journal | features | critical photo | telecasts | beauty in all creatures
belleza crítica | q & a | boutique | i love cb | links | about this site | message board
| 1.26.2009 | Monday
Stam won a $50,000 scholarship and hopes to obtain a bachelor's degree in communications
and become a television news anchor. She began competing in pageants at age 15. The first runner-up was Miss Georgia
Chasity Hardman, who took home a $25,000 scholarship. The second runner-up was Miss Iowa Olivia Myers. The
third runner-up was Miss New York Leigh Taylor-Smith and the fourth runner-up was Sierra Minott of Florida.
Stam was crowned by reigning Miss America Kirsten Haglund of Michigan and will soon embark on a year of travel
and public appearances. (Associated Press, 1/25/2009)
I saw the pageant live from the comfort of my home office. Actually,
I wasn't too excited about watching it, but since it was Saturday night and nothing else good was going on cable TV except "The
Graham Norton Show" on BBC at 10 p.m., I decided to watch the pageant, but without my full attention - as I was cruising the Internet,
writing notes in my Facebook, going back and forth to the kitchen to get some snacks, and updating my Journal. Only two girls
caught my eye, Miss Alabama Amanda Tapley and Miss Arkansas Ashlen Batson. These two can easily transition to Miss USA,
with just a slight polishing and little work on stage projection. Overall, from a physique perspective, the quality of contestants
is remarkable; virtually everyone had a hard body worthy to grace any bikini or fitness competition. And speaking of the
evolution of Miss America's physique, check out this interesting article.
Watch Stam's winning reaction on YouTube.
Bridi's website says she began modeling at age 14 with the hope of giving "a dignified
life to her parents." Her father is a taxi driver and her mother a house cleaner. By the age of 18, she was well on her way:
In 2007 and 2008, she was a finalist in the Brazilian stage of the Miss World pageant. Her Web site said next month she was
to participate in the second stage of a modeling competition held in Sao Paulo by Dilson Stein,
the Brazilian model scout who discovered supermodel Gisele Bundchen. Last year, she took fourth in the Face of the Universe
competition in South Africa and she had won bikini competitions across the globe. The Miss World Brazil organization said
she was an example of someone "who knew how to intensely live her life."
In late December, she fell ill and doctors in her native state of Espirito Santo —
northeast of Rio de Janeiro — initially diagnosed as having kidney stones. She returned to a hospital on Jan. 3 in septic
shock — life-threatening low blood pressure — from the infection that would force doctors to amputate first her feet, then
her hands. Doctors said there was little they could do but pump drugs into her and hope for the best. It was a nightmare s
cenario for anyone with an infection: Her body did not react to the latest and most potent drugs while the bacteria
in her veins spread from head to toe. In Bridi's case, the culprit was the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is known
to be drug resistant.
A short statement from the Espirito Santo State Health Secretariat announced her
death on Saturday "despite all the commitment of the hospital team." Her aunt said the hundreds of messages left on her
website had lifted Bridi's spirit in the past weeks. "I believe that the serenity on her face came from this spiritual comfort,"
Oriendina Pereira Wasen said outside the hospital. Bridi's funeral was planned for Saturday afternoon in the town
of Marechal Floriano. (Associated Press, 1/24/2009)
Critical Beauty wishes to express its deepest condolences to Mariana's loved ones as well as to
the Miss World Brazil Organization headed by Henrique Fontes who wrote this sentimental and heart-warming tribute to his
former protégée one day before she died.
• A SUPERMODEL IS BORN : 14-year-old Tayane Leão, born in the northern state of Pará, beat over 5 million girls
from 44 different countries yesterday in Montenegro, and became the new Ford Supermodel of the World. She won a US$ 250,000
two-year contract with Ford Models on top of the R$ 150,000 contract she signed when she won Ford Supermodel Brazil
back in November.
• THE NEW MISS ATLANTICO INTERNATIONAL is Eliana Quintero, 22, of Ecuador who was crowned yesterday in Punta Del Este, Uruguay.
Her first runner-up was the reigning Miss Teen Costa Rica, Nazareth Cascante, 18. Third place went to Miss Panama,
Karina Pinilla, 23, who also won the best national costume award. Only 14 contestants competed for the title; others were
forced to withdraw citing that the sponsors had failed to provide them with round-trip airfare.
• LAWSUIT DROPPED : A woman whose Miss California USA title was taken away due to a vote-tabulation error
has requested that the court drop her lawsuit against the Miss Universe pageant and Miss California USA,
a Miss Universe lawyer said Wednesday. Shelly Gopaul said Miss Universe LLP was no longer being sued by Christina Silva,
but declined to comment on whether a settlement was reached. It was not immediately clear whether the court had
granted Silva's request to also drop Miss California USA from the lawsuit. A message left with the pageant's
production company was not immediately returned Wednesday night. Silva, 24, was crowned Miss California USA
in November 2007. Three days later, pageant officials told her a volunteer accountant erred while tabulating
the votes during the pageant. Another contestant was subsequently crowned.
Silva, who is Hispanic, alleged racial bias in her lawsuit filed April
10 in Los Angeles Superior Court. The lawsuit accused pageant organizers of negligence, fraudulent concealment
and misrepresentation, false advertising and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Silva listed damages
of at least $500,000 and also named as defendants state pageant director Keith Lewis and K2 Productions,
which produced the pageant. Silva's lawyers requested dismissal of her case against Miss California USA and
Miss Universe LLP on Jan. 14, according to court records. (Daily News, Los Angeles, CA. 1/21/2009)
• FROM SOAP TO PORN : Former Miss USA Kelli McCarty, who starred as villainess Beth Wallace in
the NBC daytime drama Passions, has stunned the entertainment world by launching an adult film career
with Vivid Entertainment, the leading adult film studio. "Faithless," her first X-rated DVD release, will
be on sale starting February 4, 2009. "I enjoy acting, and I really like sex," says McCarty, "so this was the
perfect opportunity to combine two of my passions. I approached Vivid with the idea of shooting a film with
a sexy but interesting storyline, and I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of control I was given
throughout the production process. I am very pleased with the final edit of 'Faithless,' and I just
may do another adult film."
The venture with Vivid Entertainment, the award-winning studio that is home
to Vivid Girls including Jenna Jameson, Tera Patrick and Savanna Samson, "marks the first time that a Miss USA,
let alone an established TV actress, has made the reverse crossover into adult," according to Vivid co-chairman
Steven Hirsch. "As it turns out, by any standard, Kelli's performance in 'Faithless' is incredibly erotic.
She smolders sex from every pore of her body," Hirsch adds.
McCarty won the title of Miss Kansas in 1990 and was crowned Miss USA in 1991.
She placed fourth in the Miss Universe competition that same year. Upon completion of her reign as Miss USA,
McCarty appeared on several popular television programs, including Melrose Place, Beverly Hills, 90210,
Silk Stalkings, Dream On, Pacific Blue and Diagnosis Murder. She landed the role of Beth Wallace on the
NBC daytime drama Passions in 1999 and played the character through 2006. (Business Wire via Yahoo News, 1/19/2009)
• THE HAT LADY DISSES CHLOE : The new Miss France Chloé Mortaud is not immune to her mentor Geneviève de Fontenay's
caustic nature. Mortaud, who holds a U.S.-France citizenship, was invited to the new U.S. president Barack Obama's inauguration
last January 20th. De Fontenay - instead of appreciating an historical occasion - criticized Mortaud's appearance:
"Her hair was a mess, she was badly dressed, and she did not give an elegant image of France. She brings shame to the
Miss France sash." When will this old hag ever stop? LOL! (Actualité-de-stars.com, 1/23/2009)
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, February 2, 2008
PHOTO CREDITS: Associated Press, Miss World Brazil, TMZ.com
| 1.19.2009 | Monday
According to Tellier, "there are those who think that by creating scandal,
they will move mountains. As Miss France, Rachel Legrain-Trapani did not succeed in winning over admirers. She wants
to shock under the pretext that people are talking less about her than Valérie Bègue. She thinks that by posing,
she will become a superstar. Well, she didn't! The same for Laetitia Bléger who's been had by a crooked agent."
Judging from Tellier's comments, she definitely inherited Geneviève's temper. All she lacks is a hat. (Plurielles,
France, 1/18/2009)
• DAYANA IN NICARAGUA : Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza is visiting Nicaragua on January 20th to promote
AIDS/HIV Awareness. She will be in the country for four days, visiting hospitals and meeting with HIV-infected
and AIDS patients. She will also take an HIV test in public. But her biggest task will be to convince Latino men
that "real" men are those who protect their families from sexually transmitted diseases by protecting themselves.
(La Prensa, Managua, 1/17/2009)
• OOOPS...SORRY! A marketing consultant has apologized for announcing the wrong winner in one of the special awards given
out during the Miss Cebu ( pageant last Wednesday night in Cebu City, Philippines. Bruce Bollozos, production manager for TV Broadcast, also made
it clear that it was an “honest mistake” when he read the name of Kris Tiffany Janson as winner of the Globe Texters’
Choice award instead of Kimberley Therese Burden. Janson was later crowned Miss Cebu 2009 while Burden was second runner-up.
According to a statement released by Philip Rodriguez, Miss Cebu 2009 pageant chairman, the special awards
from the pageant’s major sponsors were independent and had no bearing on the judges’ tally for which candidate would get
the Miss Cebu crown or even land in the top 5.
It was just unfortunate that Janson’s name was inadvertently announced as winner of
the Globe Texters’ Choice award during the giving out of the special awards although corrections were made and apologies
were offered prior to the coronation itself, the statement said. Bollozos is a marketing consultant who was outsourced by
the Cebu City Tourism Commission. He also apologized to the CCTC, its members and commissioners if his oversight
rendered the reputation and integrity of CCTC vulnerable to public doubt. Based on the results, Burden had 117,797 votes
while Janson had 95,830. (Cebu Daily News, Philippines, 1/16/2009)
• TRAGEDY - PART I: Edna Patricia Espinoza, who placed second in the Miss Tanga International pageant last January 5th,
died from a heart attack as a result of a botched liposuction in Bogota, Colombia. Her sister Eliana
stated that ever since she was a child, Edna had always wanted to be a singer and actress. Edna was 24 and left behind
a 3-year-old daughter. She had planned to compete in Miss Tourism International next month in the Dominican
Republic. (Semana, Colombia, 1/18/2009)
Spanish police, investigating Leonidas’s killing, believe he was murdered to settle scores
between rival drugs gangs. But the shootings of his brother and Ms Lozano appeared to signify that his enemies have embarked
on bloody war to take over his cocaine business. Colonel Nelson Acero, police chief in Valle de Cauca, Palmira, said locals
reported gunfire and two bodies were discovered in a hotel. Fabio Vargas and Lozano were not identified until Tuesday.
Lozano was a native of Guatavita, near Bogotá; besides being an actress, she was crowned as Reina del Bambuco in 1995.
(Times Online, UK, 1/14/2009; Univisión, 1/14/2009)
• BREAST CANCER SCARE: Life hasn't always been sashes and tiaras for Miss USA Crystle Stewart. 2008 has been a charmed year
for the pageant beauty; Stewart represented the USA in the Miss Universe competition, held in Vietnam, and came in 8th.
But even the beautiful people have struggles, as Stewart recently shared with FOXNews: when she was 21, Stewart had a
lump removed from her breast. "When I was 21, I gave myself a self-breast-examination and I found a lump. I went to the doctor,
and had to get an ultrasound. Later, my doctor had me go get a biopsy and fortunately it was benign," Stewart, now 27,
told FOXNews. "It was so terrifying. And now I know what it’s like to have that fear of having cancer, and that is
something I will never forget. I was 21 when I found it, it was the last thing I ever thought would happen to me."
Though Stewart's cancer scare was short-lived, Stewart has dedicated her attention to
raising awareness for women suffering from the disease. It was her platform in the Miss USA competition. "I want to encourage
women—regardless of age—to make sure that they check their breasts every day. Especially young African American women, where
the risk is higher than any other ethnicity – so many black women die because their cancer is diagnosed to late."
(Popeater, NY, 1/15/2009)
• SHORTIES WELCOME: If you have got beauty, brains and oodles of talent but not adequate height to participate in a
beauty pageant, do not worry as now you can take part in the PC Jewellers Miss India Worldwide pageant. "This pageant is not
restricted by banalities like physical shortcomings, therefore the absence of height criteria and swim suit rounds makes it
different from the conventional pageants," Deepak Tijori of Tijori Entertainment told IANS."We have a talent round where these
girls display their talents and, trust me, these girls have shown amazing potential," he added.
Miss India Worldwide commenced 17 years ago and was meant primarily for the NRI population to select
a beauty queen from the Indian Diaspora. But it was felt that the pageant without a participant from India would be incomplete.
Then Tijori Entertainment and Kaleidovision took its franchisee from the Indian Festival Committee (IFC), a pioneer organisation
conducting Indian pageants and fashion shows, in the US and worldwide and now it is in its second year. This year, the grand finale and awards
will take place in New Delhi on January 31st. The contest is open to every girl holding an Indian passport within the age
group 18-27. The winner will also participate in the grand finale at Durban, South Africa later this year. (Newstrack India,
India, 1/16/2009)
• MARRIED : Silvia Salgado Cavazos, who was Nuestra Belleza Mexico 1998 and a semifinalist in Miss Universe
1998, tied the knot with Antonio Quiroga on January 17th in Monterrey, Mexico. Salgado's former director Lupita
Jones attended the wedding ceremony. (El Porvenir, Mexico, 1/18/2009)
• HIS IDEAL MATE: During an interview with a Vietnamese newspaper, the new Mister International Ngo Tien Doan
was asked what his ideal woman would be. The dashing young man replied, "The ideal woman in my eyes is not Miss World or
Miss International or anyone, but she is simply my lover. Love can perfect all drawbacks, reconcile differences and can turn
her into my ideal woman. I really don’t have any criteria for an ideal lover. If you want to know, I can tell you
based on my ex-lover’s characteristics. She is not too beautiful, but she’s intelligent, which helped her know how
to make her more beautiful in other people’s eyes. She struggles much in her life, knows how to love and be loved.
(VietNamNet Bridge, Vietnam, 1/16/2009)
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, January 26, 2008
PHOTO CREDITS: Plurielles, Getty Images, People en Español
| 1.12.2009 | Monday
• CHARITY WORK : After arriving in Ho Chi Minch City last Wednesday, the 2008 Miss World Ksenia Sukhinova
of Russia left for Nha Trang as she began her first tour of a country as the pageant winner. She said on arrival:
"This is both my first mission and first trip ever to Viet Nam. I feel so excited. I chose Viet Nam as the first
destination because I know the country still has to battle poverty and (has) a lot of disadvantaged people."
Ksenia said she hopes to raise more money to build hospitals, schools and houses for the poor through her trip.
She will return to HCM City for the Miss World Celebrates Viet Nam’s Tet,
a live TV show on January 25, the eve of Lunar New Year. Ksenia’s hectic tour will take her to 13 cities
and provinces across the country, all the way from the southern province of Kien Giang to the northern border
province of Cao Bang. China’s Zhang Zi Lin, the 2007 Miss World, will also join Ksenia’s charity tour
for a week, starting next Monday. She will return home in time for the Lunar New Year.
(Viet Nam News, Vietnam, 1/9/2009)
• CASINO WINNER : Miss India Parvathy Omanakuttan may not have won the Miss World Beauty pageant,
but at Dubai's Atlantis casino on Thursday she was the winner. Walking across the lobby of the vast hotel,
she cut a perfect picture as she more than willingly posed for the dozens who had gathered to gawk at this
year’s Miss World runner up. “Awww…I’ll come back,” she told a small girl who wanted to take a picture
with her before being whisked away by her minders for interviews. An English literature major, the South Indian
beauty had all the right answers. “I love Dubai! I’m so excited to be here. I can see the fishes from my balcony,”
she told Khaleej Times.
Omanakuttan said she had no regrets about winning the second spot at
the pageant last December in South Africa, where the crown was won by Russia’s Ksenia Sukhinova. “I came back with
a fulfilling experience and a lot of friends. My roommate who was Miss Indonesia was a gem,” she said, adding
luck played an important role. Clad in a stunning wine-red embroidered long gown, Omanakuttan said their every
move was scrutinized by the judges. “I’m happy the way I portrayed myself,” she said, adding that she wouldn’t
do anything different if she had another shot at the crown. (Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates,1/9/2009)
• GALLIC DRAMA : Marine Beaury wants the new Miss France Chloé Mortaud to be dethroned. Why?
Because according to the rules of regional elections, the judges cannot be related to the contestants. Beaury
placed second to Mortaud during the Miss Albigeois Midi-Pyrénées pageant; now Beaury claims that two of the
judges are distant relatives of Mortaud. Beaury is demanding that the Miss France Committee dethrone Mortaud
as Miss France. (TVMag, France, 1/9/2009)
• TRAGEDY : Maria Bujor, who represented Moldavia in Miss Leisure 2008 pageant in China, was killed
in a car crash in northeast Romania on January 8th. She was driving on a road covered with snow
and ice and lost control of the car. Bujor was studying to be a banker at the Romanian-American University in
Bucharest. She was 23. (Radio Programas del Perú, 1/9/2009)
• NO BRITISH PAGEANT : Britain's oldest beauty pageant has become the latest victim of the credit crunch.
Miss Great Britain, first staged 64 years ago, was due to be held next month at the Grosvenor Hotel in London.
But organizer Robert de Keyser has called it off, citing the global economic downturn after failing to
attract enough wealthy patrons willing to buy table space at the event. Fashion tycoon de Keyser, 58, insisted
last night that he would rearrange the contest later in the year. But a source claimed it was unlikely that Miss
Great Britain would be staged at all in 2009. According to records at Companies House, the company behind the
competition - in which de Keyser's 24-year-old girlfriend Ashly Rae is a director - made a loss of £53,000 in
2006 and £62,000 in 2007.
The source said: "The truth is that it has been canned. It was losing money year
after year and it has always been difficult to get sponsors and to sell tables, and obviously it was even harder this
year. But it has never made any money really." Miss Great Britain was first staged in 1945 in Morecambe,
Lancashire. Since 2004, when Mr de Keyser's company, the Miss Britain Organisation, bought the rights to the title,
it has been held in London. The winner goes on to enter the Miss Universe and Miss Tourism competitions.
Runners-up qualify for the Model of the World, Miss Bikini, Miss Internet, Model of the Universe and
Miss Millionaire contests.
It will not be the first time the country has been without a current Miss Great Britain.
The competition was suspended in 1989 following a fall-off in the numbers of people interested in beauty pageants,
only to return seven years later. De Keyser, whose De Keyser Fashions distributes Victoria Beckham's jeans range in
the UK, admitted that the economic turmoil had been behind his decision to call off the event on February 28 but
denied that the competition had been permanently cancelled. He said: "It has just been postponed. Another date will
be issued very soon. At the moment I am just looking around for a date in May. "It just wasn't suitable in terms
of the credit crunch and selling tables." (The Daily Mail, UK, 1/11/2009)
• MISS UNIVERSE VIETNAM : The Khanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee has sent a dispatch to the Universe Joint-stock
Company to show its support for the firm’s idea of organizing the second Miss Universe Vietnam pageant contest in
the province from April 21-30, 2009. The committee has asked this company to report to and ask for a licence from
the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa province, Le Xuan Than, told
VietNamNet that the province agreed with the Universe Joint-stock Company’s plan because this company successfully
organized Miss Universe 2008. Moreover, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh suggested
that Khanh Hoa should turn Nha Trang into a city of international workshops and cultural, sports events.
The Universe JS Company will have to submit its application to the Performance
Art Agency for consideration. This agency will then submit it to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for approval.
According to the new rules on beauty contests, there will be only one national pageant contest each year so it
will be difficult for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to choose an event to licence. (VietNamNet, 1/8/2009)
• CB's coverage of Misters of Puerto Rico 2009 continue with the selection of the winners of the Body, Style and Talent
competition. Visit Héctor Joaquín's Blog to see pics from the show.
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, January 19, 2008
PHOTO CREDITS: Terra Colombia, Mister España
| 1.05.2009 | Monday
This year’s pageant was also a socially conscious one. In view of the growing
concerns about global warming and climate change, the theme for this year’s pageant was “Green Celebration”.
It was aimed at raising awareness of the threats facing Mother Nature and also to celebrate the green cause.
The event was initiated by Datuk Danny Ooi, president and franchise owner of Miss Tourism International, which
serves as an international platform to promote peace, tourism and cultural exchange, and to foster friendship
and goodwill among all participating countries. (The Star, Malaysia, 1/3/2009)
• SMITTEN BY MISS ENGLAND : During the Miss World 2008 pageant in Johannesburg, South Africa last December 13th,
the British pop/rock group McFLY was one of the featured entertainers. Now it is reported that one of the group's
lead vocals, Danny Jones has dumped his girlfriend named "Olivia" for Miss England Laura Coleman.
Gossip columnist Dan Wootton wrote that "Danny’s a very honest guy. He didn’t want to cheat on Olivia,
so as soon as he kissed Laura he realised he had to end the relationship." Danny’s first dalliance with Laura
took place on December 13 after McFly had performed their hit single "Lies" at the Miss World final. Business graduate
Laura, 22, is no stranger to celebrity men, having recently broken up from cricket star Stuart Broad following
a 10-month romance. (New of the World, UK, 1/4/2009)
• SIGNS FOR CRYSTLE : When Crystle Stewart, the reigning Miss USA, visited her family in Missouri City over
the holidays, there were several signs telling her she was home. Literally. The city of Missouri City recently
installed several new population signs declaring the city as “Home of Miss USA 2008 at the municipality’s city limits.
The signs, which also depict the City’s new logo and population, are installed at Murphy Road at Calgary; Texas
Parkway at Turtle Creek; Texas Parkway at City Hall Dr.; US 90A at Present Street; Highway 6 at Westenfelt Road;
and Highway 6 at Dulles Ave./Austin Parkway. Stewart, a resident of Missouri City, won the national pageant title in April.
“It’s an honor and privilege to have this sign in my home town,” Stewart said when she and her family visited city
hall on Dec. 20 to take a closer look at one of the signs. “I was raised in Missouri City and am proud to be from here.
I’m always glad to say I am a citizen of this City.” (Sugar Land Sun, Houston, 1/4/2009)
• ICON OPENER : Dethroned Miss Universe turned television hostess Oxana Fyodorova will open the Baptismal
Icon: History and Modernity exhibition in St. Petersburg, Russia. Baptismal icon was traditionally given to every
baby on the day of Baptism. Special measures are taken to make an icon: height of its desk, where the kid’s heavenly
protector is depicted full-length, exactly corresponds with birth height of a child while the width of the board
equals to shoulder width of the newborn. Oxana is “the face of Project on reviving traditions of baptismal icon
in Russia,” press service of the Russian Club of Patrons told Interfax-Religion. She has already opened similar
exhibitions in Tallinn and Paris. The Russian Club of Patrons started reviving an ancient tradition of baptismal
icons late in 2005. About 50,000 baptismal icons were written only during 2006. All the icons are made according
to canons of icon painting, which existed 300 years ago. (Interfax-Religion, 12/25/2008)
• REGULATED BEAUTY : A new regulation governing beauty pageants in Vietnam will hand over power to the Ministry of Culture,
Sports and Tourism to deprive winners of their titles for committing violations. Under the old regulation, the beauty pageant
organisers were responsible for dethroning winners for rule flouting. The document consists of six chapters and 18 articles.
It lays out regulations about conditions, admittance procedures, organizers’ responsibilities and the role of local
departments of culture, sports and tourism. The new document is the first revision of the original 2006 regulation.
According to the new regulation, eligible candidate should have a high-school diploma and
be at least 18 years old. The new regulation also states how all prizes and certificates should be given to the winners at
the award ceremony. It also dictates how often contests are allowed to be held and what they should be named. This will be
judged according to the scale and characteristics of beauty contests. The national beauty contest to select a Miss Vietnam
will be organised once a year. At all other beauty contests, the winners will be called a Beauty Queen. Provinces or cities
can organize a maximum of one beauty contests every two years. (Vietnam News, 1/3/2009)
• TRUE BEAUTY : "America's Next Top Model" host and producer Tyra Banks has teamed up with funnyman Ashton Kutcher to produce
a brand new show for ABC called “True Beauty” - which premieres tonight (January 5) at 10PM ET/PT.
The show boasts itself to be “the new twist on beauty pageant competitions, featuring six women and four men
living together in a Los Angeles mansion under the impression that they are competing in a beauty pageant-like
reality competition series in which they will be judged solely on their physical beauty. However, unbeknownst
to them, the contestants will also be getting judged on their ‘inner beauty’ and will be put through scenarios
that will make them reveal different aspects of their inner character. The contestants will be judged by
Supermodel Cheryl Tiegs and former Top Model judge Nole Marin." (Celebrity Gossip, 1/4/2009)
• NEXT UPDATE : Monday, January 12, 2008
PHOTO CREDITS: The Star
DECEMBER 2008
• THE NEW MISS AMERICA is Katie Stam of Indiana (photo) who was crowned Saturday night at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino
on the Las Vegas Strip. The 22-year-old University of Indianapolis student drew loud applause for her rendition of
"Via Dolorosa" during the talent portion of the pageant. The Seymour native also strutted onstage in a black bikini
and an off-the-shoulder, white lace evening gown. During the interview portion of the competition she decried the use
of performance-enhancing drugs among professional athletes and discussed the definition of glamour. "That beauty that you feel on
the inside, it's that confidence, that radiance inside of you, that's what glamour is," Stam said.
• BRAZILIAN AMPUTEE MODEL DIES : One month ago, 20-year-old beauty queen Mariana Bridi (photo) was living the dream of many young
Brazilian women, trading her striking good looks for a modeling career that promised to lift her family out of poverty.
Then she contracted a seemingly ordinary urinary tract infection. The bacteria spread quickly and inexorably through her body,
proving to be extremely drug resistant. In a desperate bid to save her life, doctors amputated her hands and feet.
But by Saturday she was dead. "God is comforting our hearts because he wanted her to be with him now," her father
Agnaldo Costa told reporters outside the hospital where his daughter died. "I can't accept that my daughter left us so soon."
It's hard to tell whether or not Kelli is enjoying her new career! LOL!
• FOLLOWING HER MENTOR'S FOOTSTEPS: Is it possible that Sylvie Tellier, the new director of Miss France
Committee, is emulating her mentor Geneviève de Fontenay? In the French TV daily TV Magazine, Tellier (a former Miss France)
defends GDF and disses other former titleholders. GDF, famous for her brutal honesty, appeared last week
in court in Marseilles to face charges for slander. Tellier says, "Before, people would say that Geneviève
was out of date. Today, she is one of the trendiest people I know. She speaks her mind, and the girls
have followed her example." Apparently not all of the girls. Valérie Bègue, Miss France 2008, is not the
only "bad" pupil from the Miss France school. Rachel Legrain-Trapani , Miss France 2007, recently posed
in the saucy magazine Entrevue.
• TRAGEDY - PART II: Leonidas Vargas had obviously made some serious enemies. Days after the Colombian drugs baron was
shot dead by professional hitmen in a Madrid hospital, his brother and girlfriend were gunned down. Fabio Vargas, 47,
and Liliana Andrea Lozano, 30, (photo), a former beauty queen-turned-TV actress, were murdered in a hotel in Palmira,
southeast Colombia. The couple were killed two days after Vargas, known as El Viejo (The Old Man), was murdered by two gunmen
last Thursday. Leonidas was known as the King of Caqueta, the southern Colombian region from where he ran his multimillion-dollar
cocaine empire. He had been an associate of the late Pablo Escobar, the drugs kingpin once named by Forbes magazine as the
world’s seventh richest man. 
LAS VEGAS - JANUARY 16: Actor and musician Joaquin Phoenix poses with the 2008 Miss America Contestants at
The Palazzo on January 16, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new Miss America will be crowned on January 24th. (Photo by Jacob Andrzejczak/Getty Images)
• THE NEW INTERNATIONAL QUEEN OF COFFEE is Alejandra Mesa Estrada (photo) of Colombia who was crowned
Saturday during the International Fair in Manizales, Colombia. Mesa's court includes her vice-queen ("virreina")
Ana Montalbez of Spain, first princess Natasha Dominguez of Venezuela, second princess
Victoria de Jesús Fernández of the Dominican Republic, and third princess Anelize Garcia of Brazil.
Twenty-one young women competed in the thirty-eighth edition of the pageant that takes place every year in
Manizales. (La Patria, Manizales, 1/11/2009)
• INJURED : Borja Alonso (photo), Mister Spain 2005, is recovering in a hospital in Vigo, Spain after
receiving a brutal beating while he was coming out of discotheque last Monday. According to initial reports,
Alonso was attacked by a group of thugs with baseball bats. The attackers escaped. This is not the first
serious altercation that Alonso has experienced; last April, he was shot twice in the femur and then stabbed by
men who were going to sell him a car. (Hola, Madrid, 1/8/2009)
• THE NEW MISS TOURISM INTERNATIONAL is Manasvi Mamgai, 21, of India who was crowned December 31st
at the Sunway Resort Hotel Ballroom in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The surprised Mamgai said that she wanted to use
her new title to promote her beloved country worldwide. Asked what was the first thing she would do after winning
the title, she said wanted to call her mum. Forty-two young women competed in the annual event. Mamgali's court
includes 1st runner-up Cibele Franczak of Brazil, 2nd runner-up Alma Mulalic of Bosnia & Herzegovina,
3rd runner-up Ananya Chinsangchai of Thailand, and 4th runner-up Ruby Wong of Hong Kong.