6 Former Miss Americas on What Happens After They Handed Off Their Crown and Sash (original) (raw)

Every year at Miss America, the outgoing queen is seen only once or twice during the show: she chats with the host about her year's work, takes her final walk, and places the crown on the next titleholder, helping her during the winner's requisite ugly cry. And then she's done! The heels come off. She no longer has a schedule made for her, gowns sent to her, or security protecting her. She's on her own, and she can do whatever she wants.

Some Miss Americas remain very much in the spotlight: Miss America 1955 Lee Meriwether went on to have a successful acting career in movies (she was Catwoman!), TV (a fifteen year-long stint on All My Children) and off-Broadway plays. Miss America 1984 Vanessa Williams was Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty, need I say more?! And Miss America 1989 Gretchen Carlson became a cable news star and, most recently, a whistleblower who exposed the culture of sexism and sexual harassment at Fox News.

But the dozens of other Miss Americas have also gone on to careers and lives outside of the limelight — excelling in their line of work, yes, but often without the public acclaim (or scrutiny) that came during their year as the pageant's titleholder. We talked to six women who've, in recent years, taken off the Miss America crown about what life is like afterwards.

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Courtesy of Miss America

Heather French Henry, Miss America 2000

Now:

Kentucky Director of Veterans Affairs

What's the day after crowning the next Miss America like? Do you just go right back to 'normal' life?

I'm not sure if your life is ever normal again! The transition does take a bit of time — you go from being this national figure and national speaker, and it will never be like that again, even as a former Miss America. You still have a platform and you still have a position of power… but you were current, and then, all of a sudden, you're not. And you don't have Miss America staff coordinating your travel schedule, you're not flying first class, you're not in a limo every day. But there are trade-offs, you know? When you come home, you get to dictate your own schedule, and that's one of the pros.

I got married fourteen days after the end of my year. My husband was at that time the lieutenant governor of Kentucky so, from being on a national speaking tour and working with veterans, I was continuing that work but focusing on Kentucky.

Your Miss America platform was advocating for disabled and homeless veterans. Did you always anticipate continuing to work for this cause?

My father's veteran status has impacted my entire life, certainly, but I'm not sure that, say, five years before I won Miss America I thought this was my life's mission. Becoming Miss America and doing all that work at a national level, I realized, 'Hey, I can make a difference and be a voice and advocate.' Miss America elevated what I could do because it gave me a larger voice, but as the daughter of a veteran, a disabled Vietnam veteran, it did not change my passion.

I will say that I am a multifaceted person. I love to do a lot of different things at the same time. I also wrote children's books, I also had a line of clothes for seven years, but the one thing that has remained constant was working for veterans.

I can't stand the term 'beauty queen.' Miss Americas are not beauty queens. We are passionate spokespersons and advocates for a cause.

Have you ever felt stereotyped, or that having been Miss America posed challenges in your career?

I will always see the Miss America title as an asset because I choose to see it as an asset. Now, sometimes I will have to explain the important work I did as Miss America and the things it has allowed me to do — every Miss America knows that, within the first two minutes of a speech or an appearance, it's her job to destroy the myth of the beauty queen. I can't stand the term 'beauty queen.' Miss Americas are not beauty queens. We are passionate spokespersons and advocates for a cause.

Do you still get recognized as Miss America 15 years later?

Every day. I'm the only one from Kentucky so far, and there's probably not a day that I go out to the grocery store, to Walgreen's, to the state fair, and I'm not recognized as Miss America. That's something I consider a privilege because most people will only meet one, and they will form that opinion about the entire organization over how you represent yourself. It's important to us to put our best foot forward and highlight the organization in a positive way. They are going to determine what all of my sisters are like based on what I'm like, and that's a heavy responsibility.

What do you want to see in the next Miss America, and what do you hope that she gets to accomplish?

I certainly love it when our Miss Americas are heavily involved with the legislative process, when they're in front of the Congress and Senate and they're seen as a national expert on the platform they've chosen. During my year, when CNN or FOX or one of the major networks wanted to talk about veterans, they called and said 'We want to hear what Miss America has to say.' I want that for every Miss America. I want the national media to look at that young lady and say, 'She's an expert on the topic she's speaking on and we want to hear from her.'

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Courtesy of Miss America

Mallory Hagan, Miss America 2013

Now: Morning news reporter at WLTZ-TV in Columbus, Georgia; Student at

Auburn University

What did you do the day after you handed off your crown, other than nap?

You want the honest truth? I was hungover! I had my full makeup and fake eyelashes on until 11:30 p.m. the next day. There were 26 girls from my class, who competed at Miss America with me, who came to celebrate. We threw one heck of a party afterwards.

What kind of impact did the crazy year that is your reign have on you?

I don't feel like it significantly changed me as a person as much as it made me really understand who I am and what I believe in and what I stand for. But it definitely pointed me in a different direction. Before Miss America, I wanted to be a marketing director for a cosmetics company, but people kept telling me, 'No, no, you need to be in television.' When producers from Good Morning America come to you saying 'I would hire you,' it shifts your perspective.

I had saved all my money from being Miss America so it seemed like a great time to go [to Los Angeles] without technically having a job. I got an agent at William Morris, and that was very exciting. I thought, 'I have an agent, I'll get meetings and eventually I'll get hired to do something.' I wanted to do TV hosting, but the entertainment world that we live in now requires you to have a niche and I just couldn't fathom putting myself in a box. One of the most amazing things that being Miss America prepares you for is that you can talk about anything. I could talk to a five-year-old about the Wiggles, or I could talk to the president about foreign affairs.

What are some other perks of the job, and the pageant industry, in your opinion?

One of the best things that came out of participating in Miss America was the friendships I made. Being Miss America, the perks don't last forever, but the friendships will. One of the best friends I made was the girl who beat me the first time at Miss New York [in 2010], Claire Buffie, and so we moved in together when I moved back to New York. I had been getting a lot of requests for about a year to help people with pageant coaching. Claire was also getting requests because she helped prepare both Nina [Davuluri, Miss America 2014] and Kira [Kazantsev, Miss America 2015] so we looked at each other one day and said 'We'll do it together, I guess.' We started a personal branding business called Define. We help with resumes, media training, public speaking, and it's been very successful.

In New York, occasionally I'd be in a gay bar and someone would say 'Oh my god you're Miss America!'

Do people still recognize you?

Yeah, and it's really weird being home [in Alabama]. It's a whole different ball game here. In New York, occasionally I'd be in a gay bar and someone would say 'Oh my god, you're Miss America!' But here, it's very different — there are a new set of expectations living in a place where everyone does know who you are.

What else should we know about your Miss America experience?

I loved being Miss America. Truly, I loved every day of it. It reiterated to me exactly who I was, and that is a young woman who has the power to change the world if I want to. Miss America is an advocate and she speaks her mind, first and foremost. I think that's what's missing; I was on Capitol Hill over and over again advocating for my platform, child abuse. I so wholly believe in the journey that Miss America provides, and the growth process. That is a powerful thing. But I don't think you need to be Miss America to have that power.

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Courtesy of Miss America

Angela Perez Baraquio Grey, Miss America 2001

Now:

Principal, St. Anthony of Padua School, Gardena, CA

Do you remember how you felt handing over the Miss America crown? What were you thinking in that moment?

Keep in mind, I was Miss America during 9/11. It was bittersweet because of course you're excited to crown a new girl and watch her start her year, but the tragedy that occurred hit me closely because I was stationed in Atlantic City. A lot of the people in the Miss America Organization had family members that were police officers and firemen in New York. For Katie [Harmon, Miss America 2002], I was excited for her but also worried because the world as we knew it had changed. When you're traveling 20,000 miles a month on airplanes, all of a sudden, you see it differently. I wasn't just worried about me, I was worried about everybody, and then taking on that responsibility as an ambassador for the country, I took it personally. You kind of have survivor's guilt as well.

What was it like even participating in the pageant under such circumstances?

It was very emotional. I got a call from the [Miss America] CEO, who told me we might not go on the air, that they might just postpone the pageant. All the big productions were going to be cancelled because of safety. The contestants were looking to me for leadership, saying 'We're so scared. We want to go home.' And yet, they said 'We've been working for this our whole lives. We don't want the terrorists to win.' So the girls voted for the show to go on. It was a way for us to rally around something positive and celebrate America in the midst of such tragedy.

9/11 has been a defining moment in many people's lives. What was it like for that to coincide with, although on a very different scale, another defining moment in your life?

I was in a weird, weird place. I fell into a bit of a depression, thinking 'What is the point of all of this?' Here I am, my platform is character education; I wrapped my platform around the concept that kids can be very smart, but if they have no values, they're not going to make good decisions when they grow up — [and] on the heels of my year, this happened, and it was very jarring for me to come to terms with. But I turned to my faith. I grew up Catholic. I'm [now] a Catholic school principal.

Do your students know you were Miss America?

Yes, they do. They're very aware and I think they're very proud. More than anything, they think 'Wow, if she can do that because she put her mind to it, I can do it too.' That doesn't mean they have to be in pageants; they should do whatever they want to do.

What was it like being the first Asian-American Miss America?

I remember being interviewed by the Hawaii- Filipino Chronicle and they asked 'There has never been a Filipina or Asian Miss America. You're 5'4", you've never won a swimsuit competition. You've never won any big accolades. Why in the world do you think you could win?' I said, 'Gee, thanks a lot. There's always room for a first.' It was great to break a lot of barriers — I was the first Filipina to win, the first teacher to win, the first one to win with a hula! And I won in the year 2000, which was the turn of the century, so I felt a lot of change happening. Before any barriers are broken, you have to break it for yourself. It's so cliche to say, 'Oh, believe in yourself,' but if you don't believe in yourself, you've already lost. For me to just believe that I could was enough.

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Courtesy of Miss America

Kate Shindle, Miss America 1998

Now: Broadway actor and president of Actor's Equity; soon to star in "Fun Home"

national tour

The day after you crowned the new Miss America, what did you do?

I was ready to be done. I didn't have any regrets. I was excited for the next chapter. Four days after I crowned the next Miss America, I started my senior year of college.

I remember reading an interview with you where you described waiting tables in New York, and trying to break into acting. You said your manager didn't find out you had been Miss America for a few months. Did you find the title helped or hindered you in showbiz?

I would say it's a mixed bag. When you're 22 years old and you're showing up in New York as an actor, you're one of thousands. There have been times when it absolutely got me into more audition rooms than some of my friends, the fact that it was a sort-of novelty thing that people would take interest in. But I had to take it from there.

When I was just starting out, I got the chance to star in the national tour of Cabaret during a period when the show was traveling to smaller markets — one-week stays in places like Des Moines and Indianapolis and Fort Worth. I don't think I would have gotten to be in that position if I didn't have something that they could sell [in those regions]. But I still worked my butt off and had to fly to London to audition for Sam Mendes. They had to be sure I was up to the task. Anyone that tells you you're going to get hired just because you were Miss America probably isn't aiming that high.

Even 19 years later, does having been Miss America play a part in your life?

It continues to be a force in my life but it's not a major factor day-to-day. When the Fun Home tour news was announced, the Associated Press tweeted the story and said something like, 'Fun Home tour boasts Broadway veterans and an ex-Miss America.' I tweeted the writer back like, 'I've actually done some theater too. I haven't been sitting around polishing my crown for 19 years.' Even though I've stayed marginally involved through the years, it's not the thing that I think of when I brush my teeth in the morning and look in the mirror. It's not 'Good morning, Miss America!' you know?! [Laughs] I'm an actor.

At the end of your book, Being Miss America: Behind the Rhinestone Curtain, you talk about changes you think need to happen in the Miss America Organization. Do you still think there are things to improve?

There is a mentality within the Miss America organization at a high level that, if you question anything or the way things are being done, you're a hater. For an institution that is supposed to be about teaching young women to be leaders — within the context of a very quirky and anachronistic competition, sure, but it does achieve that — to alienate people instead of encouraging the exchange of free thought and idea and passions is so ironic to me.

In the telecast, they're telling us these are the most fascinating, talented, intelligent, accomplished women we could find, and then they put up these stupid factoids on the screen that make them look like idiots.

When I last looked at [the Miss America Organization's] tax returns, the CEO was taking in more in compensation than the organization was giving out in cash scholarships. The pageant is operating at a loss every year. Until they get some of those business practices under control, they're always going to be scrambling for gimmicks and ratings. In the telecast, they're telling us these are the most fascinating, talented, intelligent, accomplished women we could find, and then they put up these stupid factoids on the screen that make them look like idiots. You have a woman playing a concerto and then you have a bubble pop up in the corner of the screen that says, 'She was once chased by a cheetah.' It's not good messaging. And I think Miss America is better than that.

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Courtesy of Miss America

Erika Harold, Miss America 2003

Now:

Attorney

After passing on the Miss America crown, what was the adjustment process like for you?

That's a great question. I took about a week off just to sort of decompress and get myself ready for the next leg of the journey. I was really excited for the person I crowned. Her name was also Ericka [Dunlap, Miss America 2004], she's also African-American and she also aspired to be a lawyer, and in some ways I thought 'Well, I'm actually getting a second time at this.' There were people who got us confused during the year and congratulated me on winning all over again.

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William Thomas Cain / Getty Images

Harold crowning Miss America 2004, Ericka Dunlap.

You then went to Harvard Law after you finished your year as Miss America — were you at all nervous at being received as a "beauty queen" versus a serious student?

I spoke full-time for a year after Miss America and then I entered [law school] in 2004. I was really hopeful that, once my fellow classmates saw the passion I had for law, they would take me as seriously as anyone else, and I found that to be the case. I know that if I hadn't won, I would be deeply in debt from law school. Having won the scholarships with the Miss America Organization as well as the speaking fees, I was able to graduate debt-free, which was a tremendous blessing and something I will always appreciate.

Aside from financially, would you say your reign helped prepare you for a career in the law?

I had many horizon-expanding situations that I never would have anticipated experiencing at the age of 22. I was given so many opportunities to think of myself as a potential leader, and it also helped motivate me to seek public office. In 2013, I was a candidate for Congress in Illinois' 13th district. I got about 42 percent of the vote, so I didn't win, but for a first time out, I felt really proud.

When you ran, a lot of the headlines said "Former Miss America runs for Congress." How did you take that characterization?

I think that while some people may have written me off because of having a pageant background, I think far more were interested in what I had to say as a congressional candidate. I think that experience was far more positive than it was negative. The Miss America Organization
inspires contestants to seek
ways to serve their community — I might well run for office again in the future, and I will also continue to look for opportunities to serve in any of the arenas in which I'm currently participating.

Do you think it's something that will always be tied to not just your personal identity, but your public identity?

We've been told that when you die, no matter what you've accomplished, they're likely to include that [you were Miss America] as the headline in your obituary. It will always be part of your identity.

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Courtesy of Miss America

Nicole Johnson, Miss America 1999

Now:

Advocate and spokesperson for Type 1 Diabetes awareness

Did you take time off after your year as Miss America was over?

The day after I finished [my reign], I got on a plane and traveled and helped launch new diabetes drugs all over the globe — for a period of eight years, I traveled full time, [keeping] same kind of pace that I held as Miss America. The experience changes you, and it changes you forever.

How did you keep yourself going on that pace for not only one year, but eight?

You know what? I loved it. That experience was so tied to me personally and my individual experience of living with diabetes. I was so emotionally and personally invested in the issue and I loved making a difference in people's lives. I never had a desire to slow down or stop. Part of that was because of the passion behind what I was doing and another part of it is my personality — it's hard for me to sit down and do nothing.

Your career is very linked to the work you did as Miss America. How closely do you think your identity is linked to Miss America? And has it been a help, or a hindrance? Or both?

I think it's always going to be part
of who I am and how other people identify me, but I don't identify myself as
Miss America frequently. Today, the way that I define myself or see myself is more closely related
to my education and to my professional experience, but I wouldn't have either
of those if I didn't have Miss America.

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Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty Images

My perspective is that because I was
Miss America, I have to work twice as hard as anybody else because I want to
overcome the stereotype that you're a beauty queen that doesn't have a brain.
That's a stereotype that's not true of anyone I know that's affiliated with the
Miss America Organization. Yet, it is something I have to battle on a daily
basis. Personally, academically and in the
workplace, I've had to prove myself in ways that my colleagues did not have to.
I also have to stand up to sexual harassment and discrimination because
of my involvement in the pageant system.

As a mother, if your daughter wanted to compete in the Miss America system or another pageant, how would you feel about it?

My daughter is 10, so she is acutely aware of what is going on and she thinks Miss America is magical. It's been part of her life since she was a child. As she thinks about her future, sometimes she does bring up Miss America because it's a frame of reference for her. But then most other times she wants to be an Olympian and then she wants to be the next Taylor Swift. My answer is always the same to her. No matter what category you identify with, if you're willing to work really hard and practice every day on what you want, Mom is going to be right there with you crying in the audience. An element of this experience that's interesting to me, though, is that my experience now influences and affects my child, who is sometimes bullied because her mom was Miss America.

How have you guys dealt with that?

It's tough. We try to create an open dialogue about it. For instance, one of the kids at school said 'Your mom was only Miss America because she's pretty.' My daughter, thankfully, knew that was not the case.