She also became the fifth Latin American to win the title, after Peru's Gladys Zender in 1957, Colombia's Luz Marina Zuluaga in 1958 and Argentina's Norma Nolan in 1962.

Vasconcellos allegedly had a boyfriend since she was twelve when she represented Brazil at the 1968 Miss Universe pageant in Miami Beach, Florida.

The morning after her win, she called her family and boyfriend in Brazil, expressing feelings of being homesick.

Vasconcellos today leads a quiet and private life, practically disappearing from the public eye.

She lived in the Boston, Massachusetts area and worked for a Portuguese-speaking organization as a victims rights counselor.