radiologist) and Michael Weissman (a labor attorney), and a granddaughter, Natalie.[15]

In 1962, Ben-Ami earned her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry at Case Western Reserve University and subsequently received her master's degree in library science (MLS) at Wayne State University on December 10, 1992, as well as earning membership into the Beta Phi Mu International Library Science Honor Society on April 21, 1993. During her time at Case Western Reserve University, Ben-Ami conducted research supported by grants from the United States Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health and from the American Cancer Society and co-authored the research results in a paper titled Pituitary Role in the Estrogen Dependency of Experimental Mammary Cancer, which has been cited at least 115 times in other scientific literature.[16][17]

Ben-Ami is an accomplished artist, having entered her paintings in many contests and exhibits over the years, and has also worked as a librarian and a Hebrew language instructor.[18][19][20] She currently lives in Michigan with her second husband, Franklin Ben-Ami.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Israelis Three." Long Beach Independent. July 13, 1957. Page 7. Accessed online at newspaperarchive.com on 5/14/2023.
  2. ^ "Meet Miss Israel." Norwich Sun. June 17, 1957. Page 6. Accessed online at newspaperarchive.com on 5/14/2023.
  3. ^ Miss Israel is Crowned." Indianapolis Indiana Jewish Post. June 14, 1957. Page 21.
  4. ^ "Miss Israel as She Arrived in the U.S." The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle. 19 July 1957. Page 3.
  5. ^ "Meet Miss Israel." Norwich Sun. June 17, 1957. Page 6.
  6. ^ "The winner of the beauty queen contest is Atara (Corina) Barzilai." Geva Journal, 129. 1957. Video accessed at the JFC.org website: https://jfc.org.il/news_journal/61703-2/105185-2/
  7. ^ "Here are U.S. Contestants for Miss U. Title." Long Beach Independent Press Telegram: July 14, 1957; page 4.
  8. ^ The Los Angeles Times. Mon., July 8, 1957 – Part I. Page 3.
  9. ^ Arciga, Pepe. "Latin Holiday. Hiplines By-the-Sea." Mirror-News. Los Angeles. Weds. July 15, 1957. Part 1. Page 10.
  10. ^ De Wolfe, Evelyn. "Miss Israel Helps Bond Drive." The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. Saturday, Aug. 10, 1957. https://latimes.newspapers.com/search/?query=Miss%20Israel%20Helps%20Bond%20Drive&ymd=1957-08-10
  11. ^ "To Welcome Miss Israel." Long Beach Independent. July 12, 1957. Page 14.
  12. ^ De Wolfe, Evelyn. "Miss Israel Helps Bond Drive." The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, CA. Saturday, Aug. 10, 1957. https://latimes.newspapers.com/search/?query=Miss%20Israel%20Helps%20Bond%20Drive&ymd=1957-08-10
  13. ^ “Consul to Brief Hadassah on Mideast Events.” Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. 10 Aug 1957, Sat. Page 13. https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/683843326/?terms=Atara%20Barzely&pqsid=o01l0LY_y7XhBsC0PMpKpw%3A13000%3A585900387&match=1
  14. ^ “Beauty Queen of 1957 On Her Wedding Day.” La-Isha Magazine. 01/14/1958.
  15. ^ Ian Weissman – Profile. American College of Radiology. https://engage.acr.org/network/members/profile?UserKey=e67b7243-3cd8-4631-b051-a493cb979c22
  16. ^ STERENTAL A, DOMINGUEZ JM, WEISSMAN C, PEARSON OH. Pituitary role in the estrogen dependency of experimental mammary cancer. Cancer Res. 1963 Mar;23:481-4. PMID 13983914. Accessed online 05/14/2023 at PubMed Advanced. National Library of Medicine. National Center for Biotechnology Information: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/13983914/
  17. ^ Web of Science. Citing Results: Citations of “Pituitary Role in Estrogen Dependency of Experimental Mammary Cancer.” Accessed online 5/14/2023. https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/summary/3617ffac-39cc-46a6-9561-cbb229918a3a-89f4e43a/date-descending/1
  18. ^ “Art, Music and Sports at Center.” The Detroit Jewish News. December 12, 1980. Page 28. Accessed 5/14/2023 at The Detroit Jewish News Digital Archives, University of Michigan. https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1980.12.12.001/28
  19. ^ “Exhibitions.” Canton Observer. Volume 15, Number 92. Monday, June 4, 1990, Canton, Michigan. Section: The Observer & Eccentric Newspapers: Creative Living. Page 1E. Digital archive accessed 05/14/2023. http://archive.cantonpl.org/observer/1990/06_Jun%201990/06-04-1990.pdf
  20. ^ “Area Teachers Honored.” The Detroit Jewish News. June 16, 1995. Page 21. Digital archive accessed 5/14/2023 at The Detroit Jewish News Digital Archives, University of Michigan. https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1995.06.16.001/22
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