Before they Were Famous: Beauty Queens turned Actresses
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As stunning as ever, actress Debra Messing poses on the red carpet during Fleetwood Mac Reunites on May 22, 1997. Prior to award-clad success in Hollywood, Messing began to turn heads on the beauty circuit and has the sash to prove it having been crowned Rhode Island Junior Miss pageant in 1986.
Photo Credit: Jim Smeal, WireImage/Getty Images
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Before the record deals and T.V. shows, Demi Lovato was basking in the spotlight of a different variety. At the age of 8, Lovato won the crown in the 2000 Texas State Miniature Miss pageant. Shown here in 2001, Lovato poses with fellow pageant winners Leslie Bramlett and Sabrina LaVoie.
Photo Credit: Texas Cinderella Pageants
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The career path for Eva Longoria was rather straightforward; shortly after acquiring the title in the 1998 Miss Corpus Christi pageant Longoria entered into a talent contest that had her leaving her hometown and venturing to Los Angeles. While there, she was quickly snatched up by a talent agent and the rest is history.
Photo Credit: Barry King, WireImage/Getty Images
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Many recognize the beauty Gal Gidot from the successful "Fast & Furious" films where she had gotten her Hollywood start. In her homeland of Israel she is famous for another reason; in 2004 she represented her country in the Miss Universe contest shortly after seizing the title of Miss Israel.
Photo Credit: Rodrigo Buendia, AFP/Getty Images
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Halle Berry poses with several contestants during a press event at the 1986 Miss World pageant. At the close of the evening's festivities, Berry was named as the 5th runner up which was quite the feat considering that her participation marked the first for African-American women in the contest.
Photo Credit: Tom Stoddart. Getty Images
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Prior to being beamed up and becoming a regular on the hit series 'Star Trek: Voyager' series, blonde bombshell Jeri Ryan was making her name known in the pageant circuit. In 1989 Ryan was chosen as Miss Illinois after having won the preliminary swimsuit competition.
Photo Credit: Gerard Buckhart, AFP/Getty Images
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Lucy Lawless, better known to most as Xena from the action-packed 90's series 'Xena: Warrior Princess' is known to her country not only as a successful actress but also as a pageant queen. In 1989 Lawless set siege upon the Miss New Zealand competition and emerged triumphant.
Photo Credit: New York Daily News/Getty Images
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The road to stardom wasn't exactly a direct one for the now famous Michelle Pfeiffer; from grocery store attendant to pursing career as a court stenographer Pfeiffer eventually found herself pursuing the dream of acting. After having competed in the Miss Orange County and Miss California beauty pageants in 1978 she received representation and quickly began on the path to success.
Photo Credit: ABC/Getty Images
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There are very few celebrities whose pageants successes measure up to that of their acting careers. For the 1960's sex symbol Raquel Welch pageants were an obvious path in her early years. Having accumulated various titles including "Miss La Jolla" and "Miss Contour" Welch quickly became aware of her opportunities and shortly thereafter began appearing on air.
Photo Credit: ABC/Getty Images
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When Sarah Palin was announced as the Vice Presidential candidate in the 2008 election, perhaps the most talked about point was her looks. This came as no surprise to many Alaskan natives who knew Palin not solely for her political efforts but also for her winning of the 1984 Miss Wasilla beauty pageant and her third place finish in that years' Miss Alaska pageant.
Photo Credit: Anchorage Daily News/Getty Images
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In 1976, Sharon Stone wasn't the starlet that we know her as today; she didn't have any Golden Globes or SAG Awards. What she did have, however, was a crown from winning the Miss Crawford County beauty pageant and the $50 she had won from taking a bet to enter the contest.
Photo Credit: Carmen Valdes, WireImage/Getty Images
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From an early age Tiffani Theissen frequented the contest circuit. Her biggest victory, and perhaps the one which catapulted her to stardom, came in 1987 where she was crowned Miss Junior America. Shortly thereafter she found her way to Hollywood where she became was hired as Kelly Kapowski on the hit series 'Saved By The Bell.'
Photo Credit: Ron Galella, WireImage/Getty Images
You know their names and you know their faces, but do you know how they got their start? Surprisingly, a lot of celebrities get their first shot at fame doing something you might not expect!
Many start their careers as models, and some as beauty queens. We've done a little digging, and found out which famous celebs have spent part of their youth participating in Beauty Pageants. You may not be too shocked to find that Vanna White and Vanessa Minnillo were part of the pageant world, but did you know Diane Sawyer, Halle Berry and Sarah Palin were as well?
Click through the gallery above to see more celebs who were beauty queens before they were famous!
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