Ashleigh Francis was crowned Miss World Australia 2010 on Monday August 3, 2010.

Miss Francis, 23, attended St Peter’s Anglican Primary School and St Patrick’s College and said she still had fond memories of the area.

She is representing Australia in Miss World 2010 in Sanya, China on October 30, 2010.

Born to parents Peter and Marion Bright, Bright is the fourth of five siblings. Her parents named her Torah after Marion Bright learned the word meant “bearer of great message” in addition to referring to the five books of Moses. She grew up in Cooma, New South Wales, and attended Cooma North Primary School at the base of the Snowy Mountains, and initially started out as a downhill ski racer. Bright is married to American snowboarder Jake Welch, and got married in Salt Lake City, USA June 2010.

Bright uses a goofy stance and is coached by brother Ben. Older sister Rowena competed in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Bright is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “For me it’s just a way of life – I don’t drink, smoke, drink tea or coffee, or have sex before marriage. I’ve never drunk or smoked but I’ll go out to dance and stay up late and then drive home at the end of the night.

In 2004 She won the 2004 ‘Young Model Challenge’ contest in Australia. Rachael Finch, who now lives in Alexandria, Sydney, works for Platinum Television, a company that provides video contents for bars and events, and is an ambassador for the Heart Foundation.

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Fisher was born in Muscat, Oman to Scottish parents from Bathgate and Stranraer. They resided in Muscat because of her father’s job as a banker for the United Nations. Her name, after the Scottish island of Islay, is pronounced eye-la; she has four brothers. Fisher spent her infancy in Bathgate before moving with her family to Perth, Western Australia, when she was nine months old. Fisher has said that she had a “great” upbringing in Perth with a “very outdoorsy life”. She began appearing in commercials on Australian television at the age of nine, before going on to win roles in popular children’s television shows Bay City and Paradise Beach. She attended Methodist Ladies’ College and appeared in lead roles in school productions.

At the age of 18, with the help of her mother, she wrote two teen novels, Bewitched and Seduced by Fame, that became bestsellers. From 1994 to 1997 she played the role of Shannon Reed on the hit Australian soap opera Home and Away. After leaving the popular soap, Fisher enrolled at a prestigious theatre and arts training school in Paris, and went on to appear in Pantomime in the United Kingdom. She also toured with Darren Day in the Summer Holiday musical, and appeared in a London theatre production called Così. In 2002 she had a part in the film version of Scooby-Doo as Mary-Jane, Shaggy’s love interest, and subsequently was taken on by an American agent. A larger role in Wedding Crashers, alongside Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, in 2005 won her the Breakthrough Performance Award at the MTV Movie Awards. While promoting Wedding Crashers, she was officially crowned the 1000th guest on Australian talk show Rove on 2 August 2005. She entered the set ahead of Owen Wilson, winning the title by two meters.

In 2006, Fisher starred as Becca, a Manhattan party host, in the relationship drama London co-starring Jessica Biel, Chris Evans and Jason Statham. In 2007, she appeared in The Lookout, a thriller co-starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Matthew Goode, and Hot Rod, opposite Andy Samberg. She was scheduled to appear in The Simpsons Movie, although her appearance was cut from the final version. In 2008, she starred in Wedding Daze with Jason Biggs, Definitely, Maybe, with Ryan Reynolds, Elizabeth Banks, and Abigail Breslin, and had a voice role in Horton Hears a Who! Fisher has also co-written a script entitled Groupies with Amy Poehler, as well as another project entitled The Cookie Queen. She starred in the movie adaption of the book Confessions of a Shopaholic, which opened on February 13, 2009. In the film, Fisher played a college graduate who works as a financial journalist in New York City to support her shopping addiction.

Fisher has spoken out against the lack of opportunities for comediennes in Hollywood.

Fisher lives with her fiancé, English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, in London. She met Cohen at a party in Sydney, Australia. Fisher converted to Judaism after three years of study, completing her conversion in early 2007 and taking on the Hebrew name Ayala (איילה), the Hebrew word for Doe; she has described herself as “quite observant”. As of February 2009, the couple have not set a date for their wedding. On October 19, 2007, Fisher gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Olive, in Los Angeles.

Fisher has said that her “sensibility is Australian” and that she has a “laid-back attitude to life” that she feels “very Australian.” Her mother and siblings live and work in Athens, Greece, while her father lives in Frankfurt, Germany.

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Links

• Isla Fisher – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monk’s professional music career began in 1999 when she responded to an advertisement at the recommendation of her mother which requested girls with vocal and dance experience. The advertisement was for the Australian television series, Popstars, a TV talent show which aimed to create a successful new girl group. Monk, who has been trained in classical and pop singing and has been performing since she was eight years old, drove all night to audition. In one audition, she performed a rendition of Marilyn Monroe’s famous “Happy Birthday, Mr. President”, working on her previous experience as a Monroe impersonator at Warner Bros. Movie World. After numerous rounds of singing and dancing workshops, Monk was selected as a member of the group, which was named Bardot.

Bardot became the first Australian act to debut at the #1 position with both its debut single, “Poison”, and self-titled debut album. Further singles “I Should’ve Never Let You Go” and “These Days” followed and in August, the group embarked on its first national tour. Bardot performed at the 2000 ARIA Awards at which they were nominated in three categories.

In July 2001, the group released “ASAP”, the first single from their second album. Bardot now had more control over their music and image. The single peaked Top 5, as did follow-up single, “I Need Somebody”, their most successful single since “Poison”. The second album, Play It Like That debuted at #16, achieving gold status. Monk co-wrote the album track “Feel Right” with fellow bandmate Sally Polihronas. In 2002, final single, “Love Will Find A Way” completed Bardot’s string of consecutive Top 20 hits and the group embarked on its second national tour. In May, the group disbanded.

Solo music career

Soon after Bardot’s split, Monk began work on her solo career, re-signing a solo contract with Warner Music. She travelled overseas to work with some well-known producers including hit maker Rob Davis (famous for co-writing Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head”) and this resulted in two tracks, “Inside Outside”, Monk’s debut solo single and the album track “Don’t Push It”. Sophie performed her new single for the very first time in September on the grand final edition of the AFL Footy Show at Rod Laver Arena. “Inside Outside” was released 28 October 2002 and after a week of busy promotion, debuted in the Top 5, spending a total of 12 weeks in the ARIA Top 50, receiving gold status. Monk also co-wrote the B-side “Luv Me” (in dedication to her long-term boyfriend of the time) with producer Shane Monopoly. Adding to her growing profile was her role as model and spokesperson for Expozay Swimwear. Second single, “Get The Music On” became another Top 10 hit, spending 10 weeks in the Top 50. The single’s B-side “Shake” was also co-written by her.

In May 2003, Monk released her debut solo album, Calendar Girl, which surprised many by mixing contemporary pop-dance and funk with classical opera interludes, Monk having been classically trained growing up. Despite heavy promotion including TV advertising and in store appearances, the album debuted at #35 which was seen as a disappointing result. The album’s final single, the ballad “One Breath Away”, was re-recorded and mixed for single release, peaking at #23 in July, spending only 9 weeks in the Top 100. Despite beginning work on new material in early 2004, including songs with dance act Rogue Traders, Monk parted ways with Warner Music. The material created during these sessions has yet to surface.

Acting career

Monk has since established herself in Hollywood. Although most of her roles have been reasonably small, she did play Marilyn Monroe for a high-budget telemovie The Mystery Of Natalie Wood (2004) and starred in the music video “Always” for rock group blink-182. In February 2006, she starred in her debut feature role as the flirtatious and seductive ‘best man’ Andy in the spoof comedy Date Movie. A scene in the film sees Monk act out a parody of the infamous Paris Hilton burger advertisement, somewhat ironic now since her ex-fiancee started dating Hilton in 2008.

June 2006 saw the release of the Adam Sandler film Click, a story about a universal remote control. The film debuted at #1 on both the US and Australian box office charts. Monk plays a small role in this film; Stacey, David Hasselhoff’s flirtatious, bimbo secretary who she described in an interview as “… kind of a floozy that kind of just works there because she gets around a bit. Another serious character.” She has also appeared in a sex scene with Vincent Chase of HBO’s Entourage in the episode “The Day Fuckers.”

Monk has wrapped up work shooting a role in the dark comedy Sex and Death 101, written and directed by Daniel Waters. The film will also star fellow Australian actor Simon Baker, and Winona Ryder, and received a straight-to-DVD release on 5 March 2008. She has also scored a part in, what is described to be her biggest role yet, the upcoming Warner Bros. comedy Spring Breakdown. Monk describes her character as “… the head of the evil girls. I’m like the evil bitch that everyone wants to be like and they all end up hating her.” She has confirmed that she is recording three songs for the film Spring Breakdown and that one of the songs “Candy” will be released as a single to coincide with the film’s release. Monk will appear in the upcoming 2008 horror film Pearblossom along side Scout Taylor-Compton. She is also set to star in an upcoming comedy titled Spring Break 83 in which she plays a character named Brittany.

Personal life

Monk was born in England, but her parents moved to Australia’s Gold Coast, Queensland. She also spent time at Somerset College and Macgregor State High school. Prior to, during and after her experience as a member of Popstars, Monk dated an Australian man who she split with shortly before moving to the United States.

Monk has had a tabloid reported private life, including a period dating actor Jude Law. Monk started dating Benji Madden in 2006, but in January 2008, media outlets reported that the couple had split up. Monk had returned to Australia alone, almost a year to the day since Madden proposed. On February 12, 2008 it was officially announced by Monk’s Sydney agent, Yoon Kim, that “Sophie and Benji have officially split. The decision was mutual and they remain amicable.” Three months later, Monk was linked to Ryan Seacrest.

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Links

• Sophie Monk – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• MySpace: Sophie Monk

Born and raised in Australia, Jaymee Ong caught the attention of a famous Australian photographer at a hair salon at the age of 15. She soon began her modelling career, which successfully launched her as the top Asian face in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

In 1999, Jaymee was spotted by Jackie Chan who signed her on to Media Asia in Hong Kong where she began her film career. She starred alongside A-listers Nicholas Tse, Daniel Wu, Stephen Fung and Jackie Chan in her debut film Gen-X Cops, which became a hit in Asia. The success of Gen-X Cops soon led to Jaymee’s lead role in Rave Fever, an independent movie that established her as a serious actress. Jaymee’s outstanding acting capabilities saw her break into Hollywood as she landed a cameo in Hollywood blockbuster Pearl Harbor in 2001. Since then, Jaymee shifted her acting career to Los Angeles where she was cast for several guest appearances in well-received US TV series Las Vegas and Entourage.

Based in Singapore since 2004, Jaymee has co-starred with Thai actor Gof Akara and Sharon Au in the Channel 5 drama Tiramisu. Jaymee is also the face of AXN, currently hosting and writing for E Buzz, a weekly entertainment magazine programme where she got to interview international celebrities the likes of Nicolas Cage, Aaron Kwok, Jet, Chris Daughtry, Amerie and Maggi Q. With her charming charisma and youthful appeal, Jaymee became the spokesperson of Silkygirl in 2005.

Being a World Vision Singapore Goodwill Ambassador 2007, Jaymee has travelled to Phuket, Thailand to learn more about the poverty, HIV/AIDS and child prostitution issues, and participated in various World Vision events upon her return to help spread the cause. In December 2007, Jaymee was involved in a nation-wide campaign for World AIDS Day called “One Life Experience”. She is now still with her on/off boyfriend, DJ ‘Theo’ (real name Kev Galbrizzle).

Jaymee is the ambassador of Mitsubishi i (i-Play edition), a multiple award-winning car. Since July 2007, Jaymee has been zipping around in her “Green Machine”, which is dressed up in a design she personally chosen in the Mitsubishi i-Play edition design contest.

Trunfio is the youngest girl in a family of 4 children. She attended St Mary’s Primary School in Merredin. Later Trunfio and her family moved to Australind, where she attended Parkfield primary and then Australind Senior High School.

She has a tattoo of a clothes hanger on the back of her neck. She is a close friend of fellow Western Australian model Gemma Ward.

Trunfio was the winner of the Australian version of the television series Search for a Supermodel and came third in the international version.

Trunfio is represented by IMG Models and Viviens Australia. She has modelled for various Australian as well as international designers including Valentino, Victoria’s Secret, Sweetface, and Neiman Marcus. She has been featured on numerous magazine covers and was featured in the Australian movie Two Fists, One Heart.

In 2009, she will serve as a mentor for the female models in the American version of Make Me a Supermodel.

Born in Maroubra, a suburb of Sydney, as Yvonne Strzechowski, she adopted the more phonetic spelling of Yvonne Strahovski as her stage name.

She is a graduate of University of Western Sydney’s Theatre Nepean with a Bachelor of Arts in Performance. Strahovski appeared in some roles in Australian film and television and currently appears as Sarah Walker in the American television series Chuck. Strahovski speaks fluent Polish and employed it in a brief exchange in the Chuck episode “Chuck Versus The Wookiee”. Although she portrays an American in the series, she briefly spoke in her real Australian accent in the episode “Chuck Versus The Ex”. Her audition footage, which is included in “Chuck” Season One’s DVD set, can be seen on YouTube.

Megan Gale has been described in an article as “Italy’s hottest star since Sophia Loren” whilst Roselyn Della Sabina (a singer songwriter) was named next after Megan Gale.

Modelling

At 24, while studying at university, she won a modeling competition and was cast by Australian casting director Toni Higginbotham, to appear in a series of advertisements for the Italian telecommunications commercials,

Omnitel (now Vodafone Italy); she appeared in the company’s advertising from 1999 until nowadays. She was also retained by the Australian Tourist Commission in 2003 as ‘their face of Australia in Italy’.

Gale has modeled for Italian fashion houses such as Genny and favors many Australian designers, such as Akira Isogawa, Sass & Bide, and Alex Perry. Recently she was the fashion commentator for the Australian television awards, the Logies. She was the face of the upmarket Australian department store David Jones. Gale’s appearances on the catwalk in the famous annual fashion parades are extremely popular and she has helped to raise David Jones’s profile to the younger market and trendy fashion designers.

In January 2008, Gale announced her retirement from catwalk modeling after 15 years and strutted down the catwalk for the last time just weeks later at a David Jones winter collection launch in Sydney. She has since been replaced by Victoria’s Secret Angel Miranda Kerr.

Acting

Megan Gale also tried her hand at acting and appeared in the movies Vacanze di Natale and Stregata Dalla Luna. She also won a cameo part in the 2005 movie Stealth where she played a role as Dr. Orbit’s secretary. In January 2008, it was announced that she had been offered the part of Wonder Woman in the upcoming George Miller movie version of Justice League of America.

Television

In 2005, Gale became a guest reporter for Nine Network travel show Getaway from October 2005 to June 2006.

She also worked with Mike Munro as co-host of the nine-episode Australian documentary TV show What a Year, which first aired on the Nine Network on October 2, 2006. In 2007, they were replaced by Bert Newton and Julia Zemiro and the show has since been axed.

Reports suggested that Gale would take over hosting duties of the television series, Australia’s Next Top Model in 2009. However the position has since been filled by Sara Murdoch.

Gale also became the National Ambassador for Kids Help Line in February 2005.

Personal life

Gale was previously in a four year relationship with Italian model and singer Marzio Canevarolo. She also briefly dated 33-year-old Australian model Josh Clapp. She is now in a relationship with Andy Lee, the latter half of comedy duo Hamish and Andy.

Hawkins was born in Holmesville, New South Wales, Australia and currently resides in Sydney. She attended West Wallsend High School. She is one of four children,

and her parents are of Australian heritage. Hawkins was a former cheerleader for the Newcastle Knights rugby league team,

and the Hunter Pirates basketball team and also worked as a model. It was as a model that she was cast as Miss Australia for the Miss Universe competition. Hawkins also worked as a choreographer for a dance team that toured Australia specialising in Hip-Hop and Ballet.

Miss Universe

After being selected to represent Australia in the internationally televised Miss Universe 2004, Hawkins sought advice from previous titleholder Ashlea Talbot, and learned basic Spanish prior to travelling to Ecuador.

The Miss Universe pageant was held in Quito, Ecuador on 1 June 2004. A week prior to the event, Hawkins was ranked sixth favourite to win the crown. During the final competition, Hawkins became the first Australian to make the semi-finals since Voni Delfos in 1993. She then proceeded to the top ten after competing in the evening gown competition, where she wore an unusual vintage copper gown that was designed by Bora and cost AU$25,000. After the swimsuit competition, Hawkins advanced to the top five, and eventually won the Miss Universe title. The remaining top five were all delegates from the Americas and Caribbean, including Shandi Finnessey of the USA (1st runner-up), Alba Reyes of Puerto Rico (2nd runner-up), Yanina Gonzalez of Paraguay (3rd runner-up) and Danielle Jones of Trinidad and Tobago (4th runner-up). Hawkins was the first winner from Oceania since Lorraine Downes of New Zealand held the title in 1983, and the first Australian since Kerry Anne Wells in 1972.

Hawkins was crowned by outgoing titleholder Amelia Vega from the Dominican Republic, after famously being announced by host Billy Bush as the “thunder from down under”. Pageant co-owner Donald Trump described Hawkins as “the most beautiful Miss Universe I have seen in many, many years”.

Hawkins received an elaborate Mikimoto pearl encrusted crown, worth $250,000 as well as an extensive prize package. Hawkins was the first blonde haired woman to win the title since Angela Visser of the Netherlands in 1989.

As Miss Universe, Hawkins represented the Miss Universe Organization. Her “sister” 2004 titleholders were Shelley Hennig (Miss Teen USA, of Louisiana) and Shandi Finnessey (Miss USA, of Missouri). During her reign, Hawkins travelled to Korea, The Bahamas, Brazil, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Singapore, Indonesia, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, India, Ecuador, Mexico, Puerto Rico, had multiple trips to Thailand, the host of Miss Universe 2005, and her home country of Australia. As part of her year-long reign as Miss Universe, she resided in New York City in a riverside apartment provided by the Miss Universe Organization. Also during her reign as Miss Universe, Hawkins stated that her wish was to continue modelling and become a television presenter.

Shortly after being crowned Miss Universe in 2004, Hawkins created news during a fashion show at Westfield Miranda, an Australian shopping centre, when she tripped on the hem of her dress, which fell to the floor. Hawkins was left scantily clad in her red thong in front of a surprised crowd. Hawkins later apologized, laughingly adding she “wished she wore better underwear”. The incident received the dubious distinction of being named “The most embarrassing moment ever shown on Australian television” by Australia’s Nine Network. The “Wardrobe malfunction” was widely circulated through news outlets and according to Google, caused a sharp increase in internet searches for “Jennifer Hawkins”.

Hawkins served as a judge for the Miss Universe 2008 finals in Vietnam.