There she was, Misssss Ameriiica—but then where did she go? With the 2010 Miss America Pageant airing this Saturday on TLC, we thought we'd take a look back at some of yesteryear's pageant queens—not to mention their post-pageant TV endeavors. How was life after they wore the crown?
Elizabeth Gracen (nee Ward)
Crowned Miss America: 1982Then what: Where to begin with Elizabeth Gracen? Kudos to her for using her Miss America winnings to pay for acting lessons. Her television work (Highlander, anyone?) is good fun, but she's most infamous for claiming to have slept with former president Bill Clinton. The following clip comes from the short-lived Queen of Swords series, and, well, it speaks for itself.
Vanessa Williams
Crowned Miss America: 1984Then what: Arguably the most famous Miss America winner, Williams was stripped of her title after nude modeling photos with a (let's be honest) hot lesbian theme surfaced. No quitter, Williams has achieved plenty of success through acting and singing. She currently stars as HBIC Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty.
Gretchen Carlson
Crowned Miss America: 1989Then what: An anchor on Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends, Carlson is a frequent target of Jon Stewart, who has accused Carlson of dumbing herself down. She is, after all, an accomplished violinist, the first to use that talent to win the Miss America title. In this "Moment of Zen" clip from The Daily Show, she looks up the word "ignoramus."
Debbye Turner
Crowned Miss America: 1990Then what: Lots of Miss America contestants play instruments, but Turner is probably the only to have ever performed "Flight of the Bumblebee" on the marimba. And things have only improved for her since then: like Carlson, Turner is a news correspondent—she appears on several CBS news shows. In this clip, Turner gets peed on by an incontinent beaver. Yes, really.
Leanza Cornett
Crowned Miss America: 1993Then what: Here's the thing about Cornett: She's kind of awesome. The first beauty queen to pick AIDS prevention as the theme of her year of service, Cornett has also enjoyed a fair amount of acting success. Her acting credits include parts on The O.C., Dark Skies, and Melrose Place! And Weeds! She's covered dog shows for Animal Planet! She was the first live-action Ariel in the Disney theme park Little Mermaid show! And none of this stuff's online, apparently! So here's Cornett talking about how to pick the right cell phone plan. Sorry.
NEXT: Political commentary, America's Most Wanted and The Amazing Race
Relevence please?
Aren't they all working to identify and predict the behaviour of dark matter and dark energy?
It's ironic that arguably the most successful Miss America, Vanessa Williams, is the one who was stripped of her crown. Most of these women, I've either never heard of or had no idea they had been Miss America. I'm kind of surprised you didn't mention Lee Merriweather or Phyllis George though.
I love Highlander so so much you have no idea.