Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee (born January 8, 1971) is an American former beauty queen who was crowned Miss Hawaii USA 1997,

Miss USA 1997 Miss USA 1997 was the 46th Miss USA pageant, held at Shreveport, Louisiana in January and February, 1997. Delegates arrived in the city on January 19, the preliminary competition was held on February 2, 1997 and the final competition on Februar ...

, and

Miss Universe 1997 Miss Universe 1997, the 46th Miss Universe pageant, was held on May 16, 1997, at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, United States. Brook Lee of the United States was crowned by Alicia Machado of Venezuela at the en ...

. Lee is the first native Hawaiian to win the title of Miss Universe.

Early life

Lee was born on January 8, 1971, in

Pearl City, Hawaii Pearl City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Ewa District and City & County of Honolulu on the Island of Oahu. As of the 2010 Census, the CDP had a total population of 47,698. Pearl City is located ...

. She 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 who petitioned the board for reforms. Lee attended University Lab School for one year (1987–88) and graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1989. She is a graduate of Chaminade University. Lee also pursued graduate-level studies in communications at the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. Her Korean name is Lee Shi-nae (이시내).

Pageantry

Miss USA 1997

Lee was crowned Miss Hawaii USA on her first try, then went on to participate in

at Shreveport, Louisiana on February 5, 1997, where she was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder

Ali Landry Ali Germaine Landry (born July 21, 1973) is an American actress, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1996. She played Rita Lefleur on the UPN sitcom '' Eve'' and was the Doritos Girl in a 1998 Super Bowl commercial. In 1998, ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Miss Universe 1997

Lee represented the United States in the

pageant in Miami Beach, Florida. On May 16, 1997, she won the crown at 26 years and 128 days, becoming the oldest Miss Universe to win up until the victory of

Andrea Meza Alma Andrea Meza Carmona (born 13 August 1994) is a Mexican model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2020. Since winning the title, she became the third Mexican woman to be crowned Miss Universe. Meza holds the record ...

Miss Universe 2020 Miss Universe 2020 was the 69th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States on May 16, 2021. At the end of the event, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned Andrea Meza of Mexico ...

, who won at the age of 26 years and 276 days. This record would be broken once more during the

Miss Universe 2022 Miss Universe 2022 will be the 71st Miss Universe pageant, to be held at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States on January 14, 2023. Harnaaz Sandhu of India will crown her successor at the end of the e ...

competition when

R'Bonney Gabriel R'Bonney Nola Gabriel (born March 20, 1994) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2022. Gabriel will represent the United States at Miss Universe 2022. Early life and education Gabriel was born in Houston, Texas to ...

won at the age of 28 years and 300 days. Lee and

Al Masini Alfred Michael Masini (January 5, 1930 – November 29, 2010) was an American television producer. Life and career Early life and education Al Masini was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. Raised by his widowed mother, Masini started working afte ...

, along with funding from the state, helped bring the

Miss Universe 1998 Miss Universe 1998, the 47th Miss Universe pageant, was held on May 12, 1998 at the Stan Sheriff Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad and Tobago was crowned by Brook Lee of the US at the end of the event. This marked the ...

pageant to

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii, for the first time.

Later life

After her reign as Miss Universe she made several cameo appearances in movies and television shows, and has hosted many television shows in Asia and the United States. She is the host of a regional television show known as ''Pacific Fusion'', which focuses on Asian-American lifestyles. She has also hosted episodes of ''Great Cruises'' on the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United S ...

. Since 2006, Lee has been married to actor Tory Mell and they have two children.

References

External links

Brook Lee - Official Website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Brook 1971 births American actresses of Chinese descent American actresses of Korean descent American beauty pageant winners American people of Dutch descent American people of English descent American people of French descent American people of Native Hawaiian descent American people of Portuguese descent Kamehameha Schools alumni Living people Miss Universe 1997 contestants Miss Universe winners Miss USA 1997 delegates Miss USA winners University of Hawaiʻi alumni Hawaii people of Chinese descent 20th-century American people People from Pearl City, Hawaii 21st-century American women