Pageant News Bureau

Carmela "Connie" Iacoucci, Mrs. Rhode Island America 1966, died at age 84 on June 6, 2007, in Providence. She was the inspiration for The American Queen Pageant, and the "Carmela Award" was named in her honor. In 1966, after she represented Rhode Island in the Mrs. America Pageant, she and husband John designed and created the first "crown pin," beginning a beauty pageant tradition.

Carolan Lynch, the reigning Mrs. South America, was charged on May 11, 2007, with the murder of her husband in her home country of Guyana. Her husband, Farouk Razack, was strangled at their home on May 7, although police say Ms. Lynch initially told them she had found him dead apparently from natural causes. Ms. Lynch, a TV personality in Guyana, won her crown in October 2006 and later competed at the Mrs. World Pageant in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Natalie Glebova, Miss Universe 2005, has announced her engagement to Thai tennis star (and reputed playboy) Paradorn Srichaphan. They are expected to marry in November 2007. Ms. Glebova, a Canadian born in Russia, has lived in Thailand since giving up her crown in 2006.

Kate Shindle, a former Miss America, opened in the role of Vivienne Kensington in "Legally Blonde" on April 29, 2007, at Broadway's Palace Theatre. Bell Bundy is the star of the musical, which is based on the Amanda Brown novel, which became a successful 2001 film starring Reese Witherspoon. Tony winner Jerry Mitchell directs and choreographs.

Venus Ramey, who was Miss America 1944, made headlines in April 2007 when she shot out the tires of a suspected thief on her Kentucky farm and had the man arrested for trespassing. Ramey, at 82, was using a walker at the time of the incident, and immediately became known as the "pistol-packin' Miss America." Ms. Ramey, who is from a political family and once was involved in Cincinnati, Ohio, politics, is famous for her outspokenness. In the 1990s, she accused a reigning Miss America of encouraging immorality by promoting condoms as a deterrent to AIDS.

Lauren Nelson, the reigning Miss America, drew publicity and some controversy by appearing on the April 28, 2007, episode of the Fox TV program "America's Most Wanted." The program is about catching criminals and finding missing persons. This particular episode detailed Ms. Nelson's participation in an effort to catch "online predators," adults seeking underage sex partners. She actually talked to some suspects online while posing as an underage girl, and sent out a photo of herself as 14-year-old. Given the traditional "nice girl" image of Miss America, some cynics called the show a tasteless political grab. Others called it brilliant marketing for a pageant that has hit a rough patch. "This story is a combination of titillating subject matter and vigorous advocacy of morality -- something like a Cecil B. DeMille epic," said PNB founder Gerdeen Dyer.

Alexandra Deal, who was second runner-up and best hair award winner at Miss Bahamas World 2006, and Sherwaine Ferguson, who was in the Top Six and was Miss Photogenic at Miss Bahamas World 2006, have been chosen to appear in an American reality TV show, which starts filming in the Bahamas in May 2007. The show is a competition featuring beauty queens and models competing against one another in sports, talent, modeling and more. We await the title.

Sarah Stockwell, America's Fit Miss, was selected along with her mother, Georgia, to star in a commercial for the new reality show "Crowned," which will air on The CW in summer 2007.

Former Miss USA Shandi Finnessey became the second celebrity contestant to be eliminated in the spring 2007 season of "Dancing With the Stars."

As of April 1, 2007, the Miss South Carolina (America) Pageant settled with authorities, paying a $2,000 fine to end an investigation of its finances. The investigation had created some controversy in the state. A lawyer for the pageant did not acknowledge any wrongdoing, stating that a continued effort to answer or fight the allegations would have cost more than paying the fine.

Surely you've seen her, the young woman posing nude (or so it appears) with James Gandolfini on the April 2007 cover of Vanity Fair magazine. She is looking away from the camera, and Vanity Fair simply calls her a "friend," but rumor has it that she is a recent Miss America contestant. Take a good look. Do you recognize her ... back?

Miss Vermont USA 1997, Lisa (Costantino) Palmer, a Ph.D. candidate, former TV reporter and expert on eating disorders, has established www.MyEDHelp.com, an online resource dedicated to "helping individuals cultivate hope, healing, and empowerment in eating disorder recovery."

Taiza Thomsen, a former Miss Brazil who had been reported missing, is alive and well and simply seeking privacy, Brazilian authorities say. Ms. Thomsen, 24, who was Miss Brazil 2003, was reported missing in early February 2007 by her family. They told police that she was estranged from them and was last heard from in London in September 2006. The police said Ms. Thomsen contacted them a few days later from England after hearing international reports about the search for her. She was able to
satisfy the detectives that she is safe and is not interested in further publicity. The investigation is closed.

Tara Conner, back on duty as Miss USA after a few weeks in rehab, has confirmed on the "Today" show on NBC that she used cocaine. The claim of illegal drug use was made informally in December 2006 when she was called to account for "out of control" behavior. Conner, who has apologized for her indiscretions, says she is now clean. She says that pageant co-owner Donald Trump "saved her life" by pushing her to get help. The pageant's other co-owner is NBC.

Vickie D. Myers, 39, who was Miss West Virginia USA 1992, died at her home in Parkersburg, W.Va., on Jan. 28, 2007. She had also represented the state at Miss Teen All American. She was a teacher.

Taiza Thomsen, 24, who was Miss Brazil 2003 and competed at the Miss Universe Pageant, is missing, according to her family. Her relatives say they spoke to her by phone in September 2006 and she said she was in London. According to some reports she had expressed concern for her own safety. Look for further PNB coverage of this unfolding situation.

Indian movie star Aishwarya Rai, who is a former Miss World and an emerging global celebrity, has become engaged to another Indian film star, Abhishek Bachchan. They have starred together in several Bollywood films. The couple officially become engaged on Jan. 14, 2007. The date of the wedding has not been set.

Hollywood actress Yvonne De Carlo, who went from beauty queen to "B" movie queen to matronly star of a famous TV comedy, died Jan. 8, 2007. She was 84. Ms. De Carlo, born Margaret Yvonne Middleton in British Columbia, moved to Los Angeles as a young woman to break into pictures. Her first success was being crowned Miss Venice Beach in 1938. She later became a "B" movie version of Hollywood sarong girl Dorothy Lamour (who was also a former beauty queen). Like Ms. Lamour, Ms. De Carlo had a dark-haired, dark-eyed look that was considered exotic in America at the time, and she was cast in roles as Mexicans, Arabs and Polynesians. But unlike Ms. Lamour, Ms. De Carlo never mastered an "exotic" accent, and she appeared mostly in second-tier films. In her most important movie role, in 1957's "Band of Angels," Ms. De Carlo played a mixed-race woman in the Old South, and was cast opposite Clark Gable. In 1965, done up to resemble an eerie bride in a 1930s horror movie, Ms. De Carlo began playing Lily Munster, matriarch of a kindhearted but scary-looking family in the American TV comedy "The Munsters." Though the series was panned by critics, it was an instant hit, and inspired movies and follow-up TV series for decades.

O n t h e N e w s s t a n d

The January 2007 issue of Elle magazine contains a feature on Miss America contestants. In the article, titled "American Beauties," Rachelle Phillips, Miss Kentucky, wears a Michael Kors design, while Bethlene Pancoast, Miss New York, wears a Donna Karan design, and Kate Michael, Miss District of Columbia, wearing a Zac Posen design.

TV alert

Meagan Corlin, Miss Capital Area in the Miss New Hampshire (Miss America) system, will appear on CCTV, Concord Community TV, Channel 22, Public Access Channel, on Jan. 6, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.. It is a half-hour segment of "Around Town with Dick Patton."

A baby girl was born on Jan. 4, 2007, to singer Scott Stapp and his wife, the former Jaclyn Nesheiwat. Milan Hayat Stapp is the first child of Stapp and his wife, who was Miss New York USA 2004.

PNB offstage archive