Critical Beauty

Samantha Brooks (right), representing California, was crowned Miss U.S. International 2014 and will compete in Miss International 2014 in Japan in November. Allyn Rose ( left), representing the Atlantic Coast, was crowned Miss U.S. Supranational 2014. The coronation took place at the Holiday Inn in Kissimee, Florida on June 27th.  Rose is a pageant veteran; her previous titles include Miss Sinergy 2010, Miss Maryland USA 2011 and Miss District of Columbia 2012 (for Miss America). Brooks competed in Miss California USA 2013 where she placed in the Top Ten. Allyn Rose Samantha Brooks

Demoted miss Florida, Elizabeth Fechtel, in the pageant’s Facebook photo from after the pageant where she was named the winner. The new winner is Victoria Cowen, pictured second from the left. (Source: Facebook)     After  Elizabeth Fechtel  was crowned Miss Florida 2014 on Saturday, sorority sisters gushed on social media. Several news outlets interviewed the Leesburg native. Fechtel called the pageant life-changing, saying she was “privileged and thrilled to have become Miss Florida.” The excitement was short-lived. Late Thursday, pageant officials visited Fechtel to inform her of a massive error: The crown should’ve gone to the first runner-up instead. The Miami-based organization released a press release Friday saying that a tabulation mistake resulted in the title being awarded to Fechtel instead of runner-up  Victoria Cowen . Fechtel planned to take a year off from her studies at the University of Florida to prepare for the Miss America Pageant, according to the O

Amanda Longacre, left, was crowned Miss Delaware 2014 on June 14, 2014 but her crown has been passed to runner-up Brittany Lewis, seen during the competition, because Longacre turns 25 in October. Andre Lamar/Dover Post The Delaware beauty queen whose title was revoked after it was revealed she is too old to meet the pageant’s requirements will keep her $9,000 in scholarship money. Officials with the Miss America Organization confirmed to ABC News today that Amanda Longacre , 24, will still be awarded the scholarship money she won June 14 when she was crowned Miss Delaware, even though she will no longer represent Delaware in September’s Miss America pageant. Andre Lamar/Dover Post PHOTO: Amanda Longacre is crowned Miss Delaware 2014 in the Rollins Center of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino in Dover, Delaware on June 14, 2014. Longacre’s crown was revoked Tuesday after national Miss America officials learned that she will turn 25 in October, a violat

Silvia Cataldi , 24, was crowned Miss World Italy 2014 last June 14 in  Area Portuale Bleu Salento   in Gallipoli. She will now compete in Miss World 2014 to be held in London on December 14.

The new Miss Universe Great Britain 2014 is 24-year-old  Grace Levy of Greater London who was crowned in Cardiff, Wales on June 21. She will represent Great Britain in Miss Universe 2014 pageant whose date and venue are still to be confirmed. Amy Willerton, last year's winner and top 6 in Miss Universe 2013, opted not to attend the event to crown her successor. In her Instagram posted two days ago, Willerton cited the following:  #heartbroken  sending all my love and thoughts to the girls competing in  #MissUniverseGB . It's not my choice that I won't be there to support you all and hand my crown over. Women 3 times my age decided money was more important than dignity and respect for the contestants. I am so disappointed in their behaviour - that attitude will NEVER bring true success. For a company that claims to female empowerment I have never seen such hypocrisy.

Maeya Nonthawan Thongleng , a  20-year-old singer and model, was crowned Miss Thailand World 2014 on June 21st. She will compete in Miss World 2014 to be held in London later in November. The 1st runner-up is  Venus Nanthachai , 21 and the 2nd runner-up is Crattrika Sittipom .

   Anne Ransom is a 21 year-old model who resides in Seekonk, Massachusetts. She is the current Miss Massachusetts U.S. International 2014 and will compete in the Miss U.S.International 2014 pageant in Orlando, Florida on June 27.  Anne is a member of Rhode Island's branch of Project Heal, which is a non-profit organization that raises awareness for young people suffering from eating disorders, and she has recently joined the board of chairmen for the Rhode Island SPCA, where she will educate young people on the importance of treating animals with love and respect. Besides volunteering with various organizations and charities, her hobbies include weight lifting, reading motivational books, singing, traveling, modeling, studying nutrition and health, watching movies, and creating vision boards. If you were to come back in the next life as an animal, what would you be and why?      If I were to come back as an animal in the next life, I would want to be an elephant!

The reigning Miss Cambridgeshire,   Carina Tyrell , was crowned  Miss England 2014  on June 16th, 2014 at the Riviera International Conference Center in Torquay. The 24-year-old beauty from Cambridge will represent England in the upcoming  Miss World 2014  pageant scheduled for December 14 in London, England.  The first runner-up was  Holly Desai , Miss Leicestershire,  and the second runner-up was  Mary Kate McKay , Miss Lancashire.  

     I WATCHED the live telecast from the comfort of my living room, like I did last year and the year before. I had originally planned to go to Baton Rouge to cover the pageant for Critical Beauty, but I opted to stay home instead for personal reasons. Besides, I am always guaranteed a good seat and the best view from my seat!      I must say that this year's production impressed me in more ways than one. First, the stage looked absolutely fabulous, and I am not using the adjective loosely. Oh, no. Fabulous as in "having no basis in reality; mythical." If I had gone to the theater, the stage would have looked too real, and eventually ordinary. But seeing the stage remotely from my living room, on television, generated a sense of awe: all of a sudden, the stage seemed majestic and grandiose, like fairy tales. The dazzling, huge lit chandeliers only enhanced the contestants' glamorous getups. And speaking of getups, notice the diverse styles of gown worn by each

Nicklas Pedersen , 23, from Denmark won the Mr. World 2014 contest in Torbay, England on June 15th. He bested 45 contenders for the title of the world's most desirable man. The 1st runner-up is  Emmanuel Ikubese of Nigeria and the 2nd runner-up is  José Pablo Minor of Mexico. Pedersen was crowned by last year's winner, Francisco Escobar of Colombia.  Completing the top 10 were the delegates from the  Netherlands, Curacao, Ukraine, Moldova, England, Puerto Rico, and India. Heavy favorites from Argentina and the Philippines were completely shut out. The live show was telecast on YouTube for over two hours.  Earlier during the show, five contestants who had won special awards were fast-tracked to the top 10:  Demian Overduijn of the  Netherlands (Multi-Media award),  Valeriu Gutu of Moldova ( Extreme Sports Challenge winner),  Nicklas Pedersen (Mr. World Sports), and  Emmanuel Ikubese of Nigeria ( Fashion & Style Challenge winner).  The judging panel

Case closed.  Marc Anthony  has settled an ongoing court battle this week with his ex-wife  Dayanara Torres  regarding child support.  Us Weekly  has confirmed that a judge ordered Anthony to pay $26,800 per month in child support for his two kids with Torres, sons  Christian  and  Ryan . Anthony, 45, was previously paying $13,400 a month. Torres requested that amount be raised to $123,426 a month in November 2013, citing lifestyle changes, in addition to child support needs. Part of the ten-fold child support increase included the need for a nanny and housekeeper, which would cost Torres up to $7,000 a month. Us  obtained the court documents detailing the exact amounts Anthony has been ordered to pay. Anthony's legal team offered $28,000 per month -- the judge ordered $26,800. According to the documents, his team also offered $30,000 per year for travel -- the judge ordered $12,000. The documents also revealed that the original judgment required Anthony to pay suppor

  Yomatzy Hazlewood De la Rosa , 23, from Darien was crowned Miss Panama 2014 at the RIU Hotel in Panama City on June 12th.  She will represent the country in the 2014 Miss Universe pageant.   The 1st runner-up was Stephanie Gonzalez ( right) who will travel to Germany to compete in Miss Intercontinental 2014;, and the 2nd runner-up was Carmen Jaramillo (left) who was crowned as Miss Latinoamericana del Mundo.

     Nia Sanchez , a 24-year-old    fourth-degree black belt in the Korean martial art of taekwondo, was crowned Miss USA 2014 on Sunday night, June 8, at Baton Rouge Civic Center in Louisiana. Her court includes 1st runner-up Audra Mari of North Dakota, 2nd runner-up Tiana Griggs of Georgia, 3rd runner-up Brittany Guidry of Louisiana, 4th runner-up Brittany Oldehoff of Florida, and 5th runner-up Carlyn Bradarich of Iowa. Bradarich   got a second chance when the viewing audience gave her the most votes on Twitter in the pageant’s first-ever “Save the Queen” option.  Sanchez's win marks Nevada's first ever Miss USA crown. It was also the first time in the 63-year history of the pageant that the show was broadcast live for three hours.  Top 6: Nevada, North Dakota, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Iowa Top 10: California ( Cassandra Kunze ), South Carolina ( Christina Zapolski ), Maryland ( Taylor Burton ), Wisconsin ( Bishara Dorre ) Top 20: Alabama ( Jesica