Pageant News Bureau - Sallie and the Singer

P a g e a n t N e w s B u r e a u

A summer flirtation
in New York

It's no secret that Sallie Toussaint is one of our favorite people. She's an Audrey Hepburn character come to life, jetting around the globe in pursuit of fun and fashion. She has competed in some of the world's greatest pageants, modeled on three continents and danced with royalty on the Riviera.

But in the summer of 2001, she was living in New York. The towers were still standing, life was carefree, and it seemed the fun would never end.

That was the summer when she met singer Julio Iglesias.

It was not a romance, she says, but Julio loved to flirt. Every time they came near a camera, he couldn't resist planting a kiss on his lovely new friend. Well, we can't blame him.

But by Sept. 11, Mr. Iglesias had moved on. On that day, Sallie Toussaint was all alone in her Manhattan apartment, looking out frantically at the mountainous column of smoke billowing a few blocks away. Then she saw the legions of dust-covered nomads filling the streets, trooping toward some uncertain refuge.

It was an awful, unforgettable day. Though it changed a lot of us forever, we hope it hasn't changed Sallie. We hope she's still the girl looking ahead to the next summer.

Photos courtesy of Sallie Toussaint

Also see PNB's exclusive interview with Sallie

P a g e a n t N e w s B u r e a u

A summer flirtationin New York

A summer flirtation
in New York