| The 2005 Miss USA Chelsea Cooley was born on October 30, 1983 in Mint Hill, North Carolina. She attended the Art Institute of Chicago and has a wide range of hobbies from snorkeling, to jet skiing, to shag dancing. She began her professional pageant career by winning the Miss North Carolina Teen USA pageant in 2000. She later represented North Carolina in the Miss Teen USA pageant but did not even place. In 2004 Cooley enter the Miss North Carolina USA pageant and placed 1st runner-up. She still won North Carolina's Miss Photogenic award that year. The following year, Cooley took another shot at competing in the Miss North Carolina USA pageant and won. Cooley won the Miss USA 2005 pageant live from Baltimore, Maryland. The following month she competed in the Miss Universe pageant and advanced to the top 10. Natalie Glebova of Canada was eventually crowned Miss Universe. During her reign as Miss USA, Cooley attended many charitable events and became a popular face and name across the globe. One of her greatest achievements was raising $22.8 million for breast and ovarian cancer research. She also participated in a USO tour of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Since Cooley passed down her crown, she expressed interest in becoming involved with the entertainment industry, following the footsteps of former Miss USA winners Susie Castillo and Shandi Finnessey. She also runs her own image consulting company called Stand Out Productions, Inc. and is currently writing a book titled "The Pageant Principle: An 8-Step Plan to Help You Face Any Challenge with Grace, Style and Confidence." |
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Miss USA: December 2007 Archives
| Former Miss USA 2004 and model Shandi Finnessey has swept the entertainment industry by storm, for a beauty queen. She was born on June 9, 1978 in Florissant, Missouri. In addition to winning beauty pageants, Finnessey has also written a children's book called The Furrtails. The book's aim is to help children appreciate their individuality and understand peers who have disabilities. She earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Lindenwood University in 1999. Finnessey's first pageant competition was in the Miss Missouri USA 2000 pageant. She finished first runner-up and competed the following year to win second runner-up. She also competed in the Miss Oktoberfest pageant and was again a runner-up. Then in 2002, she won the Miss St. Louis Metro local title in the Miss Missouri system and went on th win the Miss Missouri title. This allowed her to compete as Miss Missouri in the 2003 Miss America pageant, but she did not place. On her third attempt, Finnessey finally won the Miss Missouri USA pageant. She went on to become the first woman from Missouri to win the Miss USA title in 2004. She later placed as first runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant. During her reigns as Miss Missouri USA and Miss USA, Finnessey was involved in many charitable organizations such as the AIDS Foundation, Special Olympics in St. Louis Missouri and the Variety Club Telethon. She also continued to co-host many pageants such as the Miss USA 2005 and Miss Universe 2006 pageants. Since the end of her reign at Miss USA, Finnessey has appeared on several television shows as a co-host including GSN, NBC's reality show The Apprentice, CMT and Dancing with the Stars. |
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| Miss USA 2003 Susie Castillo was born Jan. 6, 1980 in Methuen, Massachusetts. Her modeling career began at the young age of 16 when she appeared in many teen magazines and TV commercials. She graduated from Endicott College in 2001 earning a bachelors degree in Interior Architecture and Design. Her beauty pageant career began in 1997 when she was crowned Miss Massachusetts Teen USA. She beat forty other contestants to win this title. Castillo represented Massachusetts in the Miss Teen USA pageant in 1998, but only placed 13th that year. Later in 2002, Castillo competed in the Miss Massachusetts USA pageant and won. She was her state's first Puerto Rican titleholder. Then in 2003, she competed in the Miss USA pageant in San Antonio, Texas and was crowned the first Dominican-Puerto Rican woman to win Miss USA. During her reign as Miss USA, Castillo traveled around the United States with the Miss Universe pageant, making appearances for charities throughout the country. Since Miss USA, Castillo has made herself a career in the entertainment industry. She has appeared on several television shows such as On-Air with Ryan Seacrest and My Wife and Kids. She also co-hosted the Miss Teen USA 2005 pageant with Passions actor Galen Gering. She regularly appears in MTV's Total Request Live and Video Jockey (VJ) with another beauty queen, Miss Teen USA 1988, Vanessa Minillo. Castillo is also an active volunteer for an organization called "Help for Abused Women and Children" and also a spokeswoman for Neutrogena. |
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