There’s no denying that the smartest, most-talented and most-beautiful women in the state are Brooklynites — and this year, Mallory Hagan is the queen of the crop.
The 21-year-old Alabama native is the newest Miss Brooklyn after tap dancing and two-piece bikini-ing her way into the judges’ hearts at the March 28 competition.
She defeated nine contestants, running on a “platform” of self-identity and positive body image.
Hagan, after all, wants to work with the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, a self-esteem-promoting operation.
“As Miss Brooklyn, I want to leave a legacy for this organization rather than myself,” Hagan said. “If I can convince one girl to be confident enough to be interested in competing … my legacy will be my investment.”
The Bedford-Stuyvesant renter has some big shoes to fill, as her predecessor Keelie Sheridan of Sheepshead Bay readies herself for the Miss New York pageant — but Miss Brooklyn pageant promoters say that shouldn’t be a problem for Hagan, who’s a “smart, driven, gorgeous” representation for the borough of Kings.
“She is really an amazing woman,” said Tamara Walker, a spokeswoman for the pageant. “Ms. Hagan has so much to offer, and she’ll be an empowering role model through the next year.”
Hagan is taking a hiatus from Brooklyn College to focus on her job and community work — like most pageant winners do, Walker said — and said she is excited to work her way toward the less-cool title of Miss America.
If she makes it that far, she’ll be following in the tiaraed temple of the greatest Miss Brooklyn who ever lived, Leigh-Taylor Smith, who was one of five finalists in the 2009 Miss America pageant.
