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Jean Bartel

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Beauty Contestant

The Resume

    (October 26, 1923-March 6, 2011)
    Born in Los Angeles, California
    Miss California (1943)
    Miss America (1943)
    Appeared on Broadway in 'Desert Song' (1946) and 'Of Thee I Sing' (1952)
    Appeared in the movies 'Sanctuary' (1961) and 'The Oscar' (1966)

Why she might be annoying:

    She only entered the Miss America contest after learning one of the judges was a Broadway producer, whom she hoped to impress in order to launch an acting career.
    She refused to pose in her swimsuit after the pageant, starting a trend that eventually prompted Catalina Swimwear to drop their sponsorship and start the rival Miss USA pageant.
    Late in life she said, 'I forgot how old I am because I've been lying about it for so long.'

Why she might not be annoying:

    She resembled Carole Lombard.
    She was honored by the Treasury Department for selling $2.5 million of War Bonds in 1943, more than any other individual that year.
    She suggested that the Miss America pageant should award scholarships to contestants, an idea that was adopted two years later.
    After leaving show biz, she started a successful travel agency.
    She was the oldest of 47 former Miss Americas to appear at the 90th pageant (January 15, 2011).

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 17 Votes: 17.65% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 106 Votes: 64.15% Annoying