Pageant News Bureau - Patti Simmons

Patti Simmons has a dazzling smile. Like all great models, she can turn it on at will, and adjust it like a lamp. A beam, a grin, sweet or seductive. "I have a face like a chameleon," she says playfully, "I can fit in with my surroundings."

These days, she smiles because she's happy. She has a lot to be happy about -- a handsome husband, an adorable daughter, an exciting career. And most famously, her big, shiny Mrs. International crown, which she won on a glorious night in July 2004.

But somewhere inside every adult beauty queen, there's still a little girl who sometimes breaks through, and that little girl can reveal the woman better than any words. We discovered this on a recent afternoon when we saw tears in Patti Simmons' eyes. It was only for a second, and they were just tiny beads of sadness. But it was unforgettable.

It happened at her home in Georgia. We dropped by one afternoon not long after her crowning. We met her husband, Brennon, and cooed over their daughter, Jordyn. We had come to hear Mrs. International's story.

It was a remarkable story. It started as the tale of two teenage sisters, Patti and Heather Dunn, who got into modeling for fun and found success they had never expected -- in print, runway, TV commercials. Soon they were the talk of Atlanta. Modeling became their job, and their mother, Patsy, became their manager.

Heather stuck to modeling, which today she is pursuing in L.A., but Patti decided to try pageants, too. Once again, success. She was Miss Georgia Teen-Ager, and later Miss Georgia USA. In 2000, she was third runner-up to Miss USA.

But the joy did not last many months. Patsy Dunn, a cheerful, energetic woman much beloved in Georgia pageant circles, was diagnosed with acute leukemia. The next day, she was dead. Patti had lost a mom and a manager, but it was the mom she mourned. She realized that a career means little compared to a family. "If I had won Miss USA, I wouldn't have been with her in those last few months," she mused, "so maybe things worked out for the best."

Then she described the comeback. Patti Dunn eventually became Patti Simmons, wife and mother, but pageant competition still came naturally to her. She won the crown of Mrs. Georgia International. Then, competing against dozens of other married women from every corner of the earth, she won the Mrs. International title in Skokie, Ill.

Finally, she talked about her platform. Some queens have been known to put us to sleep with their platforms. It's sad but true. But not this time. Mrs. Simmons clearly cared. "I'm the national spokeswoman for the International Dyslexia Association," she said.

She explained dyslexia, a condition that prevents many otherwise intelligent people from reading normally. She described the magnitude of the problem. She told us a moving story about a family she had helped since winning her crown.

All afternoon, she was very composed, very articulate, whether she was describing triumph or tragedy. But then, when Mrs. Simmons started recounting her own memories of dyslexia, something happened.

"At the age of 9," she began, "I was diagnosed with an unusual learning problem. I was a very poor speller, and I couldn't . . ." Her voice broke, just for an instant, and those tiny tears welled up in her beautiful eyes. "I'm sorry," she said politely, and she was composed once again, continuing with her explanation of the effects of dyslexia.

That was it. One brief moment. But we understood. Looking into the glistening eyes of Mrs. International, we saw not just an elegant and accomplished woman, but the little girl she had once been. A girl who always tried but often didn't succeed. A girl who was ashamed and afraid. A girl who needed help.

That little girl got help. And when she grew up, she gave help. That's the marvelous thing about Patti Simmons. She would be a queen even without the big crown.

Still, it goes perfectly with her smile.

What makes a queen cry