Notable celebrities who kicked off their career in pageants

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From day time talk show hosts to politicians, some of Hollywood’s biggest names got their start in pageants. If you have a winning smile, a personality to match, a competitive spirit and a presence that can’t be ignored, you may be able to follow in the footsteps of A-lister’s like Oprah Winfrey, Diane Sawyer and Halle Berry.

Forget where you come from or what your name is; the following celebrities prove that with little exposure and the determination to succeed, anything is possible.

Scroll below for seven notable stars who got their big break as a child pageant star. – ruthie hawkins/@ruubabie

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Vanessa Williams: The biggest pageant winner of the bunch picked up three titles at the 1984 Miss America Pageant for the preliminary talent, swimsuit contest and the biggest award of them all: the crown. Today, Williams is a successful actress and recording artist.

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Sharon Stone: This star launched a successful modeling career with Ford Models after winning the Miss Pennsylvania crown. In the ’80s Stone branched into film. She is best known as the sexy seductress in Basic Instinct.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger: Surprisingly, the former actor and governor of California won seven Mr. Olympia and five Mr. Universe titles for his work as a bodybuilder.

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Halle Berry: This Revlon model and Academy Award winning popular film actress shot to stardom after wining the fourth runner up spot at the Miss World pageant in 1986.

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Oprah Winfrey: Without a doubt one of our generation’s most influential talk show hosts and humanitarians, in 1971 Winfrey won the Miss Fire Prevention contest where she would represent a local radio station in Nashville, Tenn. The station was so impressed with her work that they offered her an on-air spot delivering afternoon headlines. From there, she went on to win the Miss Black Tennessee pageant in 1972. At the tender age of 19, Oprah became a news anchor for WTVF-TV in Nashville, launching her current worldwide stardom.

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Jeri Ryan: Known for her sexy role in Star Trek: Voyager, Ryan began her road to stardom as a runner up in the Miss Illinois pageant. She did, however, walk away with the swimsuit competition title.