Las Vegas Weekly

January 21, 2009 · 9:40 AM

Miss Nevada Julianna Erdesz overcame childhood struggle to achieve beauty pageant success

By Robin Leach

2009 Miss Nevada Julianna Erdesz.

Photo: Miss America Organization

As one of the four oldest contestants in this year’s Miss America Pageant, 24-year-old Miss Nevada Julianna Erdesz knows this will probably be her last shot at the big win because of her age!

“You simply age out with Miss America after this birthday,” Julianna admitted candidly. She says she once entered a shopping mall beauty contest when she was just 4 years old, but the climb really began upward in 2003 when she won Miss Reno Sparks. She’d entered the pageant in order to earn money for college.

The following year, Julianna was third runner-up in the Miss University of Nevada, Reno, pageant and, in 2005 and 2006, was first runner-up in two other pageants. She didn’t compete in 2007 because of education studies, but last year, with her last shot, she won the Miss Carson City contest, which made her eligible to represent Nevada in this year’s Miss America Pageant.

Photo: TVT

2009 Miss Nevada Julianna Erdesz.

The talented musical theater graduate and former part-time blackjack dealer told me: “I took a year off to focus on other paths, but I knew I would always wonder what if had I not gone for it one more time. Now I know that Nevada has never won the Miss America Pageant, I’m going into it full force to change that! I hope it is a steppingstone for me to eventually fulfill my dream of going to Broadway. My mom gave me a graduation gift of a week in New York of going to theater, and I’m hooked.”

“I’m not worried about dealing with rejection in New York. Nothing could be harder than getting into the Miss America Pageant, so those auditions will be a breeze. I think of all this as having been on-the-job training for the Great White Way in New York.”

Julianna has been a regular visitor to Las Vegas over the years from her home in the northern part of the state. “I’ve got a lot of friends here in Vegas who moved here from Reno. We’ve shared a lot of adventures, and I love Vegas. I could easily live here after New York City. I know it’s going to be tough getting started as a Broadway rat. There are a lot of challenges. You have to work several jobs just to pay the rent while you go on countless auditions. But I’m a survivor. I’m excited for that process. I know the odds are against me succeeding, but my life has been about overcoming odds.

Photo: Tom Donoghue/www.donoghuephotography.com

“My parents were Hungarian immigrants, and for five years, we lived in an RV. From age 12 to 17, my mother home schooled me so I could take care of my sick father while she went out to work to support us. It was a really hard time. It was tough to get through, so I’m not afraid of anything that life now throws at me.

“I credit my parents for everything about me. They were good Hungarian stock, and I still speak the language. I spent one year in Budapest going to school there at age 9. I also acknowledge my amazing mentor, my high school dance teacher Gina Hill, who encouraged me every step of the way that I could do anything I set my mind to.”

Julianna’s mom, Ildi, and her dance teacher have flown into Las Vegas for Saturday’s big night. Said Julianna: “I did my big interview yesterday for the judges. They just wanted to know everything about me. After that experience, I could handle any job interview or audition. I would never be frightened after this.”

Photo: John Katsilometes

2009 Miss Nevada Julianna Erdesz and Mr. Vegas DeLuxe Robin Leach.

Julianna has started her own Arts Reach foundation to help at-risk kids learn that music and dance programs can better their lives. If she wins the $50,000 Miss America prize Saturday, she will move to New York to audition for shows and complete her studies for a master’s degree in performing arts.

I had to ask, albeit very gingerly, what she’d do if the Broadway tryouts didn’t bring success. She answered quickly and firmly: “My platform about helping at-risk children through the arts is so relevant to our times today. Our new president has his heart in the right place and wants change. He wants good role models and good parents for today’s children. I would love to teach arts to at-risk youth if the Broadway dream doesn’t come true. I would be just as happy that I’d tried for it instead of wondering what if.”

All of us at Vegas DeLuxe wish Julianna good luck and good fortune both onstage at Planet Hollywood on Saturday and in her dream-come-true journey to Broadway!

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