Businesswoman wins Beauty Pageant

NUTHALL businesswoman Jolieanna Davis wants to prove beauty queens are about brains as well as looks.

The 31-year-old owns three dress boutiques, runs a successful letting agency and is pursuing a career in singing.

But Mrs Davis decided it was time to enter a pageant to show the positive side of the events.

She said: "I have been involved in beauty pageants for a long time through my dress shops and have been involved in sponsorship.

"But when people want information about them, they go straight to the girl in the sash. I wanted to be that girl."

Mrs Davis entered her first competition – Mrs United Kingdom Beautiful – in April and won first prize, flying out to compete against 20 other countries at the international final in Florida.

"People expect the competitors to have an unhealthy attitude but everyone was so friendly and wanting to help each other out," she said.

The first part of the gruelling three-day competition focused on interviews with the judges who went over Mrs Davis' CV with a fine toothed-comb.

She said: "You have to dress like you are going to a job interview too, so it isn't about being glamorous!"

Charity work was a big element and the entrepeneur was happy to be able to highlight a charity close to her heart.

The Me and Dee organisation gives care packs to families in the intensive care unit at Nottingham City Hospital, and provides seaside breaks for those who know they don't have long left with their loved ones.

Mrs Davis said: "I used to think beauty queens only said about charity work to make them look good but everyone there really cared and put in a lot of hard work to raise awareness."

Other rounds included fitness and talent, and of course, the famed bikini round.

But Mrs Davis' said the reality was very different to the perception.

"It is more like a carnival, flamboyant and with props, than a sexualised thing. It is about body confidence."

Mrs Davis came second in her category and was ecstatic to be named the people's choice.

Now she has caught the bug and says she will get involved in more competitions.

She said: "I can't resist the fun side. I love pageants – I believe in them and so whether I'm competing or not, I will always be involved."