Brook Lee

{{Infobox pageant titleholder

| name= Brook Lee

| image= Brook Lee.JPG

| title= {{ubl|Miss Hawaii USA 1997|Miss USA 1997|Miss Universe 1997}}

| birth_place= Pearl City, Hawaii, U.S.

| birth_name= Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee

| birth_date= {{birth date and age|1971|1|8}}

| spouse= Tory Mell (m. 2006)

| children= 1

| nationalcompetition= {{ubl|Miss Hawaii USA 1997|(Winner)|Miss USA 1997| (Winner)|Miss Universe 1997| (Winner)}}

}}

Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee (born January 8, 1971) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Hawaii USA 1997, Miss USA 1997 and Miss Universe 1997. Lee was the first native Hawaiian to win the title of Miss Universe.{{Cite web |last=Kim |first=Leland |date=June 5, 2009 |title=Where are they now? Hawaii's Miss Universe Brook Lee |url=https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/10482824/where-are-they-now-hawaiis-miss-universe-brook-lee/}}

Early life

Lee is of Chinese, Korean, Native Hawaiian, Portuguese, French, Dutch and English ancestry. Her Korean grandfather emigrated to Hawaii in the 1950s. Lee's mother, Toni, was president of Na Pua Ke Ali'i Pauahi, an alumni association of the school that petitioned the board for reforms.{{cite book |last=Rath |first=J. Arthur |title=Lost Generations: A Boy, a School, a Princess |url=https://archive.org/details/lostgenerations00jart |url-access=registration |year=2006 |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |isbn=9780824830106 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/lostgenerations00jart/page/210 210]–}}

Lee attended University Lab School for one year (1987–88) and graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1989.{{Cite web |title=Hawaii's Miss USA jumps into the job |url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/97/02/06/news/story2.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151230161147/http://archives.starbulletin.com/97/02/06/news/story2.html |archive-date=December 30, 2015 |access-date=2021-07-19 |website=archives.starbulletin.com}} She is a graduate of Chaminade University.{{Cite web |last=Kakesako |first=Gregg K. |title=Hawaii's Miss USA jumps into the job |url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/97/02/06/news/story2.html |website=Star-Bulletin}} Lee also pursued graduate-level studies in communications at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Her Korean name is Lee Shi-nae (이시내).{{cite web |url=http://www.donga.com/fbin/output?n=200009130252 |title=[클로즈업]한국계 97년 미스 유니버스 브룩 리 : 연재 : 뉴스 : 동아닷컴 |publisher=Donga.com |date=September 13, 2000 |access-date=September 1, 2012}}

Pageantry

=Miss USA 1997=

Lee won Miss Hawaii USA, then went on to participate in Miss USA 1997 at Shreveport, Louisiana on February 5, 1997, and was crowned by outgoing titleholder Ali Landry of Louisiana.{{Cite web|date=2015-10-16|title=Never forget when Miss Universe Brook Mahealani Lee gave the best pageant answer ever|url=https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/never-forget-when-miss-universe-brook-mahealani-lee-gave-the-best-pageant-answer-ever/|access-date=2021-07-19|website=Hawaii Magazine|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=6 February 1997|title=Miss Hawaii Named Miss USA|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/183772608/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-19|website=Newspapers.com|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719181611/http://www.newspapers.com/image/183772608/ |archive-date=July 19, 2021 }}

=Miss Universe 1997=

Lee represented the United States at the Miss Universe 1997 pageant in Miami Beach, Florida.{{Cite web|date=17 May 1997|title=Miss USA new Miss Universe|url=http://www.newspapers.com/image/133349928/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-19|website=Newspapers.com|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719181611/http://www.newspapers.com/image/133349928/ |archive-date=July 19, 2021 }} On May 16, 1997, she won the crown at 26 years and 128 days, becoming the oldest Miss Universe to win the crown at the time.{{Cite web|title=From the oldest to the tallest winners and backstage sabotage: 11 winning facts about Miss Universe|url=https://www.news24.com/channel/the-juice/news/from-the-oldest-to-the-tallest-winners-and-backstage-sabotage-11-winning-facts-about-miss-universe-20200220|access-date=2021-07-19|website=Channel|date=October 16, 2019 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Power |first=Monito |date=June 18, 2021 |title=Who Is Andrea Meza? From Miss World and Miss Mexico, the Journey to Her Miss Universe 2020 Win |url=https://queenly.com/blog/who-is-andrea-meza-miss-world-miss-mexico-journey-to-miss-universe/ |access-date=2022-02-04 |website=queenly.com |language=en}}

Lee and Al Masini, along with funding from the state, helped bring the Miss Universe 1998 pageant to Honolulu, Hawaii, for the first time.{{cite book |last=Wilson |title=Reimagining the American Pacific: From South Pacific to Bamboo Ridge and Beyond |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i790zsyYMyQC&pg=PR16 |year=2000 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=9780822325239 |pages=16–}}{{Cite web|title=Hawaii landing the crown jewel of pageants was like 'winning the right to host the Olympics'|url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/04/06/news/index.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-19|website=archives.starbulletin.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302003047/http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/04/06/news/index.html |archive-date=March 2, 2014 }}

Career

"She is the host of KHON2’s “Modern Wahine Hawaii;” she is the co-host for the Podcast “It’s a Hawaii Thing;” and she dances hula at Halekulani’s “House Without a Key.” She also believes in service to the community, taking on the Artistic Director role with the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame, where she produces the annual Lei of Stars installation of Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame inductees, and serves as the secretary for the nonprofit BEHawaii."{{Cite web|url=https://chaminade.edu/54561/celebrity-emcee/|title=Celebrity Emcee|date=August 16, 2023|website=Chaminade University of Honolulu}}

References

External links

[http://www.brookleehost.com/ Brook Lee - Official Website]
{{IMDb name|id=1069637|name=Brook Lee}}
[http://starbulletin.com/2004/03/30/features/story1.html Honolulu Star-Bulletin article from 2004] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080715042400/http://starbulletin.com/2004/03/30/features/story1.html |date=July 15, 2008 }}

{{succession box

| before={{flagicon|Venezuela}} Alicia Machado

| title=Miss Universe

| years=1997

| after={{flagicon|Trinidad and Tobago}} Wendy Fitzwilliam

}}

{{succession box

| before= Ali Landry, Louisiana

| title=Miss USA

| years=1997

| after=Brandi Sherwood, Idaho

}}