Pageant News Bureau - Kristina Sisco

Kristina Sisco won the right to be in the Miss Teen USA Pageant, then decided not to compete. She gave up the Maryland Teen USA title that she had worked so hard to win. She walked away from the upper ranks of the pageant world and "never looked back."

What makes a girl do such a thing? We can explain it in four words "As the World Turns."

Ms. Sisco is the newest cast member on the long-running CBS soap opera, which is one of the most popular programs in the history of television. She plays Abigail Williams, a long-lost daughter who has returned to complicate the lives of her parents. Abigail is sweet but mysterious, and she's sure to catch the eye of . . .

Wait! Forget about the "World" plot. The recent twists and turns in Ms. Sisco's own life have been much more dramatic.

She worked for years to become a model, to break into acting or to win a major pageant. When she won the Miss Maryland Teen USA title in late 1998, it seemed like the break of a lifetime. But then, in the spring of 1999, she got another once-in-a-lifetime break. She learned that she was a finalist for a part on the soap opera.

Suddenly, Ms. Sisco had more luck than she could handle. If she won the acting job, she would have to begin work during the week of the Miss Teen USA Pageant in Shreveport, and she couldn't be in two places at once.

She faced some tough choices. She could forget about "As the World Turns." She could try for the soap opera role, wait until she was certain she had it and then bail out of the national pageant. Or she could give up her state crown immediately and hope for the best.

Ms. Sisco chose not to wait. In June 1999, a little more than two months before the Miss Teen USA Pageant, she gave up her Maryland crown. Her first runner-up and good friend, Khosi Roy, got the state title and prepared to head for Shreveport.

Then came the most surprising twist of all Everybody had a happy ending. Ms. Sisco got the part. Ms. Roy was a sensation at Miss Teen USA, finishing as second runner-up. And Ms. Sisco was watching the pageant on television, cheering and almost crying at her friend's success.

Nowadays, Ms. Sisco sees little of Maryland. She lives in New York City, where "As the World Turns" is produced. And because of her father's recent job transfer, her family now lives in Pennsylvania. But she thinks every day of the state where it all started. When she says, "I love Maryland," she's not acting.

With Miss Maryland USA 1999 and a friend

As for the mysterious Abigail Williams, we don't know much about her, but we hear she's beautiful.

The world is turning her way

Photos courtesy of Kristina Sisco, crowning portrait by Shooting Stars