Sharon Stone won the regional title of Miss Crawford County and later competed in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant before launching her film career. The actress has since starred opposite Michael Douglas in 1992’s Basic Instinct and scored an Oscar nomination for the 1995 crime film Casino.
Best known for her leading role in the 90s television series Xena: Warrior Princess, Lucy Lawless was crowned Miss New Zealand in 1989.
The Desperate Housewives star and Texas native was crowned Miss Corpus Christi in her hometown’s 1998 beauty pageant.
Ali Landry was crowned Miss USA in 1996 and later went on to represent the country in the Miss Universe pageant as one of the Top 6 contestants. The former beauty queen began a career in television in 1997 and has appeared in Felicity, Eve and an episode of Criminal Minds.
Cloris Leachman competed as Miss Chicago in the Miss America pageant in 1946. Since her pageantry years, the actress has garnered eight Primetime Emmy awards and a best supporting actress Oscar for 1971’s The Last Picture Show.
Before her reign on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the talk show host and actress held the title of Miss Black Tennessee in 1972. Winfrey was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in 1985’s The Color Purple and most recently appeared in the Martin Luther King biopic Selma.
Vanessa Williams, best known for her roles in Desperate Housewives and Ugly Betty, was the first African-American to win the Miss America crown in 1984, though controversy surrounding leaked nude photos of the pageant winner caused her to lose her title.
Before scoring an Oscar for best actress for 2001’s Monster’s Ball, Halle Berry was 1986’s Miss Ohio and runner-up for the title of Miss USA.
Delta Burke competed in the Miss America pageant as Miss Florida in 1975 before pursuing an early career in television. The former pageant winner scored two Emmy nominations for her leading role in the comedy series Designing Women.
The three-time Oscar nominee was 1978’s Miss Orange Country and placed sixth in the Miss California competition before landing her best-known role in 1983’s Scarface.