19 Stars Who Were Pageant Queens (and Kings!) Before Becoming Famous

Hannah Brown

Even before her time on The Bachelorette, things were coming up roses for Hannah Brown, who won Miss Alabama USA in 2018. Still, pageantry had its darker side too.

“I had a director of a pageant [email] me a picture of another girl’s body and said, ‘I need you to look like this in your swimsuit before this time,’ ” Brown said of the lasting effects of her pageant career during a 2021 appearance on the Facebook Watch show At Home with the Robertsons. “It killed me; it really did. I would go a year without eating carbs. It really messed with me a lot, and I dealt with some anxiety and depression because of it.”

Michelle Pfeiffer

“Hey, we all gotta start somewhere,” Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star Michelle Pfeiffer joked on Instagram while sharing a highlight reel in 2021 of her teen pageant days as Miss Orange County, where it was noted that the young starlet “would like to become an actress.” Her talents at the time? Oil painting and softball.

Matthew McConaughey

McConaughey was (almost) a pageant KING!

“For 43 years, I was Little Mr. Texas…until I wasn’t,” the Interstellar actor captioned an adorable carousel on Instagram in 2021, revealing a close-up of his prized “runner-up” trophy.

Chelsea Handler

Comedian Chelsea Handler’s pageant hair and electric-blue gown were serious business when she competed for Miss Teen of America.

“My awkward phase came in my early 40s,” Handler wrote in the caption on Instagram alongside the nostalgic photo in September 2017. (Just months earlier, she had shared another throwback snap of herself as a 14-year-old competing in the Miss Teen New Jersey Pageant, dressed as a businesswoman in bold red.)

Eva Longoria

Texas-born Telenovela star Eva Longoria got her start as Miss Corpus Christi in 1998. Apart from being an ageless beauty, she went on to become a successful actress, most notably for her starring role on Desperate Housewives.

Halle Berry

Berry competed for Miss USA in 1986 (she was Miss Ohio) and just barely missed out on the crown, landing as first runner-up. As the Academy Award-winning actress recalled to W magazine in 2016, her pageant past has quite a funny origin story.

“Actually, my boyfriend at the time wanted a beauty pageant girlfriend. So he entered me and I got this letter in the mail saying, ‘You are a finalist in the Miss [Teen] Ohio,’ and I thought, ‘Uh, what is this?’ ” Berry said. “And then he told me, ‘Oh, by the way, I sent your prom picture in and now you have to go.’ ”

She continued: “I ended up winning. And once you start winning these things it’s like a snowball. And you have to go to the next one, and if you [win] there, you go to the next one, and I kept winning all the way until the Miss USA pageant, where I did not win. I was first runner-up to Christy Fichtner. And that ended my beauty pageant career.”

Oprah Winfrey

The doors to Winfrey’s storied TV career opened following her wins as Miss Fire Prevention and Miss Black Tennessee and for participating in Miss Black America in the early ’70s.

“I entered the Miss Fire Prevention contest sponsored by my local radio station WVOL in Nashville,” the beloved talk-show host wrote of winning the former pageant for LinkedIn in 2016. “Everyone, especially me, was shocked when I won. When I went back to the radio station to claim my prize, a Longines watch and a ‘digital’ clock radio, the local DJ saw me looking around in awe.”

After the DJ heard her speak on tape, Winfrey recalled, “I left the station that day with the biggest prize of all — my first job in broadcasting. I was 17 years old.”

Priyanka Chopra Jonas

On her way to international superstardom, Priyanka Chopra Jonas began her journey to fame by becoming Miss India World — and eventually becoming Miss World in 2000 (no biggie). Fun fact: Her husband, Nick Jonas — who is 10 years younger than the actress — was actually just 7 years old when he watched her win the title.

Vanessa Williams

In addition to being named Miss Syracuse and Miss New York, Williams made history in 1983 as the first Black woman to win Miss America, but she later stepped down after a nude photo scandal.

“For years, I’d walk into an audition and feel the judgment,” the actress-singer told PEOPLE in 2012, per Entertainment Weekly. “I was a scandalous Miss America. Vanessa the Undressa. But I silently thought, one day you’ll see what I’m made of.”

Her journey came full circle: In 2015, the star was welcomed back to judge the pageant.

Gal Gadot

Gadot rose to fame when she won the part of Wonder Woman, but in 2004, she won a different title: Miss Israel.

“At 18, I was approached to compete in Miss Israel. I thought, ‘That would be a nice experience.’ I never thought I would win!” the Heart of Stone actress told Glamour of winning the pageant in 2016.

She added: “I was shocked when they crowned me; when I went to Miss Universe, I rebelled. I was afraid I might get picked again … I showed up late. I came without gowns. They tell you to come to breakfast in a gown. I was like, ‘No way am I having breakfast in a gown!’ ”

Lynda Carter

Another Wonder Woman who got her start in the pageant world, Lynda Carter was named Miss World USA in 1972 after representing her home state of Arizona.

Vanessa Lachey

Before she became a TRL host or married former boy bander Nick Lachey, Vanessa Lachey (née Minnillo) became the first-ever Miss Teen USA winner from South Carolina in 1998. Fun fact: She was also named Miss Congeniality.

Cybill Shepherd

Before hitting it big as an actress, Memphis, Tenn., native Cybill Shepherd competed in the Miss Teenage America Pageant when she was 16 — and even earned the title of Miss Congeniality.

Olivia Culpo

Street-style star Olivia Culpo rose to fame as Miss USA 2012 and went on to win Miss Universe the same year, becoming the first American to win the Miss Universe title since 1997. Culpo was named Miss Rhode Island before earning both titles. In 2021, she told GQ that she won the state title wearing a rented “$20 dress … with a hole in the back.”

Delta Burke

In 1974, Delta Burke was named Miss Florida and went on to compete in the Miss America competition, where she reportedly won a talent scholarship.

Ali Landry

Miss Louisiana Teen USA Ali Landry went on to win Miss USA in 1996 and later competed in Miss Universe. Her pageant success propelled her into television stardom, particularly with a memorable Doritos commercial during the 1998 Super Bowl.

Diane Sawyer

Esteemed journalist Diane Sawyer was a revered beauty queen in 1963 when she was named America’s Junior Miss at age 17.

Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez gave us the cutest #ThrowbackThursday post in 2015 when she shared this Kodak moment of her as a pint-sized pageant queen.

“Oh my … Talk about tbt,” the Only Murders in the Building actress captioned the post on X (formerly Twitter), which shows the young star donning a big white gown while carrying her trophy and a flower bouquet.