A recent mission to Puerto Rico put things back on the map.
There are those who think that beauty pageants are outdated, sexist and selfish and should be done away with altogether. There are others who see them as a romanticized tradition that should be encouraged and continued. Whatever one may think of the shows, it must be admitted that they have provided some great surprises over the years.
Some other beauty queens that have people talking:
Leona Gage- Miss USA 1957
Even in the “golden days” of pageants, things weren’t always perfect. Leona Gage, Miss USA 1957 she lost the title and everything that went with it when she was three years old. He led the public to believe that he was younger than she was, and married repeatedly to two hedgehogs, a not altogether sweet young woman. He lost his crown, but gained publicity, making several popular television appearances. She later became a Vegas show and, as she slipped nowhere in her career, doing a few commercials, painting and performing, she briefly ended up in . He got bail six times and now lives in California.
Marjorie Wallace- Miss World 1973
Marjorie Waleys won the distinction of being the first woman from the US to enjoy the Miss World title. She was annoying in the garden, though, when the officials of the show noted that they did not show the proper “image” that they wanted. It was too much for them to act openly, to go out with male celebrities and dare to have a social life during his reign. In response, the organizers of the show canned it. Wallace later went on to become the host of a morning television news show.
Vanessa Williams- Miss America 1983
Vanessa Williams was the first African-American to be crowned as Miss America. That success was short-lived when Penthouse Magazine caused a stir when it published controversial photos of her with another woman who had been taken several years earlier. The following scandal forced him to resign, but, as the old saying says, victory is the greatest revenge. Williams went on to star on Broadway and in film and television, as well as being nominated for several Grammys for his top selling record albums. The scandal only gave her more of a plan to succeed, which she did, perhaps better than any queen before or since.
Saron Nicole Redmond- Miss Savannah 2003
Months after being selected as Miss Savannah 2003, Sharon Nicole Redmond went on murder trial as her fiancé Kevin Darnell Shorter. The man seems to have neglected to inform that he also has another sponsor. According to Redmond’s account, he went over to another woman’s home to calmly discuss the accusations that he had been harassing his rival over phone calls.
Allegedly, Shorter showed up at the scene and when he made threats towards her, he fired a pistol at her from the car in “self-defense.” Redmond left the scene, completely unaware that he had been wounded. His left thigh was cut short and he died after being hospitalized, and Redmond was charged with murder.
During the trial process, her husband claimed that she was continuously abused and accidentally wounded him, when he only wanted to fire the gun as a warning. She must be convincing enough that the jury acquitted her.
Ahley Harder- Miss New Jersey USA 2007
Ashley Harder continued the story of beauty queens killing innocent, little girls when it was discovered that she was pregnant. She was forced to give up her crown because she broke the rules of the show or ever gave birth to a child, a big “no-no”.
Tara Conner- Miss USA 2006
Tara Conner was crowned Miss USA in 2006. The beautiful blonde from a small town in Kentucky continues to win awards after her, but not because of the ribbon-cutting ceremonies. When reports of late-night activities at a NYC bar, cocaine use, man-jumping and a public run-in with Miss Teen USA were revealed, a tearful Conner gave a news conference, apologizing. It seems that the big city life has contributed to corruption and, after promising to clean up his act, donald Trump has allowed him to keep his title by donating it.
Katie Rees, Miss Nevada USA 2007
Katie Rees lost her crown after incriminating photos of her were leaked on MySpace that showed her locking lips with other women and doing other sexually suggestive things. Although we apologize for some of the public crying, it was disturbed. However, it is rather ironic that his behavior is so harshly condemned by show officials who live in a state that has a law enforcement agency.
Amy Polumbo- Miss New Jersey 2007
22-year-old Amy Polumbo was threatened with threats by someone who said he would “reveal” her photos. Instead of being beaten, the queen of beauty spread the news, showed some of the progress of the morning news and even showed the “inappropriate” images, which turned out to be relatively benign, scandal-wise.
Christina Silva- Miss California USA 2008
Now you have it, now you don’t. That pretty much describes the situation the former Miss California 2008 found herself in when, after being crowned the struggling winner in December 2007, she was informed hours later that there had been a “reasonable error” and in fact; not the winner. The title was later given to Raquel Beezeley. The humiliated 24-year-old Silva is not taking this indignity without a fight. She, as of this writing, is consulting patrons and my guess is that she will make herself the official cleaner of the show and deservedly so.
