Iêda Maria Vargas (born Iêda Maria Britto Vargas, c. 1943), is a Brazilian who was crowned Miss Universe in Miami Beach, Florida in 1963. She was the first person from her country to win a major international beauty pageant. Vargas is a native of Rio Grande do Sul. During her term she opened the Capital Plaza Mall in Landover Hills, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.After living in Miami, for five years, Vargas returned to her native country, once again, as a permanent resident. She was a celebrity in Brazil, but, internationally, her fame faded as years went by because she preferred a private life.
