U.S. tennis star Pete Sampras married Bridgette Wilson, a former Miss Teen USA, on Sept. 30, 2000.

Mrs. United States 1999, Janice McQueen Ward of North Carolina, has signed with Abrams Artists Agency in Los Angeles, and she and her family will be moving to California. She has been an actress and singer for a number of years.

Jamie Kern, Miss Washington USA 2000, has become the final woman to be expelled from the house in the American version of the reality program "Big Brother." Though she was criticized by some fans of the program, insiders say her chances for a career in Hollywood have been enhanced significantly.

Jessica Vest, Miss Teen Hawaiian Tropic Arizona, has found early success in her efforts to become a country singer. In her home state in recent weeks, she has been an opening act for the Dixie Chicks and Merle Haggard.

The October 2000 issue of Stuff for Men magazine features an interview with "Doritos girl" Ali Landry, who has some provocative things to say about being Miss USA 1996.

Mrs. United States, Denise Bannister of New York, has signed with the William Morris Agency and is preparing to audition for a major soap opera.

TV alert: The 2001 Miss Venezuela (Universe) Pageant will be shown on Univision on Sept. 17, 2000. Check local listings.

Juel Casamayor, Miss District of Columbia USA 2000, has been chosen as Miss January on the Washington Redskin Cheerleaders' 2000 Swimsuit Calendar. She has been on the cheerleading squad for two years.

Kelly Willyard, Miss Petite California, appeared in an episode of the TV series "Titans" during the first week of September 2000. She was a beautiful club-goer, unmistakable in a leopard dress.

Laura Elena Martinez Herring, Miss USA 1985, will star in the film "The Elian Gonzalez Story" on the FOX Family Network on Sept. 17, 2000. She will portray Marisleysis Gonzalez of Miami, a relative of 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez who bonded with him and fought unsuccessfully to keep him from being returned to Cuba.

Halle Berry, who was Miss Teen All American 1985 and Miss Ohio USA 1986, won an Emmy award on Sept. 10, 2000, for her performance in "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge."

Complications in the pregnancy of Dayanara Torres, Miss Universe 1993, reportedly forced her husband, singer Marc Anthony, to call off his appearance at the first Latin Grammy Awards on Sept. 13, 2000. Anthony and Ms. Torres, both originally of Puerto Rico, married in early 2000. They are expecting their first child in early 2001.

Singer Jade Esteban Estrada performs Aug. 25, 2000, at the Miss Canada Internationl Pageant in Mississisauga, Ontario.

Miss Florida 1998 Lissette Gonzales, second runner-up to Miss America 1999, will appear in a musical production with Enrique Iglesias in New York in the fall of 2000.

Miss America 1998 Kate Shindle and Best Travel are sponsoring a Miss America raffle in Chicago to benefit the National AIDS Fund. SSP Records and Gentry of Chicago are holding the raffle, offering tickets to all preliminaries and the final competition of the Miss America Pageant, courtesy of Ms. Shindle, and two round-trip tickets from Chicago, courtesy of Best Travel. (Lodging is not included.) All proceeds benefit the National AIDS Fund. Tickets are $21 for 5 entries. The drawing will be held on Aug. 24, 2000, at Gentry, 440 North State Street. The winner does not need to be present to win. 
    For a form, see https://page-secure.com/ssprecords/raffle.htm Ms. Shindle is currently playing the role of Sally Bowles in the national tour production of "Cabaret." While in Chicago, she is working on her next CD, to be released on SSP Records in spring 2001.

Jenny Powers, Miss Illinois 2000, sang the national anthem at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles on Aug. 15, 2000. Ms. Powers has family connections to the party Her grandfather Dave Powers was White House special assistant under President John F. Kennedy.

Holly Ann Campbell, Ms. Plus American Achiever 2000, is one step closer to her dream of becoming a motivational speaker. She will be conducting her seminar "The Plus Size Woman - Attitude, Authority & Attributes" for Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Dayton, Ohio, on Jan. 21, 2001. The seminar is geared toward plus-size women and helps them to gain more self-esteem and realize that "there is life after Size 6."

Former Georgia beauty queen Samantha Hayes has taken a position as a reporter at WRBW, the CBS affiliate in Augusta, Ga.

The Aug. 10, 2000, editions of the Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution featured an article by frequent PNB contributor Gerdeen Dyer about Miss Atlanta, Jacqui Jauregui. The Journal-Constitution is the South's largest newspaper.

Heather Whitestone McCallum, Miss America 1995, presented the video of Laura Bush at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia on Aug. 3, 2000. Mrs. McCallum is the wife of John McCallum, a politically active Georgia businessman. The couple met when she was Miss America and he was a congressional aide. Lauren Nicole Johnson, Miss America 1999, also took part in the convention.

On July 28, 2000, after 15 years, Kathie Lee Gifford bowed out of her job as a co-host on the TV talk show "Live With Regis and Kathie Lee." The event drew considerable press attention. Ms. Gifford, who broke into show business as Maryland's Junior Miss in 1970, was known as an unpredictable TV interviewer who liked to reveal intimate details about her own family life. She acquired a devoted following, but also many detractors, some of whom showed surprising bitterness during her numerous personal crises. With her co-host on the talk show, Regis Philbin, she has occasionally been a co-emcee of the Miss America Pageant.

Actress Halle Berry, who got her start in the pageant world, has opened her own Web site at www.hallewood.com. She announced the site's debut on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" on July 26, 2000.

TV alert: The PAX network on July 27, 2000, has a Miss America-related feature on its program "Miracles."

Pageant fans who pour into Shreveport for the Miss Teen USA Pageant will have an added opportunity. Author and former Miss USA Lu Parker will be at the city's Barnes & Noble Bookstore on Aug. 26, only a few hours before the pageant, autographing copies of her new book, "Catching the Crown." The time of the session is set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Miss America, Heather French, has gotten into an unusual dispute with a member of the U.S. government. She has accused Al Borrego, a Labor Department official, of trying to "intimidate" her about her political activism. She says he tried to discourage her from testifying before Congress in favor of a veterans employment and training bill. Borrego insists their exchange was merely a polite disagreement. The Labor Department is investigating. Ms. French is even more politically outspoken than other recent Miss Americas, and she has made the plight of veterans her cause. What is unusual that she is clashing with the Clinton administration, since she is a Democrat, a rarity among Miss Americas. But she and the Democratic administration disagree about this bill.

A published remark by syndicated advice columnist Ann Landers has angered some pageant competitors. Ms. Landers featured a letter on July 20, 2000, in which a reader recounted foolish-sounding statements by beautiful women. One statement quoted was by a beauty queen. Ms. Landers, in replying, agreed that some beautiful women are not very brainy. This has upset those who feel that she was questioning the general intelligence of pageant women. They are considering a letter-writing campaign.

Bobbie Eakes, Miss Georgia 1982, has come to the end of her years as a star on the popular soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful." Her character, Macy Alexander Forrester, apparently has been killed in a highway accident. Ms. Eakes, whose role in the series brought her worldwide popularity, is now pursuing a career as a country singer. Ms. Eakes is part of an unusual pageant sorority: She and her sister both competed at Miss America. Sandra Eakes was Miss Georgia 1979.

Latin pop singer Jade Esteban Estrada has been signed to perform at the Miss Latina USA Pageant at the Arneson River Theatre in San Antonio on Aug. 12, 2000. The bilingual program will be taped for broadcast in the United States and Latin America, and the winner will compete in the Miss Latina World Pageant in Miami. Estrada recently received the 2001 Man of Distinction Award from the Miss Black World Organization.

From thousands of contenders, young vocalist and pageant veteran Addie Hampton (Cobb County, Georgia's Talented Miss for 1999) has made the cut of the final seven entrants in Ed McMahon's Internet-based talent search nextbigstar.com. The deadline for the public to cast votes in the Kids' Music category at www.nextbigstar.com is on July 14, 2000.

The newspaper USA Today, in editions for July 6, 2000, contains a feature about the Americans With Disabilities Act, and Miss Iowa 2000, Theresa Uchytil, plays a prominent part. She is pictured in her evening gown.

Jamie Kern, Miss Washington USA 2000, made her debut on the CBS reality program "Big Brother" on July 5, 2000. The show, about 10 strangers confined to a house and exposed mercilessly to public view, received enormous hype and is expected to be a ratings blockbuster. But the identity of the 10 was kept strictly "hush-hush." The participants were allowed to have a few "buddies" accompany them to the house in Los Angeles, and Ms. Kern was accompanied by Natasha Van Tramp, Miss Washington USA 1998, and Tammy Jansen, Miss Washington USA 1999.

The August 2000 issue of Playboy magazine features the much-ballyhooed nude pictorial of Darva Conger. She won the "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire" televised pageant, married her "prize" and then called the marriage off. In the same magazine, the Playmate of the Month is Summer Altice, who won the YM cover girl contest in 1995.

Addie Hampton, winner of 1999 Cobb's Talented Miss, a Georgia pageant, has advanced to the semifinals of Ed McMahon's Internet-based talent search nextbigstar.com. She has won two previous rounds and is eligible for voting in the semifinal round July 1-7, 2000. Voting can be done at www.nextbigstar.com in the Kids' Music category. Ms. Hampton is 12 years old.

Janice McQueen Ward, Mrs. United States 1999-2000, has been invited to speak before the U.S. Conference of Mayors in January 2001, and at the National League of Cities in December 2000. The invitations result from her efforts to promote volunteerism in public schools. She is seeking to make National Volunteer Week a recognized holiday nationwide. She addressed the North Carolina Senate in May 2000, and is looking forward to speaking to the U.S. Senate in July.

Kimberly Garcia, a former Miss Central Valley USA and a top 10 finisher at Miss California USA, has become engaged to golf professional Stuart Skoglund. They will marry on Sept. 2, 2000, in Visalia, Calif.

Farah Fallowfield, a former Ms. Petite Georgia International, is visiting her native South Korea during the last week of June and the first week of July 2000. She was adopted by an American family as a small child, and is making her first trip back.

TNN (The Nashville Network) will air the 2000 America's Junior Miss Pageant from Mobile, Ala., on June 28, 2000. The program will be repeated on July 1. Check local listings.