Pageant News Bureau - Miss Teen USA 2002, Page 8

A real honey

Julienne Shaw's family is like a little United Nations. She's an American, or to be more specific, Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA. Her mother is a native of Taiwan. Her father is from India, and of Chinese ancestry.

She has cousins on several continents, and they speak a variety of languages. But when they all get together, they use a common tongue, English.

Kneeling on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

With Jerome Bettis of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Good. That means we can use plain English to deliver a message to all of Ms. Shaw's far-flung relatives. And here it is: Folks, you've got a very cute cousin.

She's not just beautiful. She's brainy, too, and cool of nerve. She appeared as a contestant on "The Weakest Link," where a merciless woman tests your knowledge of various subjects. Wow, that sounds like pageant preparation.

Ms. Shaw is a model and a TV actress, and maybe you've seen her. Though she's never been on "West Wing," she wore two wings on a show called "The Buzz with Dr. Cindy." She played a honeybee.

On the balcony of Hollywood's Kodak Theatre

With Miss Pennsylvania USA Nicole Bigham

Photos courtesy of Julienne Shaw

And did you hear how she got into pageants? She tore some ligaments in her ankle while rock climbing. That kept her out of extreme sports for a while, and she tried a pageant because she had nothing to do that weekend. Don't waste a moment.

One more thing. Her first name is pronounced Ju LEEN. Remember that, and you'll impress her cousins.

High voltage

Courtney Chilcutt's family has a place in the history of electricity. One of her great-uncles helped invent the rheostat.

Ms. Chilcutt herself has a place in the history of pageants. She's Miss Missouri Teen USA, the girl who hopes to keep the national crown in her state. (In case you have a short memory, Missouri's Marissa Whitley was crowned Miss Teen USA in 2001.)

Photo courtesy of Courtney Chilcutt

Photo courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP

There are some big cities in Missouri, including the huge, cosmopolitan port of St. Louis. But the state still has a rural reputation. Missouri is the place where pioneer Daniel Boone wound up when the East got too crowded. It's known for the Ozarks and the sleepy river towns that inspired Mark Twain.

Ms. Chilcutt comes from a small town, but not on the Mississippi River. Her town is "almost in the Boothills," the uplands near Arkansas. In this peaceful environment, she became one of the area's best-known models.

It's a long way from the Boothills to the bright lights of Broadway, but Ms. Chilcutt is going to make the trip. If she wins the Miss Teen USA title, she will have guaranteed accommodations in New York. But even if she doesn't finish on top, she's going to the Big Apple soon to continue her modeling career.

We asked her whether there are any famous models she looks up to. She said, "No, every model is her own person." And so is every beauty queen.

If you're a New Yorker and happen to cross her path, be sure to thank her for the rheostats.

Photo courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP

Photos courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP

Whirlwind

Lindsey Dowling can be a hard girl to find. Everybody we talked to in Colorado said she had just been there and gone. She's like a glamorous version of the Roadrunner. You try to catch her, but you're left clutching a cloud of dust.

At one point, our frazzled PNB reporter even asked her younger sister Christin whether Miss Colorado Teen USA existed at all. A laughing Christin said she was "positive" her sister was real, she just couldn't locate her right at that moment. Maybe she had heard the question before.

It wasn't until Ms. Dowling got to South Padre that we finally got a look at her. It was worth it, as we expected it would be. When she stands still, she's a marvelous sight.

It's not that Ms. Dowling flits around wasting time. Not at all. When she's preparing for the Miss Teen USA Pageant, she's giving it her all. She has been modeling for a long time, but this is her first "big" pageant. She's a cheerleader and pom squad member. She's a "perfectionist" (of course).

If this girl wins Miss Teen USA, somebody is going to be very busy keeping up with her. But it will be worth the effort. Take our word.

August 2002South Padre Island, Texas

A real honey

High voltage

Whirlwind

August 2002
South Padre Island, Texas