# Cindy Breakspeare
**Cindy Breakspeare** (Cynthia Jean Cameron Breakspeare) is a Canadian-Jamaican jazz singer, model, and beauty queen who won the [Miss World](https://www.edgepedia.org/miss-world) 1976 title representing Jamaica. She was crowned on 18 November 1976 at the [Royal Albert Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-albert-hall) in London, at age 21, while working as a fitness instructor[1](https://www.missworld.com/contestants/1976). She is also known for her relationship with reggae singer [Bob Marley](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-marley), with whom she had a son, the musician Damian Marley[2](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/m-le-mag/article/2024/03/20/the-marleys-a-golden-family_6636214_117.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Cynthia Jean Cameron Breakspeare[3](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-93273/cindy-breakspeare-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?tr_id=m_04e3tg63yc_5yurl5h4ep) |
| Born | 1954, Toronto, Canada; nationalities Canadian and Jamaican[3](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-93273/cindy-breakspeare-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?tr_id=m_04e3tg63yc_5yurl5h4ep) |
| Miss World 1976 | Crowned 18 November 1976, Royal Albert Hall, London; 60 participants[1](https://www.missworld.com/contestants/1976) |
| Earlier titles | Miss Jamaica Body-Beautiful 1976 and international Miss Universe Bikini 1976[4](https://missjamaicaworld.com/the-pageant/a-brief-history/) |
| Son | Damian Marley, born 1978, with Bob Marley[3](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-93273/cindy-breakspeare-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?tr_id=m_04e3tg63yc_5yurl5h4ep) |
| Marriage | Tom Tavares-Finson, 1981[3](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-93273/cindy-breakspeare-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?tr_id=m_04e3tg63yc_5yurl5h4ep) |
| Later careers | Jazz singer, interior decorator, and designer[5](https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210307/queen-without-throne-cindy-breakspeare-struggles-acceptance-racially?qt-article_image_video=0) |
## Early life
Breakspeare was born in Toronto, Canada, and migrated to Jamaica when she was four years old[5](https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210307/queen-without-throne-cindy-breakspeare-struggles-acceptance-racially?qt-article_image_video=0). She holds both Canadian and Jamaican nationality[3](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-93273/cindy-breakspeare-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?tr_id=m_04e3tg63yc_5yurl5h4ep). By the mid-1970s she was working in fitness, and in 1976 she won the national Miss Jamaica Body-Beautiful title and the international Miss Universe Bikini title[4](https://missjamaicaworld.com/the-pageant/a-brief-history/).
## Miss World 1976
In 1976 the Spartan Health Club acquired the Miss Jamaica World national franchise from Miss World Limited, with a request that Breakspeare, who was affiliated with the club, be its first representative[4](https://missjamaicaworld.com/the-pageant/a-brief-history/). She competed at the 26th Miss World pageant, held on 18 November 1976 at the Royal Albert Hall in London before 60 participants[1](https://www.missworld.com/contestants/1976). The 1st runner-up was Karen Jo Pini of Australia, the 2nd runner-up Diane Marie Roberts Duenas of Guam, the 3rd runner-up Carol Jean Grant of the United Kingdom, and the 4th runner-up Merja Helena Tammi of Finland[1](https://www.missworld.com/contestants/1976).
**The apartheid controversy.** The 1976 contest took place amid an international campaign against apartheid. South Africa had sent both a black and a white delegate, leading the South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee to organize a boycott in which nine countries refused to participate[5](https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210307/queen-without-throne-cindy-breakspeare-struggles-acceptance-racially?qt-article_image_video=0). Jamaica's participation was sensitive because Prime Minister Michael Manley was a leading spokesman against apartheid[5](https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210307/queen-without-throne-cindy-breakspeare-struggles-acceptance-racially?qt-article_image_video=0). Breakspeare traveled to England with the help of private sponsors and won[5](https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210307/queen-without-throne-cindy-breakspeare-struggles-acceptance-racially?qt-article_image_video=0).
She returned to Jamaica without a red carpet or fanfare, arriving quietly through [Montego Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/montego-bay) to avoid confrontation, and then carried out her Miss World responsibilities[5](https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210307/queen-without-throne-cindy-breakspeare-struggles-acceptance-racially?qt-article_image_video=0) • [6](https://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20041031/ent/ent4.html). She was the second Jamaican to hold the Miss World title, after Carole Crawford in 1963; Lisa Hanna won it in 1993[7](https://miswor.blogspot.com/2010/09/1976-miss-world-cindy-breakspeare.html?m=0) • [4](https://missjamaicaworld.com/the-pageant/a-brief-history/).
## Relationship with Bob Marley
Her relationship with Bob Marley began before the Miss World competition and continued during her reign[5](https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210307/queen-without-throne-cindy-breakspeare-struggles-acceptance-racially?qt-article_image_video=0). In November 1976, weeks before the plans for Marley's "Smile Jamaica" peace concert were made public, the affair had put Marley on the front pages of the Jamaican newspapers[8](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank-Jan-Van-Dijk/publication/384677326_Jahmaica_Rastafari_and_Jamaican_society_1930-1990_v2023/links/6702c4ac9e6e82486f073136/Jahmaica-Rastafari-and-Jamaican-society-1930-1990-v2023.pdf). Following the pageant, Breakspeare resided in London for a while, passing most of that period in Marley's company; a few months on, she discovered she was expecting, went back to Jamaica, and declined a number of international modeling offers.[5](https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210307/queen-without-throne-cindy-breakspeare-struggles-acceptance-racially?qt-article_image_video=0) Her son Damian "Junior Gong" Marley was born in 1978[3](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-93273/cindy-breakspeare-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?tr_id=m_04e3tg63yc_5yurl5h4ep). Damian became a Grammy-winning reggae artist regarded for a time as his father's successor[2](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/m-le-mag/article/2024/03/20/the-marleys-a-golden-family_6636214_117.html).
In a 2025 interview with the Jamaica Observer, Breakspeare said the 2024 Marley biopic *Bob Marley: One Love* did not tell the reggae legend's whole truth, while describing the story of her relationship with Marley as "ancient history"[9](https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2025/09/22/ended-nameless-voiceless-ghost/).
## Later life and work
Breakspeare married Tom Tavares-Finson in 1981; their children are Leah (born 1986) and Christian (born 1982) Tavares-Finson[3](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-93273/cindy-breakspeare-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?tr_id=m_04e3tg63yc_5yurl5h4ep). Over the following decades she built careers as a cabaret and jazz singer and as an interior decorator while raising her family[6](https://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20041031/ent/ent4.html) • [5](https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210307/queen-without-throne-cindy-breakspeare-struggles-acceptance-racially?qt-article_image_video=0).
She has remained a public figure in Jamaica. In a 2015 interview with former Miss Jamaica World winners, she described the competition as a door opener that expanded her mind and set the bar for the rest of her life, noting that nearly 40 years later people still greeted her daily[10](https://missjamaicaworld.com/former-mjw-winners-share-how-their-lives-have-been-trasformed/). In May 2026 she was honored at the Fashion Elevation showcase in New Kingston with a handcrafted doll recreating elements of her Miss World coronation gown, marking 50 years since her win[11](https://www.missworld.com/news/miss-world-1976-cindy-breakspeare-honored-with-a-handcrafted-doll-at-fashion-elevation-showcase-in-jamaica).
## Legacy
Breakspeare is one of three Jamaicans to have worn the Miss World crown, alongside Carole Crawford (1963) and Lisa Hanna (1993)[12](https://www.ronfanfair.com/home/2019/5/4/bsgg9ptmr6bwk62x8m0hj5sb3y539h). Reflecting on her win, she has described Jamaican identity as cultural rather than a matter of color, and has pointed to her Miss World trophy, a silver globe with no mark showing where Jamaica is, as a measure of how small the island is against its outsized cultural impact[12](https://www.ronfanfair.com/home/2019/5/4/bsgg9ptmr6bwk62x8m0hj5sb3y539h).
## References
1. [26th Miss World – 1976, Miss World](https://www.missworld.com/contestants/1976)
2. [The Marleys, a golden family, Le Monde English edition](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/m-le-mag/article/2024/03/20/the-marleys-a-golden-family_6636214_117.html)
3. [Cindy Breakspeare, Biographical Summaries of Notable People, MyHeritage](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-93273/cindy-breakspeare-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people?tr_id=m_04e3tg63yc_5yurl5h4ep)
4. [A Brief History, Miss Jamaica World](https://missjamaicaworld.com/the-pageant/a-brief-history/)
5. [A Queen without a throne – Cindy Breakspeare struggles for acceptance in racially charged atmosphere, Jamaica Gleaner](https://past.jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210307/queen-without-throne-cindy-breakspeare-struggles-acceptance-racially?qt-article_image_video=0)
6. [Cindy Breakspeare makes the big 5-O!, Jamaica Gleaner](https://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20041031/ent/ent4.html)
7. [1976 Miss World Cindy Breakspeare](https://miswor.blogspot.com/2010/09/1976-miss-world-cindy-breakspeare.html?m=0)
8. [Jahmaica: Rastafari and Jamaican society 1930–1990, F. J. van Dijk](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank-Jan-Van-Dijk/publication/384677326_Jahmaica_Rastafari_and_Jamaican_society_1930-1990_v2023/links/6702c4ac9e6e82486f073136/Jahmaica-Rastafari-and-Jamaican-society-1930-1990-v2023.pdf)
9. ['I ended up being a nameless, voiceless ghost', Jamaica Observer](https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2025/09/22/ended-nameless-voiceless-ghost/)
10. [Former MJW Winners Share How Their Lives Have Been Transformed, Miss Jamaica World](https://missjamaicaworld.com/former-mjw-winners-share-how-their-lives-have-been-trasformed/)
11. [Miss World 1976 Cindy Breakspeare Honored With a Handcrafted doll at Fashion Elevation Showcase in Jamaica, Miss World](https://www.missworld.com/news/miss-world-1976-cindy-breakspeare-honored-with-a-handcrafted-doll-at-fashion-elevation-showcase-in-jamaica)
12. [Canadian-born Jamaican reflects on Miss World title and life with Bob Marley, Ron Fanfair](https://www.ronfanfair.com/home/2019/5/4/bsgg9ptmr6bwk62x8m0hj5sb3y539h)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Beauty pageants and titleholders › Beauty pageant titleholders › Miss World and other international titleholders*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license