The top 5 pageant news stories of 2004 (chosen by the staff of PNB):
1. After another annual drop in television ratings, the Miss America Pageant lost its contract with ABC and found itself at least temporarily "off the air." For decades, Miss America had a virtual monopoly on mainstream media coverage in the pageant world, but now the spotlight was the contest's worst enemy. Miss America's image was now of an institution fighting to remain relevant -- fighting even to survive.
2. China kept rising. The world's most populous nation hosted the Miss World Pageant for the second consecutive year, and its reputation as a center of beauty contests continued to grow. A competition confined to women who had undergone cosmetic surgery caught the attention of the world. Chinese pageants had become hipper than those of the West.
3. Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai, a former Miss World, expanded her fame beyond Asia. She was well on her way to becoming an international, multicultural star, the kind that used to be created only in America.
4. Beauty queens fought the law. Denise "Dee" Henderson, who was Mrs. Minnesota International 1999 and Mrs. Iowa International 2001, was convicted of Social Security fraud and sentenced to four years in prison. Tiffini Hercules Limahai, who was Miss Hawaii USA 1998, pleaded guilty to drug possession in a Hawaiian court after she and her husband were arrested at home and accused of drug trafficking.
5. Pageant women got naked. Kari Ann Peniche, while winding up her reign as Miss United States Teen 2003, was featured in Playboy magazine. Tiffany Fallon, who was Miss Georgia USA 2001 and second runner-up to Miss USA, was a Playboy Playmate of the Month. The reigning Miss Universe, Australia's Jennifer Hawkins, also appeared in Playboy, though not nude. But she had her own widely photographed "wardrobe malfunction," losing part of her dress at a fashion show, revealing the thong down under. PNB predicted that 2005 would see even more such displays.
