Tara Conner
Tara Elizabeth Conner (born December 18, 1985 in Dallas , Texas ) is an American beauty queen and was Miss Kentucky Teen USA, Miss Kentucky and Miss USA . In late 2006, there was a scandal after she tested positive for cocaine , heroin and crystal , drank as a minor and kissed Miss Teen USA Katie Blair. She was allowed to keep her title on the condition that she enter into drug therapy .
Life
Conner was born in Dallas , Texas , but moved to Russell Springs , Kentucky with her parents when she was six . She stated that she started using drugs at the age of 14 because her parents separated and her grandfather died. She graduated from Russell County High School in 2004 and was studying business administration at Somerset Community College when she was voted Miss USA. After her success in the Miss Teen USA election, she was supported by manager Steve Rosenberg for six months and modeled for several companies such as Body Glove.
Beauty pageants
Miss Kentucky Teen USA
Back in 2001, Conner won the Miss Kentucky Teen USA title at the age of 15.
Miss Teen USA
A year later she took part in the Miss Teen USA election in South Padre Island , Texas . In the first phase, she achieved the highest number of points (9.18 out of 10) in the swimwear competition, and in the end she came in third.
Miss Kentucky
In November 2005, she won the Miss Kentucky election. She was the third to win the Miss Kentucky election after a teen poll. In March 2006, she took part in a special on the game show Deal or No Deal , which aired in April.
Miss USA
On April 21, 2006, Conner represented Kentucky in the Miss USA election in Baltimore , Maryland . After the swimwear competition, she qualified for the top ten and in evening dress for the top five. After the final round of questions, she congratulated her competitor Tamiko Nash and wished her good luck in her reign as Miss USA and her participation in the Miss Universe election in the belief that it would have won. But Conner won the title as the first woman from Kentucky and was crowned by last year's title holder Chelsea Cooley .
Miss Universe
In the subsequent Miss Universe election on July 23, 2006, she represented the United States. This time, too, she qualified for the top ten in the swimwear competition and for the top five in the evening dress. After the final round of questions, it was announced that she had reached fifth place. Zuleyka Rivera from Puerto Rico received the title .
Reign as Miss USA
In the first week after winning the title, she completed a number of interviews and television appearances on shows like CNN Headline News , Live with Regis and Kelly, and The Early Show . On April 29, she returned to Baltimore , where she was crowned, and went on the yacht Black Pearl in the Volvo Ocean Race with. On May 3, 2006, she appeared with Miss Universe 2005 Natalie Glebova at Invest in Our World Benefit in New York City .
In May she returned to Kentucky for the Kentucky Derby and was guest of honor at the Mint Jubilee Gala along with Miss America Jennifer Berry and other beauty queens. On May 18, she rang the starting bell of the American Stock Exchange . On July 19, 2006, Conner was a jury member on an episode of the third season of Project Runway . In the show, the participants competed against each other and were asked to design an evening gown for them to wear in the Miss Universe election. She later wore the winning dress when she voted.
In September 2006, Conner traveled to Boston , Massachusetts to promote the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation , as her predecessor Chelsea Cooley had done the previous year. Also in October she took part in several charities run by Gilda's Club , Best Buddies and Project Sunshine before joining a USO tour to Italy and Turkey in November , where she visited her brother, who lives in Italy.
The planned celebration for her 21st birthday on December 18, 2006, which was scheduled at the Pure Nightclub in Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip , had to be canceled due to a scandal that had started two days earlier, according to a report in the New York Daily News if Conner tested positive for cocaine on December 16 , the current Miss Teen USA kissed Katie Blair in public and kept inviting men into her apartment. The Miss USA organizer Donald Trump said at a press conference on December 19 that she would not be dethroned and that she would be given a second chance. Conner then went into drug therapy in Pennsylvania until January 2007 .
In January 2008 it was announced that Conner was going to write a book about her life as Miss USA and her experiences with alcohol and other drugs .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ NY Daily News ( Memento of the original from January 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Queen is way out of line , Jan. 28, 2007.
- ↑ kboi2.com ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Thaindian.com , Former Miss USA Tara Conner Talks About Her Drug Addiction On "Oprah Winfrey Show," April 29, 2010.
- ↑ Washington Post , Miss Kentucky Crowned Miss USA , April 22, 2006.
- ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Lexington Herald-Leader , Making Kentucky, US proud: Tara Conner is Fourth Runner-up to Miss Universe , July 24, 2006.
- ↑ a b Miss Universe Organization ( Memento of the original from December 19, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Miss USA event schedule , December 19, 2006.
- ↑ BYM News , Pirate Queen
- ↑ Celebrity uoflhealthcare.org , Attendees at the Mint Jubilee Gala Fundraiser , December 19, 2006.
- ↑ American Stock Exchange , Miss USA Rings the Opening Bell , December 19, 2006.
- ↑ myfoxboston.com ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Interview on Fox Boston , September 6, 2006.
- ↑ WFMZ ( Memento of the original of September 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Miss USA to Check Herself into Rehab in Berks County , December 21, 2006.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Conner, Tara |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Conner, Tara Elizabeth (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American beauty queen |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 18th December 1985 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dallas , Texas , United States |