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Friday, June 8, 2012

Miss United States

 Miss United States pageant is a beauty contest held in the United States for young women between the ages of 20-29 and has been held every year since 2004.

The primary goal of the Miss United States Organization is to provide a lifechanging experience for young, vibrant women across the country. The organization strives to empower all delegates to become active participants in her community while nurturing and promoting a cause meaningful to her. The Miss United States Organization is based on a solid commitment to uphold the standards of fairness and integrity. It prides itself in providing an avenue for each young woman to give a voice to those needing to be heard, lend a hand to those less fortunate, and be a compass for those daring to dream.

At the local, state, and national level the Miss United States Organization gives women the opportunity to promote a platform of community service. The pageant system allows young women all over the country to interact and discuss their achievements in service and volunteerism. It promotes the intellect, moral character and personal engagement of its outstanding participants as they pursue success in achievement.

The United States pageant has been contested among at-large delegates and delegates who won their state competitions. The competition was held for several years in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2011, however, the pageant was moved to the Nation's Capital, Washington, D.C..

The 8th and current Miss United States is Ashley Christian Smith, from Virginia, who won the title on July 14, 2011.

Judging

Contestants are judged on the following phases of competition:

    Personal Interview In the Personal Interview phase of competition, each contestant will speak with five (5) judges for three (3) minutes each in a "Round Robin" format for a total of fifteen (15) minutes per contestant. Questions may range from general inquiries to specific interrogations about a contestant's platform. However, in this pageant system political questions from the judges are highly discouraged during interview. This phase of competition, unlike the others, is conducted privately amongst contestants and judges and will not be viewed by the general public on stage. The Personal Interview counts for 25% of the contestant's overall score.
    Swimsuit & Fitness In the Swimsuit phase of competition, contestants are required to walk across the stage in a swimsuit and high-heeled shoes of their choice. In recent years, two-piece swimsuits have become a popular choice among contestants but one-piece swimsuits are also allowed. Per policy of this organization, thongs, string bikinis, and/or brazilian bikinis are not allowed. All swimwear must be appropriate for a family enviornment. The Swimsuit competition counts for 25% of the contestant's overall score.
    Evening Wear In the Evening Wear phase of competition, contestants are required to walk across the state in an evening gown of their choice. Judges will score based on poise and grace of each contestant. The Evening Wear portion of the competition counts for 25% of the contestant's overall score.
    Onstage Question During this phase, contestants are asked a random question from a predetermined list that they must then answer onstage with no preparation. Questions normally allow the contestant to talk about herself or give her opinion of general issues. Current events are not normally discussed during this phase of competition in the Miss United States system. The Onstage Question counts for 25% of the contestant's total score.


Trivia

    Miss United States was the title of the fictional pageant in the movie Miss Congeniality. Said film was released in 2000, the year before the pageant of the same name began.

    Miss United States was originally a title awarded in the 1920s International Pageant of Pulchritude in Galveston, Texas.

    Miss Virginia is the only state to win three (3) divisions of the Miss United States Pageant in the same year (in 2011, Virginia won the Teen, Miss, and Ms. divisions).

    Miss South Carolina is the only state to win four (4) Miss United States crowns.

    Miss South Carolina is the first to win back to back Miss United States titles.

Free State of Galveston

 Free State of Galveston (sometimes referred to as the Republic of Galveston Island) was a whimsical name given to the island city of Galveston in the U.S. state of Texas during the early-to-mid-20th century. Today, the term is sometimes used to describe the culture and history of that era. This free-wheeling period reached its peak during the Prohibition and Depression eras but continued well past the end of World War II.

During the Roaring Twenties, Galveston Island emerged as a popular resort town, attracting celebrities from around the country. Gambling, illegal liquor, and other vice-oriented businesses were a major part of tourism. The Free State moniker embodied a belief held by many locals that Galveston was beyond what they perceived were repressive mores and laws of Texas and the United States. Two major figures of the era were the organized-crime bosses Sam and Rosario Maceo, who ran the chief casinos and clubs on the island and were heavily involved in the government and the tourism industry. The success of vice on the island, despite being illegal, was enabled by lax attitudes in the society and the government, both on the island and in the county. In one of the more famous examples of this, a state committee, investigating gambling at the famed Balinese Room, was told by the local sheriff that he had not raided the establishment because it was a "private club" and because he was not a "member".

Much of this period represented a high point in Galveston's economy. It is sometimes referred to as the "open era" or the "wide-open era" because the business owners and the community made little effort to hide the illegal vice activities. The tourist industry spawned by the illegal businesses helped to offset Galveston's decline as a commercial and shipping center following a devastating hurricane in 1900. However, crackdowns against gambling and prostitution in Texas during the mid-20th century made these businesses increasingly difficult to sustain. By the 1950s, this era of Galveston's history had ended.

Economy

Like much of the country, and particularly Texas, Galveston boomed in the 1920s. Even the Great Depression did not stop Galveston's run of prosperity. Despite the financial ruin that faced much of the country during the Depression, not a single Galveston bank failed and unemployment was almost unheard of.Key business sectors in Galveston during the Free State era were casinos and prostitution, in addition to many legitimate businesses. During much of the period, the vice industries provided the majority of employment. Two families held particular prominence on the island during this era: the Moodys controlled the largest legitimate interests, and the Maceos controlled the largest criminal enterprises. Both families were wealthy with business empires that extended beyond the island.
Legitimate businesses
A stately white hotel building with a red-tile roof is seen from the end of a jetty extending from the beach.
The Hotel Galvez

As the island rebuilt from the 1900 storm, legitimate business interests attempted to expand the economy by rebuilding tourism and further diversifying from shipping. Important non-entertainment businesses included insurance, hotels, banks, shipping, and commercial fishing. The medical and nursing schools, as well as the hospitals of the University of Texas Medical Branch were a stable sector on the island throughout the 20th century.The Moody family built one of the largest hotel empires in the U.S., and their American National Insurance Company (ANICO) was so successful that it actually grew—tremendously—during the Depression.
In the entertainment sector various ploys were used to attract tourists. In 1920 an annual beauty contest, named the Pageant of Pulchritude in 1926, was started in Galveston by C.E. Barfield, manager of a local amusement park owned by the Maceos. The contest was part of Splash Day, the kick-off of the summer tourist season each year, and became the first international beauty contest, attracting participants from England, Russia, Turkey, and many other nations until its demise in 1932. This contest is said to have served as a model for the modern Miss America pageant and others.At its height the pageant tripled the island's population the weekend it ran. Even after the international contest's closing, Splash Day was revived in various forms and continued to attract tourists. Other annual events included an extravagant Mardi Gras celebration in spring
Much of Galveston's success as a tourist destination was the result of E. Sid Holliday, who became the publicity and convention director of the Galveston Chamber of Commerce in 1925 and later became its head. The Chamber helped promote the legitimate face of Galveston's tourism and business community (though it cooperated heavily with the criminal enterprises). Legitimate amusements such as a giant Ferris wheel and a roller coaster, in addition to the beaches and up-scale shopping districts (notably the Strand) drew visitors, including those less interested in the city's illegal attractions.One of the most spectacular efforts by the Chamber, though not one of the city's greatest successes, was the Pleasure Pier (originally known as the Brantly Harris Recreational Pier). This huge pier (later converted to the Flagship Hotel), built in the 1940s and used by the military until the end of the war, featured restaurants, rides, and an amphitheater.

A significant contributor to the economy up through the 1940s was the military.Fort Crockett, the Army Air Base at Scholes Field, the Navy Section Base on Pelican Island, Camp Wallace and the blimp base at Hitchcock all helped pump money into the local economy, as did military shipments at the port and shipbuilding. The soldiers and sailors were a steady stream of customers for area businesses.
Vice businesses
A long building built on a narrow pier extending out from the beach to the ocean.
The Balinese Room, once the premier restaurant and casino of the wide-open era

Casinos offering illegal gambling and drinking were the largest tourist draws on the island. Though the Maceos operated the island's biggest casinos, they generally were very tolerant of competing clubs and casinos, provided their owners understood and respected the Maceos' authority. By the 1930s Seawall Boulevard was filled with lavish casinos; other areas of town also had pockets of gambling. The red-light district, centered on Postoffice Street and kept entirely separate from the nightclubs and other entertainment venues, was so successful that the island for a time had the highest concentration of prostitutes in the world. The financial success of these vice industries attracted mobsters such as New York's Albert Anastasia and Chicago's Al Capone, who tried to enter Galveston's market without success. Capone's enforcer Frank Nitti, in fact, had been a former partner of the Galveston Downtown Gang leader Jack Nounes before the Maceo era.

Galveston became a major port of entry for illegal liquor from Mexico and Canada,shipped through the Caribbean and distributed from the island throughout Texas and to other destinations. Galveston became the primary supplier for Houston, Dallas, Denver, St. Louis and Omaha. This traffic helped to offset the gradual loss of shipping traffic in the cotton and sulfur trade.

The major legitimate businesses on the island, such as banking and hotels, were able to thrive in large part because of the illegal activities. Though many of these business leaders steered clear of direct involvement in the business affairs of the Maceos and the gangs, their relationships were hardly antagonistic. Some, such as financier, hotelier, and insurance executive William Lewis Moody, Jr., actually welcomed illegal gambling because it brought tourists who filled up his hotels. He was even known to make loans to the Maceos' syndicate.

The Free State economy was not confined simply to the island but extended through much of Galveston County. Throughout the county there were substantial casino operations developed by the Fertitta, Salvato and Maceo families, including the casino districts in Kemah (featuring the Chili Bowl and White House casinos among others) and Dickinson (featuring the Silver Moon and the Dickinson Social Club).Houstonians often humorously referred to the Galveston County line as the "Maceo-Dickinson line" (a pun referring to the Mason-Dixon line).

The vice activities on the island and in the county were not unique in Texas. San Antonio had perhaps the second most infamous red-light district in the early 20th century and most major cities in the state had significant vice activities at least until mid-century. During the Open Era Galveston's vice industries dominated, while most other areas of the state were at times forced to crack down on vice due to public pressure.
Culture
A large red-brick building with an archway at the entrance.
The State Theater (now called the Grand Opera House), a major vaudeville stage of the era
Society

The city's permissive attitude was not confined to gangs, politicians and elite businessmen. The citizenry in general took pride in the traditional Galveston approach to freedom. A notable example of this occurred at a political rally where one candidate openly blasted the "hoodlums" running illegal activities. His opponent then addressed the crowd as "my fellow hoodlums", which helped guarantee his victory in the election. Even decades later in 1993 when Vic C. Maceo, cousin of Sam and Rose, opened fire on a local who he believed owed him money, the incident was viewed by many in the community with nostalgia recalling the Free State era.

Though other parts of Texas and the United States sometimes tolerated prostitution, gambling and violations of liquor laws (e.g. Dallas is said to have had 27 casinos and numerous brothels during World War II), these communities usually at least made a pretense of trying to enforce vice laws. In Galveston, vice was conducted openly; according to a 1993 Texas Monthly article by author Gary Cartwright, "Galveston's red-light district may have been the only one in the country that thrived with the blessings of both city hall and the Catholic church.
High society in the city regularly attracted some of the biggest names in the entertainment business, from Frank Sinatra to Phil Harris. The clubs were regularly visited by famous Houstonians such as Howard Hughes, Diamond Jim West, and Glenn McCarthy.“     Galveston's red-light district may have been the only one in the country that thrived with the blessings of both city hall and the Catholic church.     ”

—Gary Cartwright, Texas Monthly (June 1993)

Galveston's attitudes toward race were at times unique in the region. The strict segregationalist attitudes prevalent in many parts of the U.S. were not always as stark in Galveston's society as in some other parts of Texas. One of the most striking examples of this was the gradual establishment of biracial labor unions of waterfront workers beginning in the 19th century, although eventually this alliance fell victim to segregationist influence. Racist ideology was always an ever-present factor in the city, however, as evinced by the name of the group which ran the Mardi Gras, the Kotton Karnival Kids (KKK, the same initials as the Ku Klux Klan).
Arts

The city had numerous venues for the arts, including the State Theater (today the Grand Opera House), which featured vaudeville acts in addition to motion pictures. Less formally, entertainment could be found at the Balinese Room, Hollywood Dinner Club, and other clubs featuring musical performances by major entertainers. Additionally for many years the city held free concerts on the beach by major orchestras and other performers. The entertainment venues regularly attracted some of the biggest names in the entertainment business, including Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Guy Lombardo, Jack Benny, Gene Autry, Phil Silvers, Jane Russell, George Burns, Duke Ellington, and Bob Hope.

Miss USA

Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA. The pageant is broadcast on NBC and (starting 2013) on Xbox Live.
The current Miss USA is Olivia Culpo from Rhode Island who won the title on June 3, 2012.


History

The Miss USA pageant was conceived in 1950 when Yolande Betbeze, winner of the rival Miss America pageant, refused to pose for publicity pictures while wearing a swimsuit. Pageant sponsor Catalina decided to pull their sponsorship off the pageant, and create their own competition. Other owners have included a subsidiary of Gulf+Western Industries, ITT Corporation, and billionaire Donald Trump, the current owner who bought the pageant in 1996.

The first Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants were held concurrently in Long Beach, California in 1952; the first Miss USA winner was Miss New York USA Jackie Loughery. There were thirty delegates in the first year of competition, and many states did not compete every year during the first two decades of the pageant's history. From the 1970s, each state and the District of Columbia have sent a delegate each year. Alaska first competed in 1959 and Hawaii in 1960. Both had competed at Miss Universe until this time.

The pageant aired on CBS from 1963 until 2002, and for many years was known for having a CBS game show host as pageant host. John Charles Daly hosted the show from 1963–1966, Bob Barker from 1967 until 1987 (at which point he quit in a dispute over fur coats), Alan Thicke in 1988, Dick Clark from 1989–1993, and Bob Goen from 1994–1996. The show's highest ratings were in the early 1980s, when it regularly topped the Neilsen ratings. Viewership dropped sharply from the 1990s to the 2000s, from an estimated viewership of 20 million to an average of 7 million from 2000–2001. In 2002, owner Donald Trump brokered a new deal with NBC, giving them half-ownership of the Miss USA, Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA and moving them to NBC on an initial five year contract. The pageants were first shown on NBC in 2003.

Historically, the winner of the Miss USA title represented the U.S. in its sister pageant Miss Universe. Since its inception, seven Miss USA titleholders have gone on to win Miss Universe. In the mid-1960s, the organization established a rule that when a Miss USA wins the Miss Universe title, the first runner-up assumes the Miss USA title for the remainder of the year. This occurred in 1980, 1995 and 1997. In 1967, the first runner-up declined the title and the crown went to the second runner-up Cheryl Patton. The only instance where a first runner-up assumed the title of Miss USA prior to this period was in 1957 when Mary Leona Gage resigned when it was discovered she was married.
Competition

The modern pageant consists of a preliminary competition held a week before the pageant when all contestants are judged in swimsuit, gown and interview. From this, semifinalists are chosen, and they are announced during the live broadcast of the final competition. These semifinalists then compete in swimsuit and evening gown, and the finalists are chosen. This is when the interview competition is held. The runners-up and winner are announced at the end of the telecast. Since 1997, the judges for the finals have been different from those who judged the Preliminary competition.

From 1975–2000, all delegates who made the initial cut competed in an interview competition in some format, often involving all semi-finalists. As of 2001, this interview portion was taken away, leaving only the final question for the top five delegates to answer.

From 1979–2002, the average scores of each delegate were shown on the television broadcast and thus the semi-finalists could be ranked. This was changed in 2003 to a "circle" system where judges choose a certain number of delegates to "circle", and those with the most "circles" made the cut. This was the same system that was used prior to the computer scoring system implemented in 1979. In 2007, this system came back and contestants' composite scores are shown live.
State competitions

Every year, each state holds a preliminary competition to choose their delegate for the Miss USA pageant. In some states (such as Texas and Florida), local pageants are also held to determine delegates for the state competition. The state winners hold the title "Miss State USA" for the year of their reign.

The most successful state is Texas, which has had the most semi-finalists and winners, including five consecutive Miss USA titleholders during the 1980s. Other successful states include California, New York, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia. The least successful states are Delaware, the only state that has never placed; Montana, which has not placed since the 1950s; South Dakota, which has only placed twice (the last time in 1974), and Wyoming, which gained only its second placement in 2010. The only state which has produced more than one Miss Universe is South Carolina.

The Miss Universe Organization licenses out the state pageants to pageant directors, who in some cases are responsible for more than one state. The most well established directorial groups are RPM Productions, created in 1980 (Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina), and Vanbros, created in the early 1990s (Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma). Future Productions direct the most states, six, across the Midwest and Rockies.
Winners

The first Asian American woman to win Miss USA was Macel Wilson in 1962; the first Hispanic was Laura Martinez-Herring in 1985; the first African-American, Carole Gist in 1990; and the first Miss USA of Middle-Eastern descent was Rima Fakih in 2010.

Brandi Sherwood is the only woman to have held both the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA titles. She was Miss Idaho Teen USA, Miss Teen USA 1989, Miss Idaho USA 1997, first runner-up at Miss USA 1997 and in May 1997 assumed the Miss USA title after Brook Lee won the Miss Universe pageant. Nine other Miss USA titleholders have also previously competed at Miss Teen USA. These include:

    Shanna Moakler (1995), (Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 1992), Ali Landry (1996), (Miss Louisiana Teen USA 1990), Kimberly Pressler (1999) (Miss New York Teen USA 1994), Lynnette Cole (2000) (Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1995), Susie Castillo (2003) (Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 1998), Chelsea Cooley (2005) (Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2000), Tara Conner (2006) (Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2002), Rachel Smith (2007) (Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2002) and Alyssa Campanella (2011) (Miss New Jersey Teen USA 2007).

Five Miss USA titleholders have also competed at Miss America. These included: (Miriam Stevenson, Carlene King Johnson and Carol Morris) (1954–1956), Mai Shanley (1984) and Shandi Finnessey (2004). Shandi Finnessey, Miss USA 2004 and Miss Missouri 2002 won a preliminary evening gown award at Miss America 2003. Also, Miriam Stevenson placed in the top 10 at Miss America 1954 as Miss South Carolina 1953.

Many Miss USA winners have gone to pursue careers in the entertainment industry. Those who have been successful in the industry include Summer Bartholomew, Deborah Shelton, Laura Martinez-Herring, Shanna Moakler, Ali Landry, Kenya Moore, Brandi Sherwood, Susie Castillo and Shandi Finnesse

Awards

The awards most frequently presented at Miss USA are Miss Congeniality and Miss Photogenic.

The Miss Congeniality Award is chosen by the delegates, and recognizes those who are the friendliest and make the pageant experience the most enjoyable. In 1952 to 1964 when the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants were concurrent events, the Miss Congeniality Award could be won by a contestant competing either for Miss USA or Miss Universe. In fact, in 1960, there was a tie, with the award going to Miss Burma Myint Myint May and Miss Louisiana USA Rebecca Fletcher. Vermont has won five Miss Amity awards, two more than any other state.

The Miss Photogenic prize was first awarded in 1965 and was chosen by journalists until 1996 when it was chosen by an internet vote for the first time. There has been only one tie in this award's history: in 1980 when it was shared between Jineane Ford of Arizona and Elizabeth Kim Thomas of Ohio. The state that has won the most Photogenic awards is Virginia.

Other awards that have been presented include Best State Costume (1962–1993), Style (1995–2001) and Most Beautiful Eyes (1993). In 1998, a special Distinguished Achievement award was given to Halle Berry.[18] Berry was Miss Ohio USA 1986 and placed 1st runner-up to Christy Fichtner of Texas. She later went on to become an acclaimed actress and Oscar winner.
Locations

In the first eight years of competition (1952–1959) the Miss USA pageant was held in Long Beach, California. The competition moved to Miami Beach, Florida in 1960 and stayed there until 1971. In 1972 the pageant was held in Puerto Rico, the only time the pageant has been held outside the continental United States. That pageant was rocked by an explosion at the host hotel.

From 1972 onwards the pageant has been held in various locations, generally being held in each location for two to three years.

As of 2010 the pageant has been held in the following states:

    Alabama (Mobile 1989), California, (Long Beach 1952–1959, Los Angeles 2004, 2007), Florida (Miami Beach 1960–1971,1997 Lakeland 1984–1985, Miami 1986), Indiana (Gary 2001–2002), Kansas (Wichita 1990–1993), Louisiana (Shreveport 1997–1998), Maryland (Baltimore 2005–2006), Missouri (Branson 1999–2000), Mississippi (Biloxi 1979–1982), Nevada (Las Vegas 2008-2011), New Mexico (Albuquerque 1987), New York (New York City 1973, Niagara Falls 1974–1976), South Carolina (Charleston 1977–1978), Tennessee (Knoxville 1983), Texas (El Paso 1988, South Padre Island 1994–1996, San Antonio 2003).

Special Feature Episodes

Since 2003, a number of delegates have been involved in special episodes of regular programs broadcast by NBC. From 2003–2005, six delegates each year were chosen to participate in a special Miss USA edition of Fear Factor, with the victorious contestant taking the title 'Miss Fear Factor USA' and a prize of $50,000 ($25,000 of which was to be donated to a charity of the winners choice). These were broadcast immediately prior to the live pageant broadcast.

In 2006, Chelsea Cooley and twenty-six delegates participated as briefcase models in a Miss USA special of Deal or No Deal.

In 2010, 10 Miss USA and Miss Universe winners will compete for charity on a special "Last Beauty Standing" edition of Minute to Win It.
Reality television

Many Miss USA and Miss Teen USA delegates have participated in reality television shows and other television game shows. Well known delegates who later competed in reality shows are Danni Boatwright, winner of Survivor: Guatemala, Nicole O'Brian and Christie Lee Woods of The Amazing Race 5, Jennifer Murphy of The Apprentice 4 and Tori Fiorenza of The Challenge: Cutthroat.

In 2007 Pageant Place, a reality television show featuring Rachel Smith, Riyo Mori, Hilary Cruz, Katie Blair and Tara Conner aired on MTV.

On June 19th, 2011, Bravo Television's Andy Cohen co-hosted the event's 60th anniversary live in Las Vegas with E! News and Fashion Police's Giuliana Rancic. They will also host the 2012 pageant.


International Pageant of Pulchritude

 International Pageant of Pulchritude, also known as the "International Beauty Contest" or the "Miss Universe Contest," was a beauty contest that began in 1926 featuring contestants from multiple nations. The last pageant event in the U.S. was held in 1931 although additional "Miss Universe" events were held until 1935. The pageant was the first international contest and served as a model for modern contests.

The contest originated in Galveston, Texas, United States. The last "Miss Universe" event of this pre-World War II era was held in Brussels, Belgium.

History


During the early 20th century, the island city of Galveston, still recovering from the devastating Hurricane of 1900, launched efforts to strengthen its tourism industry building new venues such as the famed Hotel Galvez and organizing regular waterfront events.

Beauty contests had existed around the U.S. since the 19th century as a means to build tourism for local communities. These events were generally local affairs featuring women from the communities themselves. In 1920 promoter C.E. Barfield organized a new event in Galveston known as "Splash Day." The event featured a "Bathing Girl Revue" competition as the centerpiece of its attractions. "Splash Day" was the kick-off of the summer tourist season in the city and was carried forward annually. At its height the event was one of the largest beauty contests and would literally triple the island's population during the weekend when it ran, attracting spectators from around the nation.

A trend toward national beauty contests developed in many nations such as Turkey, France, and Brazil, as well as the U.S. where both the Galveston event and the younger Miss America event in Atlantic City attracted contestants from around the nation. In 1926, taking advantage of this trend, the Galveston event became an international competition known as the "International Pageant of Pulchritude. The winner of the contest was awarded the title of "Miss Universe." In 1927 the contest became two separate events held over two days: one to award the title of "Miss United States" and one to award "Miss Universe." The "Miss United States" pageant drew contestants from as far away as New York and Utah. The "Miss Universe" pageant included contestants from a variety of countries including England, Russia, Turkey, Austria, and many others. Prizes were given to the top competitors. In 1929, for example, "Miss Universe" was given US$2000 in gold (US$27,000 in today's terms) and a silver plaque.

The event became an international sensation although, ironically, the national media in the U.S. gave the event far less attention than the press in some other countries. The media in Brazil was particularly enamored with the 1929 contest. Huge crowds were reported near the offices of Brazil's major newspapers awaiting word of the fate of Miss Brazil. She did not, however, even place in the contest. Angered, Brazil hosted its own "Miss Universe" contest in 1930 leading to two separate titleholders in that year. In the Brazilian event, "Miss United States" was unable to place in the competition.

The event in Galveston was discontinued in 1932 because of the Great Depression. "Miss Universe" events were instead held in Belgium in 1932 and 1935. After 1935 international competitions were discontinued until the modern Miss Universe contest was created in 1952 in California.

Legacy

The Pageant of Pulchritude served as a model for modern pageants.Though beauty contests were common even in the 19th century, the Galveston event was the first international contest. It was also one of the first national contests in the United States.

A 2006 documentary entitled "Miss Universe 1929 - Lisl Goldarbeiter. A Queen in Wien" was released in Hungary detailing the life of the 1929 "Miss Universe. That year is regarded by some as the first truly international event as it became the first year to garner substantial worldwide media attention and was the first year a non-American won the title. Additionally, Goldarbeiter's win is historically notable because she was a Jew in an era when antisemitism was popular in the U.S. and Europe.

In 2009 a local Galveston organization known as "Islander By Choice" resurrected the pageant on a much smaller scale. The new contest, known as the Galveston Island Beach Revue, featured local contestants in 1920s-era swimwear as well as contemporary swimwear. The 2012 edition of the Galveston Island Beach Revue eliminated the contemporary swimwear category - Islander By Choice LLC has also prohibited talent scouts from the beach revue contestants; one of the model recruiters lamented on a Facebook post that IBC is a microcosm of Stalinism where non-Galveston Island residents are treated unfairly. Plans for the 2013 season will include the hiring of off-duty Galveston Police officers as armed escorts.

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest

Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The contest was founded in 1952 by California clothing company Pacific Mills. The pageant became part of Kayser-Roth and then Gulf and Western Industries, before being acquired by Donald Trump in 1996.

In 1998, Miss Universe changed its name from Miss Universe, Inc. to Miss Universe Organization and the headquarters moved from Los Angeles, California, to New York City that year. Donald Trump brought in a new team of professionals to the contest headed by its new CEO, Molly Miles, and president Maureen Reidy. The contest would use the slogan "Redefined for Today" for promotion of the pageants.

The current Miss Universe is Leila Lopes, from Angola. She won the title on September 12, 2011.


History

The first use of the title "Miss Universe" was as part of International Pageant of Pulchritude which began in 1926. These events, the first international contests, lasted until 1935 when the Great Depression and other events preceding World War II led to their demise. This pageant had no direct relationship with the modern event.

The winner of the later "Miss America 1951" pageant, Yolande Betbeze, refused to pose in a swimsuit from its major sponsor, Catalina swimwear. As a result, the brand's manufacturer Pacific Mills withdrew from Miss America and set up the Miss USA and Miss Universe contests. The first Miss Universe Pageant was held in Long Beach, California in 1952. It was won by Armi Kuusela from Finland, who gave up her title though not officially to get married, shortly before her year was complete. Until 1958 the Miss Universe title (like Miss America) was post-dated, so at the time Ms. Kuusela's title was Miss Universe 1953.

The pageant was first televised in 1955. CBS began nationally broadcasting the combined Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1960 and, separately, from 1965. In 2003 NBC took over the television rights. Xbox Live will be streaming the pageants online internationally starting in 2012.
Competition formats

In the early years of the pageant the delegates who made the cut were announced after the preliminary competition. From 1965 to the present day the semi-finalists were not announced until the night of the main event. The semi-finalists once again competed in evening gown and swimsuit and a top 5 were announced. An interview portion was introduced in 1960 to decide the runners-up and winner.

From 1959 to 1964 there were slight format changes. From 1959 through 1963 there was no cut to reach the five finalists. The runners-up and winner were called from the assembled 15 semi-finalists.

In 1965 the pageant returned to the original format of a cut to five finalists, and remained so until 1989.

In 1969 a final question was posed to the last five contestants. The final question was an on-and-off feature of the pageant.

In 1990 it had taken root, and with every pageant since the final contestants have had to answer a final question.

In 1990 the pageant implemented major format changes in the competition itself. Instead of five finalists, the field was reduced from 10 semi-finalists to 6. Each contestant then randomly selected a judge and answered the question posed by the judge. After that, the field was narrowed down further to a final 3. In 1998, the number of finalists was reduced to 5, although there still was a cut to a final 3. This continued to 2001, where the final 5 format was re-instated.

In 2000 the interview portion of the semi-finals was quietly dropped and the contestants once again, as in the early days of the pageant, competed only in swimsuit and gowns.

In 2003 the Top 15 was again selected instead of the Top 10. Cuts were made to make the Top 10, and eventually the Top 5. The final question varied, each coming from the final delegates themselves and the current Miss Universe.

In 2006 twenty semi-finalists were announced, with these delegates competing in the swimsuit competition. The number of competing delegates was then cut to ten, with those delegates competing in the evening gown competition. After that round of competition, the final five were announced, with the finalists competing in the "final question" or interview round. At the end of competition the runners-up were announced and the winner crowned by the outgoing queen.

In 2007 the format changed slightly with the top 15 moving to the swimsuit competition; from there, 10 selected contestants moved on to the evening gown competition where half were eliminated. The final five were competing in the "final question". At the end of competition the runners-up were announced and the winner crowned by the outgoing queen.

In 2011, for the first time ever, one of the sixteen semifinalists was selected exclusively by fans via online voting.
Presidents of the Miss Universe Organization

The following is a list of presidents of Miss Universe Organization.
Presidency     Name     Took office     Left office     Nationality
1         1952     1959      USA
2     Harold Glasser     1959     1986      USA
3     George Honchar     1986     1998      USA
4     Molly Mills     1998     1999      USA
5     Maureen Reidy     1999     2002      USA
6     Paula Shugart     2002     -      USA
The contest today

The Miss Universe Organization, a New York–based partnership between NBC and Donald Trump, has run the contest since June 20, 2002. The current president is Paula Shugart. The Organization sells television rights to the pageant in other countries, and also produces the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA contests with the winner of Miss USA representing the USA in Miss Universe.
Contestant selection

Each year, Miss Universe organizers receive bids from organizations who wish to select the Miss Universe contestant for a country. This allows competition between different pageants to hold a country's license, as happened for Miss Italy and Miss France for example, when the licenses for their respective traditional organizations were revoked (the usual Miss France competition returned in 2004).

Usually a country's candidate selection involves pageants in major cities, with the winners competing in a national pageant, but this does not always occur. For example, in 2000 Australia's national pageant was abolished as a relic of a bygone era, with Australian delegates instead chosen by a modeling agency. Such "castings" are generally discouraged by the Miss Universe Organization, which prefers national pageants that preserve an aura of respectability and competition. Despite being "cast", Miss Australia, Jennifer Hawkins, was chosen as Miss Universe 2004. Later that year, Australia resumed its national pageant and chose Michelle Guy as Miss Universe Australia 2005.

Some of the most successful national pageants in the last decade have been Venezuela, USA, Puerto Rico, etc. which command consistently high interest and television ratings in their respective countries. Recent arrivals in the pageant include China (2002), Albania (2002), Vietnam (2004), Georgia (2004), Ethiopia (2004), Latvia (2005), Kazakhstan (2006), Tanzania (2007), and Kosovo (2008); there have also been efforts to revive strong national pageants in South Africa, Canada, Spain, Japan, Philippines; Latin America (especially Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil) among other regions. Prior powerhouses are Finland, Germany and Sweden. England is the most successful non-winning country with nine Top five positions.

The organization makes continual efforts to expand the pageant, but the participation of some countries such as Algeria has proven difficult due to cultural barriers to the swimsuit competition, while others such as Azerbaijan, Mozambique, Armenia and Nepal have balked at sending representatives due to the cost (in fact, of all the major international pageants, the franchise fee for Miss Universe is the most expensive). As of 2010, only four countries have been present at every Miss Universe since its inception in 1952: Canada, France, Germany, and the United States. Many European countries allow 17-year-old contestants to compete in their pageants, while Miss Universe's minimum age is 18, so national titleholders often have to be replaced by their runners-up. Miss Universe also prohibits transsexual applicants and age fabrication, but beginning in 2012, transgendered women will be allowed to compete.
Main pageant

The main Miss Universe Pageant, as of this writing, is held over a two week period in May and July. In the 1970s through the 1990s, the pageant was a month long. This allowed time for rehearsals, appearances, and the preliminary competition, with the winner being crowned by the previous year's titleholder during the final competition.

According to the organizers, the Miss Universe contest is more than a beauty pageant: women aspiring to become Miss Universe must be intelligent, well-mannered, and cultured. Often a candidate has lost because she did not have a good answer during the question responses rounds; although this section of competition has held less importance during recent pageants than it did in the twentieth century. Delegates also participate in swimsuit and evening gown competitions.

Currently, the final placement of the finalists is determined by a ranked vote, where each judge ranks each of the final three/five candidates, with the contestant posting the lowest cumulative score (thus often, but not necessarily always, the contestant with the most number one votes) becoming the winner. If there is a tie, the higher semifinal scores become decisive.

The winner is assigned a one-year contract with the Miss Universe Organization, going overseas to spread messages about the control of diseases, peace, and public awareness of AIDS. Since Donald Trump took over the pageant, the winner has been given the use of a Trump Tower apartment in New York City for use during her reign. If the winner, for any reason, cannot fulfill her duties as Miss Universe, the 1st runner-up takes over.

Aside from the main winner and her runners-up, special awards are also given to the winners of the best National Costume, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Congeniality. The Miss Congeniality award is chosen by the delegates themselves. In recent years, Miss Photogenic has been chosen by popular internet vote (the winner used to be chosen by media personnel covering the event).
Final judgment

The competition for the Miss Universe title has seen many changes, although there have been several constants throughout its history. All the contestants compete in a preliminary round of judging (nowadays called the "Presentation Show") where the field is narrowed to a select number of semi-finalists. This number has fluctuated over the years. The very first Miss Universe pageant had ten semi-finalists. The next two years, the number of semi-finalists grew to 16. In 1955, the number dropped to a stable 15, which remained through 1970. In 1971, the number was reduced to 12. That number was further reduced to a mere 10 in 1984. This lasted until 2003, when the number of 15 was re-instated. In 2006, there were 20 semi-finalists, the highest number ever. In 2007, the Organization announced the Top 15 system would be back, which was also used in 2008.

In the early years, the contestants were judged in swimsuit and evening gown only. In later years, the contestants also competed in a preliminary interview round in a one-on-one meeting with each individual judge.

In 2007, 77 contestants started the competition; the top 15 moving to the swimsuit competition. From there, 10 were selected for the evening gown competition which halved the contenders to 5. These final five then answered a final question to decide the winner.
Crown

The Miss Universe crown used from 2002–2007 was designed by Mikimoto, the official jewellery sponsor of the Miss Universe Organization, and depicted the phoenix rising, signifying status, power and beauty. The crown has 500 diamonds of almost 30 carats (6.0 g), 120 South Sea and Akoya pearls, ranging in size from 3 to 18 mm diameter and is valued at $250,000. The Crown was designed specifically for the pageant on Mikimoto Pearl Island in Japan with the Mikimoto crown and tiara being first used for Miss Universe 2002.

Since 2009, Diamond Nexus Labs has made the Miss Universe crown. The crown is set with 1,371 gemstones, weighing a total of 416.09 carats (83.22 g). It contains 544.31 grams of 14k and 18k white gold as well as platinum. The crown features synthetic rubies to represent Miss Universe's HIV/AIDS education and awareness platform. Diamond Nexus Labs is the first ever eco-friendly Official Jeweler of Miss Universe and was selected as part of NBC Universal's "Green is Universal" initiative.
Musical score

2004 marked the first year for the Miss Universe pageant to use the Orenté musical score, the official Miss Universe soundtrack. The Orenté musical score is divided into eight sequences: the Orenté Introduction — the musical score played during the live telecast as the voice over begins the Miss Universe pageant, the Orenté Major — used for the cue after commercial and during the announcement of the newly crowned Miss Universe, the Orenté Elimination — used for the announcement of semi-finalists, the Orenté Fashion Presentation, the Orenté Interlude — used while showing the ten finalists, the Orenté Pregunta Final — used while the final five finalists answer the final question the Orenté Final Look — used for the final look of the five finalists, and the Orenté Announcement — used while announcing the positions of the final five delegates. In 2008, a new Orenté Fashion Presentation was played during the Fadil Berisha swimsuit photoshoot, the 2008 version was now the called the Orenté Curtain Call, which was used as Melanie B and Jerry Springer called out the delegates just before they made the first cut, making the Orenté musical score divided into nine sequences.


WA beauty wins Miss Universe Australia

Thirty-three finalists will battle it out for the title at the Sofitel's Grand Ballroom, with the winner to go on to compete in the international Miss Universe pagaent in December.

The eight Victorians in the national finals include and Leah Johnsen.

She beat 32 other Australian finalists and will now go on to compete in the international Miss Universe pageant.

It is the second year in a row a West Australian has claimed the national title.

Model Scherri-Lee Biggs claimed the national crown last year and made it to the top 10 in the international final in Brazil.

There have been two Miss Universe title holders from Australia: Kerry-Ann Wells in 1972 and Jennifer Hawkins in 2004.

The international pageant is owned by Donald Trump and NBC.


Miley Cyrus joins long list of young Hollywood brides

On Thursday the patron saint for plastic surgery, wife of rocker Ozzie Osbourne and mother to reformed Hollywood brats Kelly and Jack, declared that she was in favour of Miley Cyrus's union to our very own Liam Hemsworth, 22.

The America's Got Talent judge said in support of the future bride: "I think that she is 19, but in her head she is an old soul. She has lived 19 lives in 19 years ... She is an accomplished young woman, who knows what she wants at this time in her life."

And maybe that is true, but if 50 really is the new 40 and 40 is the new 30 ... doesn't that make 19 the new nine?

Surely if you were the parents of either singer Cyrus or The Hunger Games star Hemsworth, you'd be saying no, no, no, no, no. Give it five years. Give it 10!

While some people marry their soulmates and some meet their perfect matches at age 19, it would be ludicrous to imagine one can actually recognise a soulmate or a perfect match at an age when most kids are slugging through their first year out of high school and working out whether they can get arrested for stage-diving at Big Day Out. (Answer: Not unless you assault someone as you do it.)

Surely when your calling card only has three names on it and one of them belongs to Nick Jonas (who had a matching purity ring), you aren't in a position to judge anything except maybe a good flannelette shirt from a bad one, and maybe not even then.

More often than not teens who marry are struggling to stay together two decades on when they discover that kids, debt, careers and life have conspired against their teenage ideals.

Status: This wasn't Spears' first go at marriage. Six months prior, she married childhood friend Jason Alexander in Las Vegas and 55 hours later had it annulled. Spears and Federline had two boys, Sean Preston and Jayden, before filing for divorce in 2006. Spears boasts a happy update — in December she became engaged to longtime boyfriend Jason Trawick.

LeAnn Rimes

Married young: Rimes wed dancer Dean Sheremet at 19. He was 21.

Status: The two were married for eight years until Rimes began stepping out with actor Eddie Cibrian. She and Sheremet divorced in 2009, and Rimes married Cibrian in 2011.

Taylor Hanson

Married young: The MMMBop singer said "I do" to girlfriend Natalie Bryant at age 19.

Status: The two teens wed while Bryant was four months pregnant in 2010, and 10 years later, they're still going strong. The couple now have four children, and are expecting Baby No. 5 this year.

Olivia Wilde

Married young: The People Like Us star married Tao Ruspoli, the son of an Italian prince, on a bus when she was 19.

Status: After eight years of marriage, Wilde filed for divorce in 2011. These days, she is quietly dating SNL's Jason Sudeikis.

Hilary Duff

Married young: The former teen queen married ice hockey player Mike Comrie in 2010 when she was 22. He was 29.

Status: The happy couple are together and recently welcomed a baby boy, Luca.

Drew Barrymore

Married young: Barrymore married Welsh bar owner Jeremy Thomas when she was 19. He was 32.

Status: They two married abruptly in a Los Angeles bar and the union lasted one month. But there's a happy update for the Big Miracle star — pregnant and beaming, she married art dealer Will Kopelman just days ago in an intimate wedding at her home in Montecito, Calif.

Avril Lavigne

Married young: It was a punk wedding for Lavigne, who wed Sum 41 singer Deryck Whibley in 2006 at age 21.

Status: Lavigne filed for divorce in late 2009.

Kate Hudson

Married young: Hudson married Chris Robinson in 2000 at 21. He was 35.

Status: The couple was married for almost six years and had a son, Ryder, before splitting in 2006. Hudson is currently engaged to Muse rocker Matthew Bellamy and they had a baby boy, Bingham, together in July of 2011.


Liam Hemsworth

Liam Hemsworth, born 13 January 1990 is an Australian actor. He took the role of Josh Taylor in the soap opera Neighbours and as "Marcus" on the children's television series The Elephant Princess and starred in the American film The Last Song, released on March 31, 2010. Hemsworth's elder brothers, Luke and Chris, are also actors and provided a path for Hemsworth to emulate.
Contents
Early life

Hemsworth was born in Melbourne, Australia. He is the son of Leonie, an English teacher, and Craig Hemsworth, a social-services counselor. He has two older brothers, Chris and Luke Hemsworth, who also work as actors. Hemsworth has said that though there is competition for jobs among them, it is friendly: "We are brothers and we are always competitive, but it is a good thing, it pushes us and we are always happy whenever someone books something.

When Hemsworth was in year 8, he and his family relocated to Phillip Island, a small island. Hemsworth says he spent much of his time there surfing with his brothers. In March 2009, Hemsworth moved to the United States to pursue his career there. He and his brother Chris first stayed in the guest house of Chris's agent William Ward before renting their own Los Angeles apartment in which they currently reside.
Career

Prior to becoming an actor, Hemsworth laid floors for six months. He began to seriously consider following his elder brothers' footsteps and become an actor in high school, when he took on an agent. He attended his first audition at the age of sixteen and began his career in 2007 with guest spots on the shows Home and Away and McLeod's Daughters. The week of 8 July 2007, Hemsworth began filming episodes for Neighbours, an Australian soap opera his brother Luke had previously starred in. Hemsworth's character, Josh Taylor, was a recurring character from 2007 to 2008. In the show, Josh was an athletic parapalegic who supported and began a relationship with character Bridget Parker after she was paralyzed down one side of her body in a car crash. In 2008, Hemsworth began acting on the children's television show The Elephant Princess, playing "Marcus", the attractive lead guitarist of the protagonist's band. Hemsworth later had roles in the television series Satisfaction and starred in the British film Triangle. He also made a brief appearance as an MIT student in the film Knowing.

In 2009, Hemsworth was selected to act opposite Sylvester Stallone in Stallone's 2010 film, The Expendables, but his character was written out of the script.Hemsworth's brother, Chris, told Movieline that just a few hours after Hemsworth learned he would not appear in The Expendables, director Kenneth Branagh called to ask him to test for the lead role in the 2011 film Thor. Hemsworth moved to the States in March 2009 for screen tests. Though he eventually lost the part to Chris in May, Disney announced later the same week that Hemsworth had landed the part of Will Blakelee in the 2010 drama The Last Song, based on the Nicholas Sparks novel by the same name. Hemsworth plays the love interest of Miley Cyrus's character in the film. Nikki Finke reported that Hemsworth had been in Los Angeles for just three weeks and had not yet found an agent when he was cast. Hemsworth next appeared in the music video for Cyrus' "When I Look at You" which was recorded on 16 August 2009.

In September 2009, Hemsworth appeared at a dinner event to promote Foxtel, an Australian pay television company. In March 2010, Details magazine selected Hemsworth as one of their predictions for "The Next Generation of Hollywood's Leading Men". Later that month, it was announced that Hemsworth was in negotiations to star in Arabian Nights, a 3D action film that will be directed by Chuck Russell for Inferno Entertainment. It was later confirmed that he will be starring in the movie. He has also reportedly been offered the lead role in "Northern Lights" after "Twilight" star Taylor Lautner withdrew from the David Ellison-financed project.

It was announced in August 2010, that Hemsworth had been offered the role as Isaac Gildea in the movie "The Throwback" a sports drama with Dennis Quaid.

Hemsworth was the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards 2010 host. He and Miley Cyrus won the "Fave Kiss" category.

Hemsworth stars in the music video Colder Weather for the Zac Brown Band. The music video premiered on 14 February 2011.

On 4 April 2011, Lionsgate announced Hemsworth to be one of the leads, Gale Hawthorne, in The Hunger Games film adaptation, which was released in 2012. In June 2011, he became attached to war drama Love and Honor which also stars Aimee Teegarden and Teresa Palmer.


Personal life

While filming The Last Song in June 2009, Hemsworth began dating his co-star Miley Cyrus. In August 2010, it was confirmed that his relationship with Cyrus had ended. Cyrus and Hemsworth were seen together a month later, and had reportedly reconciled. It was announced in early November that the couple had split again, but reconciled their relationship a second time. In June 2012, the couple announced their engagement.
Philanthropy

Hemsworth is the ambassador of the Australian Childhood Foundation. Hemsworth talked about his association with the foundation, "I have the best parents you can have. They have worked in child protection for twenty years and have only ever given me encouragement and support. The world is a scary enough place as it is for children. It is important that home should always be a safe place for them." When asked if he believed he was a hero to children, Liam modestly responded, "I don't know if I'm a hero to children, but I'd like to be. I'd like to be a good role model.