Armi Helena Kuusela-Williams (née Kuusela, formerly Kuusela-Hilario; born 20 August 1934) is a Finnish-American former beauty queen and philanthropist, best known for being the first-ever Miss Universe.

In 1952, she gained national recognition by winning the Finnish beauty contest, Suomen Neito, which qualified her to represent Finland in the inaugural Miss Universe pageant held in Long Beach, California.

Armi Helena Kuusela was one of six children born to Finnish parents who owned and operated a small family business, except when her father, a decorated veteran, fought for Finland during World War II.

On 17 June 1952, chaperoned by her older sister, Kuusela took the Pan Am flight from Helsinki to Long Beach, California, where she took part in the first Miss Universe Pageant.

Tauno Palo played the role of Jack Coleman, Veikko Itkonen was the director, and Mika Waltari received writing credits for the film.

[4] At the request of the Finnish government shortly after winning the Miss Universe Pageant, Kuusela attended the Olympics in Finland that year.

After a whirlwind courtship, Kuusela chose to relinquish her crown shortly before her reign ended as Miss Universe, and married Hilario on 4 May 1953 in Tokyo.

[8] Hilario died of a heart attack on 7 September 1975, and until 1979, Kuusela was chief executive officer of Gilarmi Corporation and Honorary Counsel of Finland in Manila.

Williams was recalled to Washington, D.C., where they underwent Turkish language training from 1983 to 1985, and then she supported him in his appointment as American Consul General in İzmir, Turkey, where they stayed from 1985 to 1989.

By then, she had traveled the world, lived in many countries, and spoke seven languages: Finnish, English, Swedish, German, Tagalog, Spanish, and Turkish.

In 2011, the City of San Diego designated August 10, 2011, as Armi Kuusela Williams Day, by Proclamation of Mayor Jerry Sanders.