Rise of the over-50s beauty pageant queens
as MARGARET rankin sashayed down the catwalk she certainly bore all the hallmarks of an aspiring beauty queen.
Her nails were manicured a pristine pink and her hair dyed an arresting shade of blonde. Her teeth had been bleached and the skin her chiffon dress revealed was flawlessly fake tanned.
But long before Margaret reached the judges, she turned on her diamante heels and headed back to the wings. It wasn’t that she had stage fright. she simply couldn’t see the end of the catwalk.
‘I had cataracts that blurred my vision,’ explains Margaret. ‘I thought it safer to turn round sooner than I needed rather than risk tumbling off the stage altogether.’
At 67, Margaret was more than twice the age of most of the other girls who had entered the beauty pageant. But although she may sound like an unlikely beauty queen, she is far from alone.
Beauty pageants remain surprisingly popular. Already this year more than 10,000 women — who will compete at more than 80 heats held across the country — have applied to be Miss England 2015.
But while traditionally the contests have been the preserve of young women, many don’t actually have an age limit — so that increasing numbers of those entering are now middle-aged women.
‘It is definitely becoming more common for older ladies to enter,’ says sally-Ann Fawcett, a pageant judge and author of Misdemeanours — Beauty Queen scandals, a book about the industry. ‘They are no longer seen as “grannies” but glamorous women who have the self-assurance that 18-year-old contestants lack.’
Indeed, Margaret went on to come an impressive third. But why on earth would a retired widow with four grandchildren subject herself to a contest that many believe to be outdated and sexist?
‘I needed a new lease of life,’ she explains. Margaret had been happily married to Matt, an engineer, for 36 years when he was diagnosed with skin cancer in 1998. He died, aged 53, at their glasgow home in January 2002.
‘I felt I’d been punched in the stomach. Matt was my world and I couldn’t imagine a future without him,’ says Margaret.
Afterwards she was poleaxed with grief. ‘I found eating so difficult I lost three stones,’ says Margaret. ‘ Even a decade after his death I still frequently felt as if I were in a pit of despair.’
BuT IN 2013 Margaret saw an advert in her local paper for Mrs Beauty Queen — a nationwide pageant for married (and therefore older, Margaret reasoned) women. ‘I knew I had to do some
thing — I couldn’t carry on feeling as miserable as I was,’ says Margaret, who has two children, Mark, 48, and saffron, 43.
‘I thought entering the pageant might help boost my self-esteem.’
shet wasn’t a beauty pageant novice. In her 20s she had competed in several local contests and, in 1962, even made the finals of Miss united Kingdom. ‘I loved the buzz of competing,’ she says.
But after becoming a mother, Margaret’s priorities inevitably shifted. she got a job as an accounts manager and let her figure expand from a size 8 to a 14. Now it was time for a comeback.
‘I remembered the fun pageants had been and decided to give it a go,’ she says. ‘But I didn’t tell anyone — I thought friends and family would say I didn’t have a chance.’
so, in secret, she cut out chocolate and started an exercise regime. In a month she lost almost a stone, dropping to a size 12. she stocked up on fake tan and false eyelashes and bought the three outfits required out of her pension.
The contest was held at a glaswegian hotel in December 2013. ‘I was nervous, especially when I realised I was the oldest, but it was too late to back out,’ she says. ‘Besides, I thought I looked fabulous.’
But Margaret was still shocked to come third out of the 200-odd entrants. ‘As I was presented with my diamante crown I thought I must have misheard,’ she says.
‘It’s done wonders for my self-confidence. I have emerged from my depression, and I’ve even registered for another.’
While some will feel indignant that contests in which a woman is judged on her appearance continue to thrive, not everyone believes they belittle women. ‘If a
woman — of any age — is confident in the way she looks, a pageant can serve as a validation of her attractiveness rather than an objectification,’ says London-based psychologist Amanda Hills.
But she warns: ‘If the woman has low self- esteem and is rejected it can have a devastating effect and perpetuate a self-image that is based on appearance alone.’
Jean Stroud- Mort, 60, wasn’t brimming with confidence when she entered a beauty pageant last March. She had spent the previous four years battling cancer and her body was criss-crossed with scars from life-saving operations.
‘Entering the contest helped me come to terms with my appearance,’ says Jean, from Bolton.
She’d developed crippling stomach pains in May 2011 and was found to have a cancerous tumour in her kidney. ‘I was in pieces,’ says Jean, a retired office administrator married to Les, 64, an engineer.
A fortnight later, Jean had the tumour removed in an operation that left an 8in scar. But the following May she discovered a red, scaly patch on her knee. She was diagnosed with skin cancer.
Jean had this cut out, but over the coming months it returned at the top of her legs and, a year later, in her back and shoulders.
‘Each time I had surgery to remove the cancer it left a 2in scar,’ she says. ‘Les tried to convince me I was still gorgeous, but I grew self-conscious about my body.’
By autumn 2013 Jean realised she had completely lost sight of the feminine woman she once was. ‘I’d neglected my appearance and suddenly longed to feel glamorous again,’ she says. ‘I’d always dreamed of doing some modelling. Although my confidence had been knocked, cancer had also taught me that life is too short not to take risks.’
So last January Jean entered a contest called Crown And Glory in nearby Chester. It was for married women and had no age limit.
She says Les and their daughters Abigail, 20, and Katrina, 27, were fully supportive. ‘Les paid the £150 entrance fee and Abigail tried to teach me how to walk like a model,’ says Jean, who was disadvantaged somewhat by the fact she was awaiting a knee replacement: ‘I had to walk with a stick but I was determined not to let it stop me.’
Jean posted her plans on Facebook and raised £1,200 for the children’s cancer charity the pageant was supporting. But reaction wasn’t entirely positive. ‘Some friends said I was too old,’ she says. ‘But their comments only made me more determined.’ When Jean arrived at the contest, at a Chester hotel last March, she felt sick with nerves. She had brought two outfit changes with her — a custom-made, £120 green, sequinned creation and a pink halter-neck bikini which showcased both her size 12 body and scars.
‘Walking down the catwalk was terrifying,’ she says. ‘Unlike the younger competitors, I also had stretch marks and wobbly bits. But everyone cheered me on and I real- ised my body may not have been perfect but it had served me well.
‘I didn’t win, but winning wasn’t the point. My self-esteem has grown exponentially as a result.’
For Kasha Grimes, 53, who last month was a runner-up in nationwide contest, Mrs Galaxy UK, pageantry was a chance to challenge the rigours of middle age. She was inspired by the younger of her two girls, Misha, 16, who had asked her mother’s permission to enter a teen pageant three years ago.
‘I didn’t know much about pageants and was reluctant for her to enter at first,’ says Kasha, from Cirencester, Gloucestershire. ‘ But after researching the contest thoroughly I realised there was nothing sinister about it.’
LASt September, while chaperoning her daughter at another contest, Kasha heard of a woman aged 46 who had just won a pageant. ‘I was inspired to enter,’ says Kasha, who runs a successful holiday cottage rental business with husband John, 53. ‘As a fiftysomething mother of two, I’d lost my mojo, focusing my energy on my family. It was time to do something for me.’
Kasha cut down on sugar and started going to the gym three times a week. ‘I was wary that friends would ridicule me but they could see how happy it made me,’ she says.
By the time she arrived at the contest, held at a hotel in Chorley, Cheshire, this February, she had raised £6,000 for charity. the 20 finalists in her category were mainly in their 20s and 30s. ‘I knew I would be the oldest and wasn’t bothered,’ she says. ‘I felt brilliant.’
Kasha won the charity category, and also came first in the interview section, in which she explained to judges how she had left her native Poland aged just 18 and built a new life for herself in Britain.
She came third in the swimwear category, for which she showcased her body in a royal blue one piece that she describes as ‘appropriate’ for her age.
‘Misha was screaming support,’ says Kasha. ‘She had swapped roles to become my mentor.’
And, for all the detractors, beauty contests continue to attract, Kasha insists: ‘ they are an opportunity to build confidence among other level-headed, intelligent women. I just wish I’d entered one sooner.’