Mary Therese Friel
Encyclopedia
Mary Therese Friel is a beauty queen and business woman from New York
who has held the title Miss USA
1979.
Friel, who grew up in Pittsford, New York
won the titles Miss New York USA
and Miss USA
. She was later a model
, and opened her own modelling agency in 1987 . She currently trains and represents a large number of models, as well as training beauty pageant participants.
title in 1978 and went on to represent her state in the Miss USA
pageant televised live from Biloxi, Mississippi
in April 1979. This was the first of four years that the pageant was held in Biloxi.
Friel placed second overall in the preliminary competition, behind Miss Illinois USA
Debra Ann Niego (who would go on to place third runner-up). She won the swimsuit and interview competitions, and placed second in the evening gown competition to Tracey Goddard of Washington
, who would be her first runner-up.
Friel was nineteen years old when she won the crown, which is relatively young for holders of the Miss USA title. Her victory was New York's second, and came after a string of three consecutive first runner-up placements in the early 1970s.
Friel later represented the United States
in the Miss Universe
pageant held in Perth, Western Australia
in July the same year. She was a semi-finalist in the pageant, which was won by Maritza Sayalero
of Venezuela
. This was the first time that the pageant had been held in the Southern Hemisphere.
As Miss New York USA and later as Miss USA, Friel campaigned for numerous charities, including the Special Olympics
, the American Heart Association
, Cerebral Palsy
, Camp Good Days and Special Times
, March of Dimes
and Muscular Dystrophy
. She was also an ambassador for the American Lung Association
.
Holding the title Miss USA opened opportunities for Friel to meet with various celebrities during her reign. Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants opened a lot of doors for me. I met a lot of people and made a lot of friends. She briefly travelled with singer Julio Iglesias
and was invited by Mick Jagger
(of the Rolling Stones) to his Anniversary concert. She was also a special guest at a Beach Boys concert. She also met Frank Sinatra
, Elton John
, Kris Kristofferson
and Cher
. Her reign coincided with the murder of John Lennon
, which occurred when she was attending a birthday event for singer Ben Vereen
.
in May 1980, Friel returned to study, attending Fordham University
in New York City
. She signed with Ford Modeling Agency and modelled in a wide variety of American cities, as well as in Europe, as well as making the covers of Good Housekeeping
and Glamour
.
In 1983 Friel decided to take a break from the "high life" and returned to her parents' new hometown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, becoming a teacher at a local Junior College and resuming her studies at Villanova University
.
She also co-authored a book “You can be…the Model You!” and board game by the same name.
Friel was also a coach to Andrea Zingg of Klamath Falls, OR (formerly of East Rochester, NY). Zingg is most remembered for her constitutional activisim during the water crisis of July 2001, which threatened local farmers and ranchers livelihood. This news story knocked missing intern Chandra Levy
off the front page for a time. (More information about the water crisis can be found by searching Andrea Zingg+Klamath Falls, or Andrea+Zingg+water+crisis)
, where she bought a farm and started her own modeling agency. Her company started as a small modeling, pageantry and self development coaching facility for teenage girls and is now a full service modeling agency with a complete training program. She was joined in her endeavours in 1995 by her husband Kent. She is also a pageant coach, and has coached titleholders such as Candace Kuykendall, Miss New York Teen USA
2006.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
who has held the title Miss USA
Miss USA
The Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA...
1979.
Friel, who grew up in Pittsford, New York
Pittsford (village), New York
Pittsford is a village in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 1,418 at the 2000 census. It is named after Pittsford, Vermont, the native town of a founding father....
won the titles Miss New York USA
Miss New York USA
The Miss New York USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss USA pageant. Amber Collins is the reigning Miss New York USA 2011...
and Miss USA
Miss USA
The Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA...
. She was later a model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
, and opened her own modelling agency in 1987 . She currently trains and represents a large number of models, as well as training beauty pageant participants.
Pageantry
Friel, a student at St. John Fisher, first won the Miss New York USAMiss New York USA
The Miss New York USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss USA pageant. Amber Collins is the reigning Miss New York USA 2011...
title in 1978 and went on to represent her state in the Miss USA
Miss USA
The Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA...
pageant televised live from Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
in April 1979. This was the first of four years that the pageant was held in Biloxi.
Friel placed second overall in the preliminary competition, behind Miss Illinois USA
Miss Illinois USA
The Miss Illinois USA pageant is a competition that selects the representative for the state Illinois in the Miss USA pageant.Illinois is one of the most successful states in the competition. It is one of only four states to have won four or more Miss USA titles and one of only three states to...
Debra Ann Niego (who would go on to place third runner-up). She won the swimsuit and interview competitions, and placed second in the evening gown competition to Tracey Goddard of Washington
Miss Washington USA
The Miss Washington USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Washington in the Miss USA pageant.Washington has been moderately successful in terms of number of semi-finalists and placements, and has had one Miss USA...
, who would be her first runner-up.
Friel was nineteen years old when she won the crown, which is relatively young for holders of the Miss USA title. Her victory was New York's second, and came after a string of three consecutive first runner-up placements in the early 1970s.
Friel later represented the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the Miss Universe
Miss Universe
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest that is run by the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant is the most publicized beauty contest in the world with 600 million viewers....
pageant held in Perth, Western Australia
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
in July the same year. She was a semi-finalist in the pageant, which was won by Maritza Sayalero
Maritza Sayalero
Maritza Sayalero is a former beauty queen who was crowned Miss Venezuela in 1979 and became her country's first Miss Universe titleholder...
of Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. This was the first time that the pageant had been held in the Southern Hemisphere.
As Miss New York USA and later as Miss USA, Friel campaigned for numerous charities, including the Special Olympics
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
, the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
, Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
, Camp Good Days and Special Times
Camp Good Days and Special Times
Camp Good Days and Special Times, commonly called "Camp Good Days", is a residential summer camp which provides summer camping experiences for children, adults and families whose lives have been touched by cancer and other life challenges...
, March of Dimes
March of Dimes
The March of Dimes Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies.-Organization:...
and Muscular Dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy is a group of muscle diseases that weaken the musculoskeletal system and hamper locomotion. Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue.In the 1860s, descriptions of boys who...
. She was also an ambassador for the American Lung Association
American Lung Association
The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.-History:...
.
Holding the title Miss USA opened opportunities for Friel to meet with various celebrities during her reign. Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants opened a lot of doors for me. I met a lot of people and made a lot of friends. She briefly travelled with singer Julio Iglesias
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva , better known simply as Julio Iglesias, is a Spanish singer who has sold over 300 million records worldwide in 14 languages and released 77 albums. According to Sony Music Entertainment, he is one of the top 15 best selling music artists in history,...
and was invited by Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
(of the Rolling Stones) to his Anniversary concert. She was also a special guest at a Beach Boys concert. She also met Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
and Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
. Her reign coincided with the murder of John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, which occurred when she was attending a birthday event for singer Ben Vereen
Ben Vereen
Ben Vereen is an American actor, dancer, and singer who has appeared in numerous Broadway theatre shows. Vereen graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts.- Early years :...
.
Post-pageant years
After passing on her crown to Shawn Weatherly of South CarolinaSouth Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
in May 1980, Friel returned to study, attending Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She signed with Ford Modeling Agency and modelled in a wide variety of American cities, as well as in Europe, as well as making the covers of Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
and Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
.
In 1983 Friel decided to take a break from the "high life" and returned to her parents' new hometown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, becoming a teacher at a local Junior College and resuming her studies at Villanova University
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
.
She also co-authored a book “You can be…the Model You!” and board game by the same name.
Friel was also a coach to Andrea Zingg of Klamath Falls, OR (formerly of East Rochester, NY). Zingg is most remembered for her constitutional activisim during the water crisis of July 2001, which threatened local farmers and ranchers livelihood. This news story knocked missing intern Chandra Levy
Chandra Levy
Chandra Ann Levy was an American intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C., who disappeared in May 2001. She was presumed murdered after her skeletal remains were found in Rock Creek Park in May 2002...
off the front page for a time. (More information about the water crisis can be found by searching Andrea Zingg+Klamath Falls, or Andrea+Zingg+water+crisis)
Modeling Agency
In 1987 she returned to her hometown of Rochester, New YorkRochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, where she bought a farm and started her own modeling agency. Her company started as a small modeling, pageantry and self development coaching facility for teenage girls and is now a full service modeling agency with a complete training program. She was joined in her endeavours in 1995 by her husband Kent. She is also a pageant coach, and has coached titleholders such as Candace Kuykendall, Miss New York Teen USA
Miss New York Teen USA
The Miss New York Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss Teen USA pageant.Like the first Miss USA competition , the first Miss Teen USA competition was won by a Miss New York Teen USA. That winner was Ruth Zakarian, who went on to...
2006.