Pageant News Bureau - Mpule Kwelagobe

Mpule Kwelagobe
-- Life after Miss Universe

Photos in blue by Joe Whiteko / PNB,
others courtesy of Miss Universe L.P., LLLP

"One thing I don't miss is wearing the crown," Mpule Kwelagobe said, getting her rendezvous with PNB off to a provocative start.

It was the sort of statement you might expect from King Lear, or maybe from a reigning Miss America. But from a former Miss Universe, a woman who represents unabashed feminine beauty?

Mpule Kwelagobe is spokesperson for Clairol Professional's Textures & Tones.

"I didn't want to be identified with a crown," said the statuesque model from Botswana, who was Miss Universe 1999. Bill Clinton doesn't have to make appearances in a crown, she noted, so why should she? And he doesn't have to face the public in a swimsuit, she added with an impish grin.

She was having a bit of fun with us, but we got her point.

When a woman wears a crown, people cannot always see beyond it. Ms. Kwelagobe does not mind being a beauty queen, but she does not want to be regarded as only a beauty queen.

Condescending attitudes toward beautiful women can be even worse toward famous beauty queens, she said. "Sometimes people challenge you. One person asked me, 'Are you really intelligent?' "

For the record, Ms. Kwelagobe is extremely intelligent. She wants to be president of Botswana, a diamond-rich country in southern Africa, and no one who has met her would find anything improbable in that ambition.

She's proud of her homeland. Unlike most countries on earth, Botswana has been a democracy for its entire history as a independent nation. And she is already its most famous citizen.

Clairol Professional, recognizing her appeal, employs her as spokeswoman for Textures & Tones, quality hair care products for women of color. She has traveled extensively to promote the products, appearing with such models and pageant veterans as PNB's own Zanice James.

Ms. Kwelagobe also returns as frequently as she can to Botswana.

A little-known fact about Mpule Kwelagobe: She was the first woman from Botswana ever to compete for Miss Universe. Two years before that, she had represented her country at Miss World.

Like much of sub-Saharan Africa, it has a severe AIDS problem, and she has spoken on the cause of AIDS awareness in several countries. Her two roles intersect on this issue. Bristol-Myers Squibb, the parent company of Clairol Professional, has committed $100 million to the fight against the disease in southern Africa. "That means a great deal to me," she said.

Mpule Kwelagobe says she wants to be the first guest on the PNB yacht in the Mediterranean. We can hardly wait. (If you have a yacht to donate, please contact www.pageant.com).

She does not seem tempted by a career in show business. Perhaps her other interests are more important. But Mpule Kwelagobe has the wit and presence of a true performer. When she shows us her impression of the beauty queen that many people expect her to be, the effect is hilarious. "Touch the pearls and wave," she says, gesturing robotically and smiling vacantly like a beautiful, life-size mechanical doll. "Touch the pearls and wave."

You can almost see those pearls.

To revisit Mpule Kwelagobe's reign as Miss Universe, click here.

Mpule Kwelagobe-- Life after Miss Universe

Mpule Kwelagobe
-- Life after Miss Universe