Pageant News Bureau - Petite California

Swimming pools, movie stars
-- and a beauty queen

She may be the perkiest blonde to move to Beverly Hills since Elly May Clampett.

But Kelly Ann Willyard, Ms. Petite California, is a lot more sophisticated than Elly May (even if she's not quite so rich). This blonde didn't come to town from the backwoods. She came from Silicon Valley.

Ms. Willyard is a senior account executive with a large communications company, and for the past few years she has been living and working in the high-tech corridor near San Francisco.

Photo courtesy of
Kelly Ann Willyard

A tradition for would-be stars, the good-luck snapshot on Rodeo Drive. Good shopping, at least!
Photo courtesy of Kelly Ann Willyard

It's the place where machines just keep getting smarter and billionaires just keep getting richer. It's an exciting place, but she wanted something more.

"I wanted to reach for the brass ring," she says. In layman's terms, she wanted to be a star, and they don't make stars in Silicon Valley.

So she persuaded her understanding bosses to transfer her to the Los Angeles area, the land of auditions, big breaks and occasional happy endings.

Beverly Hills, which is legendary as a haunt for celebrities, was not the town where she expected to hang her hat. With its mansions and high-priced boutiques, it seemed out of reach. But when the opportunity arose, she made it her home.

The way she loves the place, maybe she ought to be mayor.

Photo by Mike Fifrick

"It has everything you see in the movies," she says, "but it's not pretentious or snobby. It has a homey feel." And how many famous faces has she seen? "Last week, I saw Brad Pitt, Jimmy Smits, Bruce Willis . . ." She said "homey," she didn't say "homely."

Ms. Willyard knows there's no certainty she will become famous herself, and she's keeping her day job. But she makes it to every audition, with her smile and her operatically trained voice, and she remembers that Judy Garland had to start somewhere, too.

And she has a secret weapon, which is actually no secret at all. She's a beauty queen. "It really does open doors."

Photo by Mike Fifrick

Swimming pools, movie stars-- and a beauty queen

Swimming pools, movie stars
-- and a beauty queen