Veronica Ann Cross (born 1950) is a British singer, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She is daughter of a Covent Garden opera singer, won the Miss United Kingdom beauty pageant in 1973. [1]
At 16 years old, upon leaving school, Cross successfully applied for a job as a photographic model with an agency in London. Soon she was to accept opportunities for television adverts and bit-parts.
In December 1972, she entered a Miss England heat in Streatham, which she failed to win. She tried for another heat in London in February and qualified for the final of the Miss England competition and also qualified her to enter the Miss UK pageant. At the Miss World competition, she managed to come sixth. [2]
Cross now lives in Poole and works as a show house demonstrator[ clarification needed ]. She takes part in opera singing with a company called Pocket Opera. She is unmarried.
I'd spent a month preparing for that by starving myself. I was 8st 5lbs. When I look at pictures I wince at the sight of the jutting collarbone. I can see I looked too thin, but at the time I was delighted by my protruding bones and concave stomach.
Eating so little wasn't good for my health. For six months my periods packed up completely, a sure sign of starvation.
[Opera singing has] become the love of my life—I don't have deep regrets about not marrying or having children, but I do regret that I never trained as an opera singer like my mother. If I could trade my title for the chance to work as a professional opera singer I'd do it like a shot.
A beauty pageant is a competition traditionally focused on judging and ranking the contestants' physical attributes. Pageants have now moved towards including inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, talent, character, and charitable involvement, through private interviews with judges and answers to public on-stage questions. Pageant titles are subdivided into Miss, Mrs. or Ms., and Teen – to clearly identify the difference between pageant divisions.
Georgina Rizk is a Lebanese model, socialite and beauty queen. She represented Lebanon at the Miss Universe 1971 and won making her the first Lebanese and Middle Eastern/West Asian woman to win that title. Prior to this, she was crowned Miss Lebanon 1970 and represented Lebanon at the Miss World competition but failed to place.
"Miss Sarajevo" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and British musician Brian Eno, credited to the pseudonym "Passengers". It was released on 20 November 1995 as the only single from their album Original Soundtracks 1. Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti makes a vocal appearance, singing the opera solo. The song was written about a group of women who held a beauty pageant during the Siege of Sarajevo as an act of defiance.
Dania Patricia Prince Méndez is a Honduran model and beauty queen who has held the title of Miss Earth 2003.
Evangelia Aravani is a Greek fashion model, tv host and beauty pageant titleholder. In 2005 Aravani won the title of Miss Star Hellas and then was chosen to represent Greece at the Miss Universe 2005 pageant where she placed 11th. In 2006, Aravani continued to pursue a modeling career and appeared on the covers of numerous fashion magazines. Aravani was a special guest at the official Cypriot beauty contest, whose winners go on to represent Cyprus at the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants. She co-presented alongside singer Sakis Rouvas the fourth and fifth seasons of singing reality television competition X-Factor in Greece and continued her career by presenting the fashion competition My Style Rocks and the non-profit dancing competition Dancing with the Stars. From 2018 to 2019 presented the Greek version Project Runway.
Aikaterini "Katerina" Stikoudi is a Greek singer, actress, TV host, model, businesswoman, former champion swimmer and beauty pageant titleholder. After first gaining fame in 2001 by finishing fifth in the national swimming championship as PAOK swimming athlete she pursued a career in modeling, television, cinema and theatre. In 2005 she won the title of Miss Hellas 2005, on National Annual Beauty Pageant of Greece, followed by her participation on Miss World 2005 representing Greece.
Miss England is a national beauty pageant in England.
Cherry Frampton is a former glamour model and Page 3 girl who posed under the name Cherry Dee. During her modelling career, she was featured in magazines such as Fast Car, Fit For Men, and Nuts and tabloid newspapers such as Daily Star, and the Daily Sport.
Miss America 1984, the 57th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 17, 1983, on NBC Network. Miss America 1983, Debra Maffett crowned her successor, Miss New York 1983, Vanessa Williams of Millwood, New York at the end of the nationally televised event. In July 1984, Williams was forced to resign over the unauthorized publication of nude photographs and was succeeded by first runner-up, Miss New Jersey Suzette Charles, who served as Miss America until September 15, 1984. Among the contestants who did not place among the ten finalists, Miss New Mexico 1983 Mai Shanley, eventually went on to win the Miss USA 1984 pageant on May 17, 1984.
Miss Universe 1958 was the seventh Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 25 July 1958.
Miss Universe 1956 was the fifth Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 20 July 1956.
Miss Nigeria is an annual pageant showcasing positive attributes of Nigerian women, and awarding university scholarships. The winner is expected to portray exemplary qualities whilst serving as a role model to young women in the country. The pageant is currently organised by Daily Times.
Jodie Christine Prenger is an English actress and singer, best known for winning the second series of The Biggest Loser in 2006 and the BBC talent show I'd Do Anything in 2008, the latter of which subsequently launched her career in theatre. In 2022, she began portraying the role of Glenda Shuttleworth in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street.
A child beauty pageant is a controversial beauty contest featuring contestants under 16 years of age. Competition categories may include talent, interview, sportswear, casual wear, swimwear, western wear, theme wear, outfit of choice, decade wear, and evening wear. Depending on the type of pageant system, contestants may be found wearing anything from makeup to fake teeth, known as flippers, as well as elaborate hairstyles and custom-designed fitted outfits to present their routines on stage.
Sandra Marie Lees is an English model and beauty pageant titleholder who winner of several regional and national beauty pageants. She has represented the UK at the Miss International and Miss Tourism contests. As of September 11, 2010 she also holds the title of Miss Earth England and competed at the Miss Earth 2010.
Hilal Nebahat Çehre is a Turkish actress, model, singer and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Turkey 1960. She is best known for her protagonist roles as Firdevs Yöreoğlu on the Kanal D drama series Aşk-ı Memnu (2008–10) and as Hafsa Sultan on the series Muhteşem Yüzyıl (2011–12).
Marilyn Ramos is a South African designer, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss South Africa 2012, becoming the official representative of her country to Miss Universe 2013 and Miss World 2013. Ramos represented South Africa at Miss World 2013 and Miss Universe 2013, failing to place in both competitions. She entered the pageant twice before she emerged the winner. She also held the title for the longest in SA pageant history- 16 months until she has crowned Rolene Strauss on 30 March 2014 as her successor.
Baciliky Andris "Betty" Maxwell is an American singer, actress, model, author, and beauty pageant titleholder from Warner Robins, Georgia, who was crowned Miss Georgia 2015. On September 13, 2015, she was crowned Miss America 2016 by Miss America 2015, Kira Kazantsev. She is the first Miss Georgia to be crowned Miss America since Neva Jane Langley, Miss America 1953.
Vanessa Williams is an American actress, singer, and fashion designer. She initially gained recognition as the first African American winner of the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984 in September 1983. Several weeks before the end of her reign, however, a scandal arose when Penthouse magazine bought and published nude photographs of Williams. Williams was pressured to relinquish her title and was succeeded by the first runner-up, Miss New Jersey 1983, Suzette Charles. She was the first Miss America to give up her crown. Thirty-two years later, in September 2015, when Williams served as head judge for the Miss America 2016 pageant, former Miss America CEO Sam Haskell made a public apology to her for the events of 1984.
Anu Namshir, is a Mongolian model and beauty pageant titleholder who represented Mongolia at the Miss International 2013, Miss Manzhouli 2014, World Bikini Model 2015, Asian Star Model 2015 Supermodel International 2015, Miss World 2015, Miss Tourism Queen International 2016 pageant. She won the Miss Mongolia 2013 title and was later crowned as World Bikini Model International 2014 and Miss Manzhouli 2014 (winner) in China, Asian Star Model 2015 Supermodel International 2015 (winner) in Korea and Miss World Mongolia 2015. And then she represented Mongolia in the Miss World 2015. On September 26, 2016, she was crowned Miss Tourism Queen International 2016 and awarded Miss Charity. And then December 1, 2016, she has participated first in Goyol 2017 which was organized by Mongolian Designers Association annually was awarded "Photo Model". She worked at Mongolia's Next Top Model show 14th number representing Z24 online ticket reservation through Z24 face.