THE PRETHOUGHTS
THE RESULTS (Dec. 9, 2019)
It's a third Miss Universe crown for Mandela's rainbow nation, South Africa! Zozibini Tunzi has captured the crown and she is the first black South African to win the crown succeeding the wins of Margaret Gardiner in 1978 and Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters just two years ago in 2017! It is a rare occurrence for a country to place in the top 2 three years in a row but South Africa has done it from 2017 to 2019 and this was also done by Venezuela from 1996 to 1998 and Colombia placed as 1st runner up three years in a row from 1992 to 1994. This is also the first time in history that the Miss Universe trio of Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA are all black women although Miss USA, Cheslie Kryst and Miss Teen USA, Kaliegh Garris are biracial. Zozibini is also the sixth black Miss Universe succeeding Trinidad & Tobago's Janelle Commissiong in 1977, USA's Chelsi Smith in 1995, Trinidad & Tobago's Wendy Fitzwilliam in 1998, Botswana's Mpule Kwelagobe in 1999 and Angola's Leila Lopes in 2011. Oddly enough, there were patterns to support South Africa placing as 2nd runner up following a lead from Colombia who won for 2014, placed 2nd in 2015 and 3rd in 2016 and then South Africa won in 2017 and placed 2nd in 2018 but Zozibini wouldn't settle for 2nd runner up and would take the new Mouawad crown. Another pattern was barely broken this year as every year after Thailand hosted Miss Universe, Puerto Rico won (Thailand hosted in 1992 and Puerto Rico won in 1993 then Thailand hosted in 2005 and Puerto Rico won in 2006 then Thailand hosted in 2018 but Puerto Rico would have to settle for first runner up for 2019 but the pattern almost continued!)
Similarly to last year, there were 20 quarterfinalists and they were again selected by region (the Americas, Europe and Africa/Asia Pacific) with 5 wildcard spots. How did I do with my predictions? Well, I was very happy that I picked 15 of the top 20 plus 2 alternates (Iceland and Peru) and 2 honorable mentions (Dominican Republic and Portugal). Only 1 of the quarterfinalists missed my list entirely and that was Nigeria who was this year's biggest surprise and this is only the second time in history that this highly populated nation has placed (The other year was 2001 thanks to Agbani Darego who placed 7th at Miss Universe 2001 but would go on to later win Miss World 2001. The five ladies in my list that didn't place were my winner Ireland as well as Tanzania, Panama, Bangladesh and Netherlands.
Hallelujer! Praise da Lordt! At least this isn’t another leap year! Miss Universe 2019 is actually being held in 2019 unlike the 2014 and 2016 Miss Universe pageants which were actually held in January of the following years. It took a while for all of us to learn the date and venue of this year’s Miss Universe pageant until it was announced on October 18 that Miss Universe 2019 would be held on December 8 (less than two months before the pageant) somewhere in the USA and then two weeks later, the host city was announced as Atlanta, Georgia and the venue would be the brand new Tyler Perry Studios. Tyler Perry is, of course, famous for his comedic character Mabel “Madea” Simmons and he has performed as this Madea character starring in several movies based on her adventures. However, Tyler Perry has said that he is retiring the Madea character so while we probably won’t be seeing her at Miss Universe unless she suddenly decides to come out of retirement for the occasion, Tyler could be involved in another capacity, perhaps as a judge but he is not obligated to make an appearance as he just owns the studio. One person who will be back is the host Steve Harvey who is completing the fifth year of his five year deal to host Miss Universe so time will tell if he renews this contract but he turns 63 in January so chances are pretty high that he will retire from hosting the pageant. I was fully expecting this year to be a leap year and for Miss Universe 2019 to be held in early 2020 because it took a while before anyone heard anything. There was short notice served to the national directors when FOX appeared to have an opening on December 8 to make Miss Universe a part of their holiday season line-up so it became a last minute scramble resulting in several countries having to withdraw this year including: Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Lebanon, Russia, Sri Lanka, and Switzerland and possibly Kyrgyzstan and Zambia. There was also news spreading that Ukraine had difficulty getting a visa at first but then news spread that Ukraine will indeed be competing this year prompting some to think that a certain someone had something to do with that… We won’t match last year’s record of 95 participants but we are still expecting around 90 contestants this year so we shall see who shows up as we remember last year that Sierra Leone’s delegate didn’t make it to Thailand in time for registration so Mary Esther Bangura is competing this year instead and she should be more than prepared this time around! The preliminaries and national costume shows are being held in the host hotel Marriott Marquis’ ballroom on December 6 at 8 p.m. EST. Last year, there was talk about potentially having the Miss Universe pageant in Korea or even the Philippines again to possibly give the reigning Miss Universe, Catriona Gray, a home-crowd send-off as was done for Margarita Moran in 1974 and Pia Wurtzbach for 2016/17 but since this year is more of a last-minute scramble, it had to be in the USA but perhaps a new venue and date will be lined up for the 2020 Miss Universe pageant. Also, there will be a new Miss Universe crown this year designed by Mouawad which will be revealed on the night of the pageant so hopefully it will be a nice one. We have seen many crown changes over the years but my preference has always been the chandelier crown that was used from 1973 to 2001 and we also had a rougher version of it used from 1963 to 1972. The Mikimoto crown was used from 2002 to 2007 and then returned for 2017 and 2018 but part of the Mikimoto crown broke during one of Catriona Gray’s homecoming parades so it was time to replace it. Other recent crown sponsors included CAO Fine Jewelry in 2008, Diamond Nexus Labs from 2009 to 2013 and DIC from 2014 to 2016. Who will wear the new Mouawad crown and be crowned Miss Universe 2019 to bring us into the roaring ‘20s? Let’s meet some of the possibilities!
Come on! Shine your heavenly body tonight! The luck of the Irish may well be with Ireland’s representative, Fionnghuala (Fig) Eley O’Reilly. Fig is a well-travelled woman and was born to an Irish father and an African-American mother in 1994 and we must remember that the IMG era of pageantry has made it clear that their titleholders must be accomplished women with stories to set strong examples for other women. Fig may very well be that woman as she works for NASA as a Director of the NASA Space Apps Challenge and a NASA Datanaut which is someone involved in educating themselves and others on methods to cultivate data science skills with the use of NASA’s available information. This woman is clearly bright and well educated as she has obtained a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from The George Washington University in Washington, District of Columbia. In fact, Fig also competed in the 2014 and 2019 Miss District of Columbia USA pageants finishing in the semifinals and also in the 2018 Miss District of Columbia USA pageant (won by Bryce Armstrong) where she would finish as 3rd runner up but would win a swimsuit award before relocating to Ireland and competing for and winning the emerald isle’s national title. Those District of Columbia ladies have been smiled upon in recent years at Miss USA winning the national crowns in 2016 and 2017 thanks to Deshauna Barber and Kára McCullough and even placing in the top 10 for 2019. Is a Capital woman about to win the Miss Universe crown?
Thailand’s Paweensuda Drouin’s father is Canadian and she also is Canadian-educated. Of course, all eyes will be on the host delegate, Miss USA, Cheslie Kryst. This extremely accomplished woman with those fabulous diva curls who worked as an attorney prior to her Miss USA reign has been getting her feet wet in the entertainment reporting world doing special correspondence for the show “Extra” where Cheslie has been interviewing numerous celebrities doing both red carpet specials and one-on-one interviews. One of my favorite interviews that Cheslie conducted was with the fabulous 2019 breakout star, Lizzo, who has the most Grammy nominations (8) for the upcoming 2020 show. Lizzo’s awesome song, “Juice” was the 2019 Miss USA swimsuit competition song and Cheslie even let Lizzo wear her Miss USA crown during their interview as seen here. As if Cheslie wasn’t accomplished enough, she is already trying her hand at this new field and could she get that coveted accomplishment of adding a 9th Miss Universe crown for the USA to that list? Also in the field of entertainment reporting is Miss USA 2007 and 4th runner up to Miss Universe 2007, Tennessee’s Rachel Smith. 
That love, that love. Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiing me Thai-er Love! Last year’s host, the golden kingdom of Thailand is being represented by Jennifer Paweensuda “Fahsai” Saetan-Drouin but during the Miss Universe competition, her name will be abbreviated to Paweensuda Drouin. Her nickname “Fahsai” means clear sky in Thai. Paweensuda’s father is Canadian and with her Canadian education and passion for helping people, she had chosen to major in Kinesiology and she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in the Kinesiology field from the University of Calgary and this is perceived as a pre-medical degree. Paweensuda was born and raised on October 12, 1993 to a Euro-Canadian father from the region of Montreal, Quebec and a Thai Chinese mother. She moved from Canada to Thailand to work as a model and she also even works as a sports DJ and she is even an athlete herself. Paweensuda has much experience in pageantry as well. She placed as 1st runner up at Miss Thailand 2013 and later placed as 2nd runner up at Miss Universe Thailand 2017 won by Maria Poonlertlarp Ehren (who was my prediction to win Miss Universe 2017 and finished in the top 5 that year). Paweensuda would also represent Thailand at Miss Earth 2017 placing in the top 8 and now she won the Miss Thailand Universe 2019 title and is a favorite for this year’s Miss Universe crown and she was also happy to be crowned as Thailand’s representative by the reigning Miss Universe, Catriona Gray. Through pageantry, Paweensuda has become involved in various charitable causes and advocates for various social movements. She has developed her own unique project called ABLE, which makes use of various sports to improve the physical ability and self-esteem of individuals with disabilities. She also started the 'We Are One' campaign which promotes equality and inclusivity among underprivileged children though sports, art, and music. She also applauds the #KuToo movement in Japan where women are fighting back against some outlandish workplace policies on workplace attire where some women are forced to wear high heels to work.
Both Gabriela’s parents are of Lebanese origin. She is the daughter of Octavio Tafur, a civil engineer, and Olga Liliana Nader, owner of a decoration shop. In fact, Gabriela was invited to Lebanon during her reign as Miss Colombia to attend the Lebanese Diaspora Energy conference in June and even the new crown sponsor, Mouawad was founded in Lebanon. All these factors could work in Gabriela’s favor but I thought of a great way of the Steve Harvey era of pageantry to come full circle. Of course, you will recall the debacle that happened at the finale of Miss Universe 2015 when 1st runner up, Colombia’s Ariadna Gutierrez was mistakenly named the winner by host Steve Harvey only to have Steve come back on stage shortly after Ariadna was crowned to announce that he had made a mistake reading the card and that Ariadna was actually the 1st runner up and the winner was actually Philippines’ Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach which led to an awkward moment forcing fellow Colombian Paulina Vega, Miss Universe 2014, having to remove the crown from Ariadna’s head to place it on Pia’s head. With this year possibly being Steve Harvey’s last year hosting and with the reigning Miss Universe Catriona Gray being from the Philippines, would it not be a nice full circle moment to see the Philippines crowning Colombia to heal from the 2015 debacle? Will it happen? Colombia is absolutely one to watch this year. My friend Wassim also pointed out a pattern that Colombia has which relates to the South African delegate this year. Colombia won the Miss Universe crown for 2014 and was 1st runner up for 2015 and 2nd runner up for 2016 with progressively duskier contestants. South Africa seems to be following a similar pattern with South Africa winning in 2017, then being 1st runner up in 2018 so does this mean a 2nd runner up placement for South Africa for this year 2019?? Also with succeedingly duskier contestants, Mandela’s rainbow nation of South Africa is being represented by Zozibini Tunzi this year and a lot of people have likened her look to Grace Jones. Also very accomplished with a commanding catwalk, Zozibini has attended Cape Peninsula University of Technology, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in public relations and image management in 2018. Although, Zozibini tried for the 2017 South African crown, she made the top 26 but did not advance to the top 12 that year but she came back strong in 2019 demonstrating great speaking ability when answering her national pageant’s final question, “Looking at the current state of our country, if you had the opportunity to be an adviser to the president, what advice would you give that would ensure a better South Africa for all?”, Zozibini replied, “I am a firm believer in education. I come from the Eastern Cape and this is one with the most disadvantaged provinces in the country, and I would really advise that they push on education and that they start at a very young age. Maybe there’s nothing much that can be done for elders but we can do so much more for children. It is the most painful thing to see when children don’t have shelters over their head or bridges to get to school or books. Thank you.” This answer clearly demonstrates Zozibini’s desire to turn the rainbow nation into a reading rainbow nation. Butterfly in the sky. I can go twice as high. Take a look. It’s in a book… Zozibini’s national costume pictured here was also recently unveiled. Made from the colors of the South African flag, the costume contains ribbons of messages from men of South Africa to women all over world with hopes of promoting her message of terminating Gender Based violence which is prevalent worldwide and not just in South Africa. Both Colombia and South Africa have won the Miss Universe crown twice (Colombia won for 1958 and 2014 and South Africa for 1978 and 2017) and after missing the semifinals last year, Colombia hopes to come back strong and South Africa also wants to keep its solid streak going so we shall if these ladies are able to read the room and terminate the competition!
The international pageant powerhouse of Venezuela which boasts the most international pageant crowns of any country is being represented by Thalia Olvino at Miss Universe 2019. Thalia is a Management and Administrative Sciences student at Universidad Tecnológica del Centro in Guacara and she also practices synchronized swimming. Thalia hopes to get an eighth Miss Universe crown for the gateway of South America succeeding their wins in 1979-Maritza Sayalero, 1981-Irene Saez, 1986-Barbara Palacios Teyde, 1996-Alicia Machado, 2008-Dayana Mendoza, 2009-Stefania Fernandez, and 2013-Gabriela Isler and in fact, Gabriela Isler has taken the reins from Osmel Sousa as director for Venezuela's Miss Universe delegates. Venezuela has been in the news recently due to its economic turmoil but another pageant, Miss Grand International was recently held there and the hometown girl, Venezuela’s Valentina Figuera won the crown. There was a lot of concern prior to that pageant but it was surprisingly successful and Miss Grand International 2020 is also scheduled to be held in Venezuela in October. There have also been a lot of people leaving Venezuela and one of those people was the man behind a lot of Venezuela’s recent successes in pageantry, the czar of beauty himself, Osmel Sousa but even though is he 73 years old, the truth is he never left us! Osmel is still in the beauty game but directing two other countries; the land of the Gauchos, Uruguay and the land of Evita Peron, Argentina! Uruguay’s representative for Miss Universe 2019 is Fiona Tenuta who was appointed through a casting process as there was not enough sponsorship to hold an actual competition but there was a pageant to select the Argentinian rep, Mariana Varela. Mariana is also considered a strong contender for this year’s title but some question whether or not the IMG era will favor Osmel’s strict beauty techniques as they might be deemed somewhat old-guard for this progressive era that values achieved women more so than women that seem to have more of a focus on external beauty. I saw an interview around 1997 where Osmel said he wanted to do something as pointless as doing liposuction behind the knees of a Miss Venezuela contestant but her father wouldn’t allow it. Argentina’s representative Mariana’s bio seems to focus on how she opposes violence against women as she has experienced this in the past. Argentina has won the Miss Universe once back in 1962 thanks to Norma Nolan. However, Uruguay hasn’t had much success at Miss Universe with their best placement being 4th runner up in 1985 thanks to Andrea López. I’m very interested to see how Venezuela, Argentina, and Uruguay fare in the competition and especially if Osmel’s switch from Venezuela to Argentina and Uruguay will have any effect but I have a feeling that Venezuela will still rank above the other two.
Some might deem the Miss Universe crown as the Holy Grail of pageantry and in this last pageant or crusade of the 2010s, there are several delegates competing this year of South Asian descent. Let us start with India which has won two Miss Universe crowns in 1994 and 2000 thanks to Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta and this year, India is being represented by Vartika Singh who was appointed this year to represent India. Vartika received her Bachelor's degree in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics from Isabella Thoburn College. She holds a Master's degree in Public Health from the University of Lucknow and she is involved with initiatives to educate the public about various public health issues and illnesses like tuberculosis. If Vartika’s name sounds familiar, you might remember Vartika as the 2nd runner up at Miss Grand International 2015 which was won by another familiar name, Anea Garcia, who represented the Dominican Republic but you might remember that Anea was my prediction to win Miss USA 2015 where she finished as 2nd runner up representing Rhode Island. Anea would be dethroned during her reign as Miss Grand International giving up her crown to the 1st runner up, Australia’s Claire Parker who encountered a little controversy of her own when she tried to compete for Miss Australia Universe only to lose her inherited Miss Grand International title post-reign due to some rule that Miss Grand International titleholders were not to compete in other international pageant systems. However, the woman who did win the right to represent Australia at Miss Universe 2019 also happens to be of Indian descent, Priya Serrao. Priya was born in Belmannu, Karnataka but has also lived in Oman and the United Arab Emirates and she said she has attended 14 schools in her lifetime. She holds two university degrees: one in arts and one in law from Melbourne Law School. Serrao works as a policy adviser for the Government of Victoria, and will be admitted to the Supreme Court of Victoria as a lawyer in 2019. Naturally, her accomplishments make Priya one to watch in this year’s competition as they could be smiled upon and possibly lead to a placement in the semifinals for the land down under which also boasts two Miss Universe wins thanks to Kerry Anne Wells in 1972 and Jennifer Hawkins in 2004. The nation of Bangladesh is making its debut at Miss Universe this year and their bet is Shirin Akter Shela who was crowned by Miss Universe 1994, India’s Sushmita Sen. Shirin won the Face of Bangladesh 2019 competition and in addition to modelling, she is a third year graduate student of the Physics Department of University of Dhaka. A debuting country hasn’t won the Miss Universe crown since Botswana’s Mpule Kwelagobe achieved this feat in 1999 so Shirin hopes to repeat Mpule’s feat for Bangladesh 20 years later. Apart from Mpule, other women that won Miss Universe the first time their nation competed obviously include the first Miss Universe, Finland’s Armi Kuusela in 1952 and Colombia’s Luz Marina Zuluaga in 1958. Nepal also recently debuted in 2017 and finished in the top 10 last year so the land of Mount Everest hopes to achieve this feat again with their bet for 2019, Pradeepta Adhikari who has represented her country in international debate competitions and she is also a Medical Student currently studying in the Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences. Malaysia’s Shweta Sekhon was born in Kuala Lumpur and is of Punjabi descent and was raised by a single mother. She also advocates for self love and body positivity with her advocacy campaign, #YourBodyYourSay. Surprisingly, Malaysia has only placed once in Miss Universe history which was in 1970 thanks to Josephine Wong so Shweta hopes to change that. Another land of racial harmony, Singapore is being represented by Mohanaprabha Selvam who recently obtained a Biomedical Science degree and aspires to work towards promoting sustainable food and businesses to improve the lives of people and communities and is passionate about volunteering for Singapore’s Red Cross due to her humble beginnings. Mohanaprabha’s unique short hair could help her stand out this year and perhaps the host country of Miss Universe 1987 could make a comeback this year as they haven’t placed since then. 
The tropical isthmus of Panama is being represented by another delegate of Indian descent, Mehr Eliezer, who was born in New Delhi, speaks English, Spanish and Hindi and she is accomplished since she has a Bachelor’s of Science in International Affairs with minors in economics and history. She is an intern at the Americas regional office of the United Nations Office for Project Services and she volunteers extensively. Mehr is one of the most photogenic contestants competing this year for Miss Universe 2019 but hopefully she has worked on her body since winning her national title. In a recently conducted interview, Mehr was asked if she feels Panamanian as some have deemed her look too foreign which prompted her to succinctly reply, “I don’t feel Panamanian, I AM Panamanian.” This answer reminded me a lot of what Panama’s only Miss Universe, Justine Pasek (who was born in Ukraine) said while competing for the 2002 crown which she would inherit after the original winner, Russia’s Oxana Fedorova was dethroned. Justine, when describing having lived all over the world said, “Nowhere have I felt like a foreigner so I am proud to say that I feel like a citizen of the world.” The world is increasingly becoming more of a melting pot with people of many races found in places where you might not expect them. Panama has hosted the Miss Universe pageant twice (in 1986 and 2003) and during the 1986 pageant, the slogan, “My name is Panama” was mentioned a lot and Mehr has fairly earned her right to represent her nation of Panama. However, Mehr found herself embroiled in a little bit of controversy surrounding a brief social media post of a fellow contestant, Dominican Republic’s Clauvid Daly shortly after Clauvid was crowned. While the post was taken down about 30 minutes after it was posted, it seemed to compare Mehr and Clauvid in a side-by-side picture but the picture of Clauvid seemed to have been altered slightly to make Clauvid look less attractive. After removing the post, Mehr quickly apologized to anyone offended by the post calling it a misunderstanding prompting some to call for her resignation as Panama’s representative at Miss Universe. Clauvid’s victory as the representative of the Dominican Republic was also criticized as it is rare that the Dominican Republic crowns a black winner but Clauvid at the young age of 18 also boasts some impressive accomplishments making her a very strong contender for Miss Universe 2019. She is currently studying to get her pilot’s license while working to obtain her degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy major at the Catholic University Santo Domingo. She has become the first female ambassador of the Dominican Republic in the United Nations and a global advocate to protect the freedom of young girls and she is advocating to end child marriage in her country and internationally. She started her advocacy in 2016, and two years later she founded the "Daly Foundation", which supports a young girl's rights to freedom and is also is working to bring awareness to the staggering rate of teenage pregnancy in her country. The land where your heart flames to the rhythms of merengue hasn’t captured the Miss Universe crown since 2003 so will young Clauvid achieve that feat for her nation?
Every touch is ooh la la la. It's true, la la la. Mexico’s Sofía Montserrat Aragón Torres would certainly love it if you called her Señorita Universo. Sofia has some fairly unique accomplishments and a story to tell. A published author, she has written two books “Diamante en Bruto” (2017) and “El color de lo Invisible” (2019) focusing on empowering women. She began modelling in 2009 but left to pursue her studies in Visual Culture and Marketing at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara going on to learn theatrical makeup at the Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles, and she worked in California as a special effects makeup artist until 2017. She is also an entrepreneur having launched her own cosmetics company, Soswami Makeup and her own publishing company, GLAMéxico. Sofia used to struggle with depression and had thoughts about committing suicide but she has since become an advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Mexico has won the Miss Universe crown twice thanks to Lupita Jones in 1991 and Ximena Navarrete in 2010 but they haven’t placed since 2016 so we shall see if Sofia will bring pride to the land of the Mariachi.
This headline is a play on the DNCE hit song ‘Cake by the Ocean’. The cake is Coucke (Miss France’s last name) and the ocean is Marina (Miss Albania’s last name). France’s delegate, Maeva Coucke is very photogenic and is certainly one to watch this year. She was a favorite for the 2018 Miss World crown where she finished among the top 12 and since Vaimalama Chaves who won the 2019 Miss France title opted not to compete in an international pageant, the Miss France Organisation confirmed in September that they had appointed Maeva to represent France at Miss Universe 2019 and we are very glad to have her! This eyeful tower is naturally a blonde but dyes her hair red similarly to one Miss USA 2011, Alyssa Campanella. Maeva even has a twin sister and they both competed for the Elite Model Look competition in 2011. Maeva has obtained a degree in International Trade and she is also passionate about the fight against breast cancer, as her mother is a survivor of the disease. She uses her national platform to raise awareness for breast cancer screenings and actively raises funds for organizations trying to find a cure. Could France succeed the Philippines again and get another win since their last in 2016 thanks to Iris Mittenaere? This romantic land of fashion has also captured the 1953 Miss Universe crown thanks to Christiane Martel. 
I was very happy to see Christie pull off the win at Amazing Race because she was the first Miss Teen USA to be denied a state title to compete at Miss USA. Prior to Christie, the other Miss Teen USA winners who won their Miss USA state titles on their first attempts (Hawaii’s Kelly Hu-Miss Teen USA 1985 and 4th runner up to Miss USA 1993, Idaho’s Brandi Sherwood-Miss Teen USA 1989 and 1st runner up at Miss USA 1997 later inheriting the title after Hawaii’s Brook Lee won Miss Universe, Iowa’s Jamie Solinger-Miss Teen USA 1992 and unplaced at Miss USA 1998 and California’s Shauna Gambill-Miss Teen USA 1994 and 1st runner up at Miss USA 1998 and also top 10 at Miss World 1998). When Christie competed for Miss Texas USA 2002, she finished as 3rd runner up and then she placed as a semifinalist at Miss Texas USA 2003 and 2004 and then aged out making Christie the first Miss Teen USA to be denied a Miss USA state title and in fact, no other Miss Teen USA who has attempted to win a Miss USA state title has won since surprisingly. Some suspect this might have been a strategy to not discourage other participants from competing. It especially seemed wrong for Nicole O’Brian to win Miss Texas USA 2003 over Christie and it seemed to be poetic justice for Christie to rank ahead of Nicole at the Amazing Race in 2004 but it felt really satisfying to see Christie win the million dollar prize for the Amazing Race in 2019. I also subtitle this article Club 96, not just because of the memorable way Naomi Smalls and Valentina whispered it into the camera during Rupaul’s Drag Race-All Stars 4 in 2019 but also because another denied pageant girl from ’96 was also a reality show champion. Kansas’ Danielle Boatwright was 1st runner up at Miss USA 1996 and also 2nd runner up at Miss Teen USA 1992 but after being narrowly denied those crowns, she would triumph by winning an edition of “Survivor” in Guatemala in 2005. Danielle Boatwright’s loss at Miss USA 1996 was somewhat surprising as her preliminary score was a 9.47 compared to 2nd runner up, Tennessee’s Becca Lee’s 9.19 and the eventual winner of Miss USA 1996, Louisiana’s Ali Landry’s 9.18. The top 3 of Miss USA 1996 stayed the same but resulted in a shuffled order compared to the preliminaries with Ali Landry finishing in first place and ranking over Danielle and Becca. In this way, it also seemed to be poetic justice for Danielle to win the million dollar Survivor prize. Going back to the Miss Teen USA 1996 class, the 1st runner up, Pennsylvania’s Patricia Campbell won an episode of “Fear Factor” in 2001. I was always bothered that only two contestants from the 1996 Miss Teen USA class made it to the Miss USA stage because it was such a great class but at least there have been some successes elsewhere. (The two ladies from the 1996 Miss Teen USA class that made it to the Miss USA stage were: Kansas’ Amanda Carraway who was unplaced at Miss USA 1999 and Minnesota’s Sarah Cahill who also went unplaced at Miss USA 2003.) Other notable pageant contestants who competed in reality competitions include two that competed for the U.S. edition of Big Brother 21 in the summer of 2019: Holly Allen, Miss Wyoming USA 2012 who finished in 2nd place and top 10 finisher, Kathryn Dunn who competed in several state pageants finishing as 4th runner up at Miss Texas USA 2011, semifinalist at Miss Texas USA 2012, 1st runner up at Miss Colorado USA 2017 and 3rd runner up at Miss Colorado USA 2018. I was hoping for a better result for Kathryn Dunn as she was truly one that got away who aged out before she could get to the Miss USA stage and she would have ranked very highly on my predictions’ lists if she did make it to Miss USA so that was a bit of a disappointment for me after Christie Lee Woods’ Amazing Race win. Also, making waves in the reality world is Miss Alabama USA 2018, Hannah Brown who went unplaced at Miss USA 2018 but would go on to compete for “The Bachelor” in 2018 and then being selected to be “The Bachelorette” for 2019 and then going on to win the 2019 U.S. edition of “Dancing With The Stars!” If anyone should learn anything from this, it is that everyone experiences wins and losses in life but one should not be discouraged and keep trying because you never know what could happen and learn from the experiences that these adventures provide and network along the way.
