7 Women Who Went beyond Being Beauty Queens

Beauty queens are one of the most stereotyped group of people in this earth. They are often labelled as "beauty sans the brains" instead of "beauty and brains." Add that to the fact that in the entire equation, one equally important part is missing: the heart or the compassion towards other people. Most beauty queens fulfill their duties doing humanitarian and charitable work during their reign. I am not a fan of that. I usually look at these winners five years after their reign and check if they really are doing something for society. Here are seven women who went beyond being beauty queens and truly did something significant for society:
1. Sushmita Sen

Sushmita from India is one of my favorite beauty queens. She won Miss Universe 1994 as a teenager and has grown to be a woman of substance. She adopted two girls (Renee and Alisah) and proudly calls herself a happy, single mother even when society frowned at her decision. She is an example to all young women and even current and former beauty queens that good works should continue even when the camera is not on you.

2. Halle Berry

She won first runner-up in Miss USA 1986 and represented her country in Miss World 1986, where she finished as 5th runner up. From her beauty pageant background, this African-American beauty stormed Hollywood with her acting talent and went on to win an Academy Award for Best Actress for her movie, Monster’s Ball.

3. Vanessa Williams

She won Miss America in 1986 but later relinquished her crown because of a nude photo controversy on Penthouse magazine. Vanessa didn't let this get in her way of success though and later made a successful comeback and hit it off in the music and film industries. I love how she sang Colors of the Wind!

4. Margie Moran-Floirendo

She won Miss Universe 1973 in Athens, Greece representing The Philippines but she didn't stop there. Margarita is known in the social development circle for her works in promoting peace and livelihood in Mindanao, Southern Philippines. She also advocates the promotion of arts and culture and is currently president of Ballet Philippines.

5. Aishwarya Rai

Another Indian beauty who proved to the world that there is more to be done after winning a title. Aside from being one of Bollywood's highest-paid actress, Miss World 1994 Aishwarya Rai supports several humanitarian works including the Eye Bank Association of India. In mid-2000, she spearheaded the creation of her own foundation dedicated to help India's poor people. She became part of Smile Train that offers free cleft lip and palate surgery to children. She is also a UN ambassador to raise awareness on protecting children from HIV infection.

6. Anna Maris Igpit

Anna represented The Philippines in Miss World 2006 but failed to clinch the crown. She went on to do community projects in her hometown,the island-province of Bohol. One of her most notable works is her involvement in helping the people of Bohol after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit the province on October 15, 2013. Anna has helped raised funds for classroom and shelter reconstruction and obtaining relief goods for disaster survivors.

7. Dayanara Torres

Before this Puerto Rican beauty married and later divorced Grammy-award winner Marc Anthony, she was Miss Universe 1993. She established a name for herself as an actress and dance performer in The Philippines for five years before going back to Puerto Rico. She provided scholarships to poor but deserving students in The Philippines and participated in various fundraising events. She continues to support McDonald House Charities and California's Covenant House, among others.

Let's see how the recent set of beauty queen fare in five to 10 years. Will they simply join the list of titleholders or they will step up and contribute something for society? What do you think?