A Beautiful Life

A Beautiful Life

BY JAMES BLEVINS • PHOTOS BY SHEILA JERNIGAN

Lauren Monahan still competes in beauty pageants, both as a way to push herself to try new things and as a way to honor her proud Coast Guard father.

Lauren’s dad couldn’t always make it to her beauty pageants when she was growing up, and she didn’t really expect him to. James Scott was a respected commander in the United States Coast Guard after all, a position full of responsibility and pressure, which took up much of his time and a lot of his focus.

But there was this one pageant in Miami that was especially important to Lauren, as it was early in her pageant career. She would be singing in the talent portion of this particular event and, despite being a gifted singer, was equal parts confident and nervous at the prospect.

During her song, Lauren looked out into the crowded audience and discovered, quite to her astonishment, her father, Commander Scott, staring back at her with a smile as big as life on his face.

“I almost cried on stage,” remembers Lauren of the moment. “Because there was my dad. He was really there. He had completely surprised me.”

LAUREN MONAHAN, 67, WAS THEN and has always been in awe of her father. Being the eldest child, she grew up with his impressively tall figure in the home. Someone who was proud and polished in uniform, who looked, according to Lauren, just like movie star Gregory Peck in person.

From an early age, her father’s commitment to the Coast Guard planted a patriotic seed in Lauren, and she never forgot how much he sacrificed for her and her family.

“I just know what he did for me growing up,” reminisces Lauren. “He did so much and I always wanted him to know I knew that.”

Her dad never pushed her to join the United States Coast Guard, nor was it expected of her, but Lauren longed to make the same sacrifice for her country that her dad had made when he was young.

Graduating from the Coast Guard’s elite Officer Candidate School in 1978, Lauren was one of only two women in her graduating class at a time when few women joined the military. She served three years and her experiences within the armed services helped shape the person she is today.

Retiring to Ocala in 2018 with her husband, Robert, Lauren still competes in beauty pageants. She was recently crowned Ms. Senior Florida in March.

BORN AND RAISED IN FORT LAUDERDALE, Lauren caught the bug for beauty pageants early and at 18 was crowned queen of her hometown. Since then, she has held over 20 state pageant or national titles from such organizations as Miss America, Galaxy, Continental, and All-American Beauties. She hasn’t slowed one iota since retiring, winning Ms. Senior Puerto Rico in 2014, Ms. Senior Tennessee in 2015, and Ms. Senior Virgin Islands in 2018.

Lauren credits her experiences in the Coast Guard for much of her success as a pageant winner over the years. It has taught her focus, discipline, the importance of small details, and what hard work can truly accomplish.

“With me,” explains Lauren, “I am so detail-oriented that I have to have charts and graphs, which really crosses over into how I compete in these pageants. Everything has to be plotted and thought out in advance. It’s discipline of thought and preparation that I gained from being in the Coast Guard.”

“Plus,” she adds laughing. “I’m ultra-competitive. I don’t play Trivial Pursuit without throwing somebody across the room, okay? I have to win! And [these pageants] are an outlet for that. I have invested much of my time of her, but she spends upwards of four hours a day making sure she’s as prepared as she possibly can be for the unexpected.

“I enter a pageant for these reasons,” lists Lauren, “one, of course, is the challenge, and two, all of a sudden, you have to be fit. So I finally get out of my chair and take a run, which I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise.”

In competitions, Lauren admits, her natural Mezzo Soprano range and love of Les Misérables songs can give her an advantage over other contestants.

“It is exceedingly hectic!” exclaims Lauren of pageants. “You have to be in full-makeup, full-hair, full-dress, and when you’re getting close to 70, that’s not easy anymore. And, let’s not forget, you’re expected to look like the queen.”

Five to six hours for rehearsal, then a change, maybe a bathroom break or some coffee, then back to the grind of more rehearsals. It can be a grueling pace for even the youngest competitor.

“Unless you’re in good shape and you’re on the ball, you’re not going to make it five days,” claims Lauren.

But despite the hustle and bustle, Lauren admits that after over 50 years of competing in beauty pageants, it’s only gotten better on the senior circuit.

“It’s still an exciting, glamorous event for sure,” states Lauren. “However, the more surprising thing is that everyone comes together, despite the competition, and becomes a big family. Every woman is down-to-earth, friendly, and caring. And that shocked me because it was a lot more ‘out for blood’ when I was younger, and that’s just not how these ladies are. They’ve all become my buddies for life.”

THESE NEWFOUND FRIENDSHIPS have significantly dampened the wildfires of Lauren’s ultra-competitive side, and she doesn’t mind it one bit.

“It’s the quality of people I’ve met at these senior pageants that have done that for me,” admits Lauren. “I’m never angry. I’m never really disappointed. At the end of the day, I’m going to be happy for whoever wins.”

Lauren gives much of the credit to her late father, Commander James Scott of the United States Coast Guard.

“He was my inspiration,” says Lauren. “He is the reason for my strong patriotism, my pride in the military. Because of my dad I’m not just a girl who can smile pretty. I’m a girl who has represented her country.”

Lauren hopes that her dad—Old Hollywood handsome, smiling a great big smile—is looking down on her during this next important pageant in her life. She hopes he knows just how much the example he set for her growing up meant to her then and stills means to her now.

“He knew I was always looking for a crown,” acknowledges Lauren. “But it wasn’t really the crown that mattered the most to me: it was the United States Coast Guard uniform. In my heart I know he knew that.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Famous Pageant Winners

These celebrities got their start under the lights in a tiara:

Vanna White, Miss Georgia Universe (runner-up),1978

Kathy Lee Gifford, Junior Miss Maryland,1970

Diane Sawyer, Kentucky Junior Miss, 1963

Lynda Carter, Miss USA, 1972