Photos: Stars who got their starts in pageants

Celebrities

Photos: Stars who got their starts in pageants

Photos: Stars, including Vanessa Williams and Eva Longoria, who got their starts in pageants

"Wheel of Fortune" letter turner Vanna White was the fourth runner-up in the 1978 Miss Georgia Universe Beauty Pageant.

Actress Raquel Welch won the Fairest of the Fair beauty pageant at the San Diego County Fair in 1958.

"Inside Edition" host Deborah Norville won America’s Junior Miss.

Actress Michelle Pfeiffer got an agent after being crowned Miss Orange County in 1978 and vying for the Miss California crown the same year.

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" actress Jeri Ryan competed in the Miss America pageant as Miss Illinois in 1990. She won the preliminary swimsuit competition.

Actress Lucy Lawless competed in pageants in her native New Zealand, taking the title of Mrs. New Zealand before hitting it big in Hollywood.

Before becoming an actress and essentially taking over the world, Oprah Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant at 17.

Actress Sharon Stone won the title of Miss Crawford County and was a candidate for Miss Pennsylvania before moving to New York to model.

Before dropping the "Amber" from her name, Tiffani Thiessen was crowned Miss Junior America in 1987. She also competed in several pageants as a child.

"Will & Grace: star Debra Messing was Rhode Island's Junior Miss in 1986 and competed in the America's Junior Miss scholarship program.

Before becoming a Desperate Housewife, Eva Longoria was Miss Corpus Christi 1998 while attending college.

Actress Cybill Shepherd won Miss Congeniality in the Miss Teenage America Pageant in 1966.

Designing Woman Delta Burke competed in several pageants as a teen, and represented Florida in the Miss America pageant after being named the youngest Miss Florida in pageant history in 1974.

Before becoming an A-list actress, Halle Berry cut her teeth as the first runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant and coming in sixth in the Miss World Pageant in 1986 (pictured).

She's a serious journalist now, but Diane Sawyer got her first taste of stardom after being crowned Kentucky's Junior Miss at 17 and later went on to win America's Junior Miss pageant.

Before breaking into politics, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin won the Miss Wasilla beauty pageant in 1984 and finished third in the Miss Alaska pageant.

Britney Spears competed in a handful of pageants as a child before finding fame on "The Mickey Mouse Club."

Model and actress Ali Landry was crowned Miss USA in 1996. She also competed in the Miss Universe pageant. She later went on to star in a viral Doritos commerical and had a short-lived marriage to "Saved By the Bell" star and regular pageant host Mario Lopez.

Vanessa Minnillo, aka Mrs. Nick Lachey and the former host of MTV's "Total Request Live," was crowned Miss Teen USA in 1997.

Singer and actress Vanessa Williams was the first black Miss America from New York, and won the crown in 1984. She gave the crown back less than a year later following controversy over nude photos she took before she competed in the pageant. The flap clearly didn't hurt her career -- she has worked steadily in movies and television for more than 20 years, and has had several hit songs.

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"Wheel of Fortune" letter turner Vanna White was the fourth runner-up in the 1978 Miss Georgia Universe Beauty Pageant.

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