Stars’ Pageant Pasts: Halle Berry, Britney Spears, Katy Perry and More

Credit: Courtesy of Selena Gomez/Twitter

Selena Gomez

“Oh my… Talk about tbt,” Gomez captioned an adorable throwback photo of herself posing with a “model” banner alongside a giant trophy when she was just a toddler.

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Eva Longoria

Long before she became known on Desperate Housewives, Longoria was strutting her stuff in her 20s in pageants, including when she was crowned Miss Corpus Christi USA in 1998.

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Sarah Palin

The controversial politician held the title of Miss Wasilla, Alaska, in 1984.

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Vanessa Minnillo

Nick Lachey’s wife, who was Miss South Carolina Teen USA, looked like the perfect pageant winner when she was crowned Miss Teen USA in 1998.

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Halle Berry

Those legs! Berry showed off her gams during the bikini competition in the Miss USA pageant in Miami, Florida, in 1986.

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Britney Spears

The "Criminal" singer first danced on stage at age 3 and won loads of pageant trophies, which are now housed in a museum in Kentwood, Louisiana. "I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age," Spears has said.

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Justin Timberlake

Longer before the musician brought sexy back, he brought a sash back — home, that is. At the 1992 International Supreme King contest in Nashville, "Justin won six trophies," his grandmother Sadie Bomar once boasted to Us.

Credit: Courtesy of Katy Perry

Katy Perry

The "Part of Me" singer's love of kooky outfits started young! "My mom entered me in two [kiddie pageants]," Perry blogged in 2009. After she failed to win top honors, Perry lamented: "Second place is not good enough!"

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Blake Shelton

Jay Leno mortified the Oklahoma-born singer by flashing this cowboy-chic photo during an appearance on The Tonight Show. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Shelton groaned, before sheepishly admitting, "Yes, I was in beauty pageants."

Credit: Texas Cinderella Pageants

Demi Lovato

The "Give Your Heart a Break" singer was crowned Texas State Cinderella Miniature Miss 2000 when she was 8, and continued to compete over the next few years. "I started in pageants, so I had to adapt to the princess life," Lovato has joked.

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Beyonce Knowles

In Houston, the performer earned her first standing ovation at age 7 after singing "Imagine" by John Lennon.

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Justin Bieber

Usher saw a video of Bieber singing at age 12 in Canada's Stratford Star competition and launched him to superstardom.

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LeAnn Rimes

She shot to fame at just 13 with her single "Blue," so it's no surprise that at age 5, Rimes was already charming audiences in Texas.