Chelsea Cooley
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Chelsea Cooley, (born October 30, 1983), was Miss USA 2005. Cooley was crowned during the Miss USA 2005 pageant in Baltimore, Maryland on April 11, 2005. She was the first Miss North Carolina USA to win the Miss USA crown.
Chelsea comes from Charlotte, North Carolina and is the daughter of Jackie and Doug Cooley. She attended the Art Institute of Charlotte and hopes to become a buyer for the fashion industry.
Cooley is a self-confessed tomboy. Her hobbies and interests include jet skiing, snorkeling and following Major League Baseball (fan of the Atlanta Braves), which she talked about during a pageant interview. Cooley is rumoured to have taken her love of baseball to a new level, as she has been seen several times with Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer. Her love of shag dancing led her to compete in the Grand National Shag Dancing Competition where she was declared Grand National Shag Dance Champion. Cooley has also worked for a number of non-profit organizations, including Toys for Tots and the Special Olympics.
As Miss USA, Cooley represented the Miss Universe Organization. Her "sister" 2005 titleholders were Natalie Glebova (Miss Universe, of Canada) and Allie LaForce (Miss Teen USA, of Ohio). She raised $22.8 million for breast- and ovarian-cancer research during her reign.[1]
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[edit] Pageant Competitions
[edit] Previous Pageants
Cooley is no stranger to pageants. She was previously Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2000, but was unplaced at the Miss Teen USA pageant that same year. Cooley had greater success in 2001, when she became Miss United States Teen.
Cooley first entered the Miss North Carolina USA pageant in 2004, where she placed 1st runner-up to Ashley Puleo. She also won her state's Miss Photogenic award in that year. Puleo went on to place second-runner up at the Miss USA 2004 pageant.
[edit] Miss USA 2005 pageant
Cooley was the thirteenth woman to be called into the semi-finals (the fifteen delegates were called randomly). For the evening gown competition she wore a flowing black gown with a deep v and a high slit. While she wore her hair in a high ponytail for the evening gown competition, it was let loose for the swimsuit competition.
For her final question, Cooley drew the question of former Miss USA Shandi Finnessey. She was asked: "What famous person does your personality most parallel?". Her answer was: "I guess it would be Oprah. She has a passion for life. She loves what she does, and she works so hard to try to achieve everything in her life. ... I try to emulate myself after that." [2]
[edit] Miss Universe 2005 pageant
Cooley competed as Miss USA in the Miss Universe pageant held in Bangkok, Thailand on 31 May 2005 (Bangkok Time). She advanced to the top 10. The eventual winner of that pageant was Natalie Glebova of Canada.
[edit] Year in the Life of Miss USA
Within days of her pageant win in Baltimore, Cooley moved to a Trump Tower apartment in New York City which she shared with Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA during her reign. As with recent Miss USA's, her first week was a hectic schedule of media interviews, including Scott and Todd in the Morning, New York radio station WPLJ, Fox and Friends, Fox News, WB11 Morning News and Live! with Regis and Kelly. She also participated in fashion shoots and met with designer Tadashi, a sponsor of the Miss USA pageant. In early May Cooley was a guest conductor for the Long Island Philharmonia, and presided over the NASDAQ opening bell in celebration of Mother's Day and in support of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.
Cooley then travelled to Thailand, to compete in the Miss Universe pageant, and she and newly crowned queen Natalie Glebova stayed in Thailand for a week after the competition, making appearances with the Thai government, as well as appearing with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at an orphan's home.
After Thailand, Cooley returned to New York and then celebrated her homecoming in North Carolina, throwing out the first pitch at a Carolina Mudcats game, interviewing with local media, and addressing the North Carolina House of Representatives and the state Senate.
She again returned briefly to New York, before she and Miss Teen USA 2004 Shelley Hennig participated in a USO tour of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in late June. In July, Cooley settled in New York, participating in more USO events and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.
In August, Cooley travelled to Curacao, and then returned to the United States, making more appearances in the New York area and throughout the country throughout the following three months. She also returned to Curacao for another brief visit. In Novemeber, Cooley appeared on a float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
One of Cooley's prizes was a special guest appearance on the soap-opera Passions, which she taped in January 2006. This was aired on Valentines Day, 14 February 2006. In the new year Cooley returned to Curacao for a third visit, appeared at the Gilda's Club Gala in New York and participated in another photoshoot. She returned to Curacao for two days in late February 2006, before travelling to Maryland where she shot footage for the upcoming Miss USA 2006 telecast.
In March Cooley participated on the Miss USA edition of Deal or No Deal along with 26 of the delegates for Miss USA 2006. She travelled to Baltimore in April to participate with the delegates on pre-pageant events, co-hosted the pageant preliminaries with Baltimore news anchor Stan Stovall and was a commentator for the final competition, along with Carson Kressley of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
She crowned her successor, Tara Conner of Kentucky at the conclusion of the final competition on 21 April 2006.
[edit] Post Pageants
Cooley has expressed a desire to move into the entertainment industry after she has passed on her crown,[3] following in the footsteps of successful recent former Miss USAs Susie Castillo, a VJ for MTV's TRL and Shandi Finnessey, a host on GSN.
Just prior to giving up her crown in April 2005, Cooley competed on NBC's Celebrity Cooking Showdown, where she beat Tony Gonzalez and "Big Kenny" (Half of Country Music Duo Big & Rich) with her menu of Charred Kobe-style Beef with Asian Pear Slaw and Honey-Miso Vinaigrette, Spicy Tuna Belly and Asparagus Roll with Wasabi Crème Fraîche, and Green Tea Parfait with Kiwi and Cashews, in a narrow 35-34-34 victory.
[edit] References
- ^ Price, Mark, Goodbye, Miss USA - hello to NYC and TV, Charlotte Observer, April 17, 2006; URL accessed April 21, 2006
- ^ Cool(ey) choice! Chelsea Cooley Miss USA 2005 accessed 21 April 2006
- ^ Goodbye, Miss USA - hello to NYC and TV URL accessed 21 April 2006
[edit] External links
- Chelsea Cooley at the Internet Movie Database
- "Miss USA Tours Submarine North Carolina", Navy NewsStand, July 17, 2005.
- Chelsea's MySpace Account
| Preceded by: Stephanie Holt |
Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2000 |
Succeeded by: Erin O'Kelley |
| Preceded by: Ashley Puleo |
Miss North Carolina USA 2005 |
Succeeded by: Samantha Holvey |
| Preceded by: Shandi Finnessey |
Miss USA 2005 |
Succeeded by: Tara Conner |
| Miss Universe Organization Titleholders 2005 |
||
| Miss Universe Natalie Glebova |
Miss USA Chelsea Cooley |
Miss Teen USA Allie LaForce |
