25 Beauty Queens Turned Authors

This piece should have come out last week on The STAR’s 25th anniversary (July 28). Better late than never. Prepared by Funfare’s “other beauty expert” Celso de Guzman Caparas, list of 25 beauty queens turned authors was shortlisted from an original list of 36 that included beauty queens who have become journalists, one of them Miss Philippines-Universe Venus Raj who writes the Sunday column Major, Major for The STAR’s Entertainment Section.

• 1908 Carnival Queen Pura Villanueva (1885-1954): The Filipino Woman in the Past and in the Present (1917), The Boyhood of Rizal (1918), Condimentos Indigenas (1918), Mga Paglulutong Filipino at Pagcoconserva (1934), Consumers’ Cooperatives in the Philippines (1939), The Coconut Cookbook (1941), The Filipino Women in Politics (1942), Osmeña, From Newspaperman to President (1946), A Brief History of the Filipino Flag (1947), Code of Ethics: Submitted to the President of the Philippines (1950), Filipino Women: The Challenge They Meet (1951), How the Filipino Got the Vote (1952) and Outstanding Filipino Women, Anthology of Filipino Women Writers.

• 1912 Carnival Queen Paz Marquez: Dead Stars (1925, the first Philippine modern short story) and A Night in the Hills (1931).

• 1931 Carnival Queen Maria Kalaw (1912-1992): Few There Were (Like My Father), 1974 and Legacy: Pura Villanueva Kalaw: Her Times, Life and Works 1886-1954 (1983).

• 1934 (first) Miss Intercollegiate of the Philippines Daisy Hontiveros: The Drama of It: A Life of Film and Theater (2009), the life and times of Daisy and husband, director Lamberto Avellana (both declared National Artists).

• 1964 Miss International Gemma Cruz: Makisig, The Little Hero of Mactan (1964); Hanoi Diary (1968); Sentimiento: Fiction and Nostalgia- Katha at Salamisim, (1995); and Stones of Faith (1998); co-authored The Gemma Book: Beauty and Fashion for the Filipina and El Galeon de Manila: Un Mar de Historias (1996).

• 1967 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe Pilar Pilapil: The Woman without a Face, The Life Story of Pilar Pilapil (2006).

• 1970 Miss World Jennifer Hosten of Grenada: Beyond Miss World (2008), co-authored by Shaun Sarsfield.

• 1971 Miss America Phyllis George: I Love America Diet (1982); Never Say Never (2002), Kentucky Crafts: Handmade and Heartfelt (1988), Craft in America: Celebrating the Creative Work of the Hand (1993) and Living with Quilts (1998).  

• 1973 Miss Universe Margie Moran: Mindanao: A Portrait (1999) and Mindanao on the Mend (2003).

• 1974 Miss Universe Amparo Muñoz of Spain: La Vida es el Precio: Memorias (2005), (The Life is the Price: Memories), co-authored by Miguel Angel Fernandez Sanchez.

• 1976 Miss Universe Rina Messinger of Israel authored a book in 1981 where she discussed her anecdotes as a Miss Universe titlist, its glamorous and not-so glamorous aspects.

•1979 Miss International Melanie Marquez: Reborn: the New Placenta No-nonsense Beauty Guide (2006), co-authored by Dr. Dietman Rummel and Jim Acosta.

• 1984 Miss Wasilla Sarah Louise Heath (Sarah Palin): Going Rouge: An American Life (2009), her memoirs including her resignation as Governor of Alaska, and America by Heart: Reflections Family, Faith and Flag (2010). Palin was first runner-up and Miss Congeniality in 1984 Miss Alaska pageant.

• 1987 Miss World and Queen of Europe Ulla Weigerstorfer of Austria: Im Reich Der Dufte: atherische Ole Und Ihre Wirkung (In the Realm of Scents: Essential Oils and Their Effects) and co-authored by Wolfang Stix.

• 1991 Miss Universe Lupita Jones of Mexico: Bella y forma: 15 años después (Beauty and Form: 15 Years Later, 2006).

• 1992 Miss USA Shannon Marketic: Queen For A Year, Raising Parents, and Real Beauty, Real Women. She was 1992 Miss California 1992 and one of the Top 10 semi-finalists in 1992 Miss Universe pageant.

• 1993 Miss USA Kenya Summer Moore: Game, Get Some! (2007). She was 1993 Miss Michigan and one of the Top 6 finalists in the 1993 Miss Universe pageant. 

• 1994 Miss USA Frances Louise “Lu” Parker: Catching the Crown: The Source for Pageant Competition (2000). She was 1994 Miss South Carolina and one of the Top 6 finalists in the 1994 Miss Universe pageant held in Manila.

• 1994 Miss Australia Michelle van Eimeren: Butterfly (2002), a children’s book. The ex-wife of Ogie Alcasid, she was a delegate in the 1994 Miss Universe pageant held in Manila.

• 1995 Miss America Heather Whitestone: Listening with My Heart (1997), Believing the Promise (1999), Let God Surprise You (2003) and Heavenly Crowns (2004). She was the first deaf Miss America.

• 1998 Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad & Tobago: Letters to Ailan (2009). Ailan is Wendy’s son by David Panton who is divorced from 1993 Miss World Lisa Hanna.

• 2002 (dethroned) Miss Universe Oxana Fedorova of Russia: ??????? ????? (The Formula of Style, 2008).

• 2005 Miss Universe Natalie Glebova of Canada: Healthy, Happy, Beautiful (2007).

• 2006 Miss Philippines Earth Catherine Untalan: Bakawan (2009), a children’s book which she co-authored with 2006 Miss Philippines Eco-Tourism Reena Rae Sarmiento and Mae Astrid Tobias.

• 2007 Miss Earth Jessica Nicole Trisko of Canada has written and published journals on social science, humanities and international security which were used in various international conferences.

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