Angela Meyer holds 12 pageant titles, including having two top-five national finishes under her belt. Now, 20 years after her first pageant, she is a go-to makeup artist and hairstylist for contestants in the Miss America and Miss USA pageant systems. (The Miss USA competition, which airs Monday night, is run by the Miss Universe organization, formerly owned by Donald Trump.)

There’s a thriving pageant mini economy, including a tight-knit network of pros who work with contestants behind the scenes. Meyer is one of these, though she also has a robust business working with celebrities, brands, and brides. Last year’s Miss America, Cara Mund, was a client of Meyer’s.

Meyer started competing in pageants herself in 1997 to earn some scholarship money for college after her dad was forced to retire from his job. She went on to a career as an anchor and reporter in broadcast news in coastal …

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Are you competing in a pageant for the first time and feeling overwhelmed? Well, you’re not alone. Everyone feels a bit unsure after they’ve entered their first pageant. But with a little prep, you can be as ready as any experienced contestant. Just follow these 6 Winning Pageant Tips for First Time Contestants.

1. Make Sure Your Strengths Match Scored Areas of Competition

While it can be tempting to jump right in and enter, some pageants may not be the best fit for you. Ideally, the scored areas of competition will match your strengths as a contestant.

Is 30% of the score based on your talent presentation? Then you should have a talent that is both impressive and entertaining. Is it a platform pageant? Then you need a personal platform and community service hours.

If you’re not strong in the areas of competition that will most impact your …

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Nowadays, you know them as 25 of the most famous women in the world, but before they found fame, they tried their hand at the world of beauty pageants, getting on stage in their most glamorous ensembles to compete against fellow beauty queens.

Whether competing in their small hometowns far from the hills of Hollywood or competing on a global stage, these women once tried on the bedazzled evening gowns, mile-high teased hair, and yes, even a crown, to try at the chance to win it all.

Here are 25 celebrities that used to be beauty queens.

Eva Longoria was Miss Corpus Christi.

Before her breakout role on “Desperate Housewives,” Longoria competed in beauty pageants in her home state of Texas, winning the title of Miss Corpus Christi in 1998.

Oprah Winfrey was Miss Black Tennessee.

Before she went on to build her own billion-dollar empire, a 17-year-old Winfrey won …

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6. THE CROWN

You probably don’t think there are any reasons to enter a beauty pageant, but I’m here to tell you there are a ton of reasons why you should! A lot of people think that it’s all about the big hair, beauty, walking around on stage, and being plastic! I’m here to tell you that what you watch on TV from “Toddlers and Tiara” and “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” aren’t true! These are the real reasons to enter a beauty pageant… take it from a former Miss Teen Arizona.

1. BUILDING SELF-CONFIDENCE

The number one of a million reasons to enter a beauty pageant is to build self-confidence. Take me, for example… You would never catch me talking in front of large crowds, or being social at all… until my Mom entered me in my first pageant amongst 213 girls! Talk about life changing! I walked …

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There is a lot that goes on behind the perfectly white smiles, shiny gold sequins, and immobile hairstyles of beauty pageant contestants. As a previous pageant winner, I’ve seen the ins and outs of the controversial pageantry tradition. And let me tell you, there are a lot of secrets about beauty pageants you probably don’t know.

I owe a lot of thanks to Preparation H, instant teeth whitening strips, and skin-lifting tape. And while pageantry definitely boosted my confidence, helped me make lifelong friends, and allowed me to build professional relationships that played a key role in molding me into the person I am today, winning that crown was hardly a breeze. In preparation for competitions, I was sleeping four to five hours each night, eating only plant-based foods, and working out twice a day. But that’s just the beginning.

Beauty pageants have been around since the early 1850s and …

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