Miss China Zhuo Ling, as the first Chinese contestant to the glitzy "Miss Universe 2002" ,impresses the pageant and finishes third

Miss Universe Competition 2002 co-host Daisy Fuentes reacts to an answer from Miss China Zhou Ling during the question-and-answer portion of the 2002 Miss Universe competition in San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 29.

　　JUST one month ago, 19-year-old Zhuo Ling was an ordinary model for an agency owned by a local artist Chen Yifei. She had scarcely been seen at the city's fashion shows for top international brands.

　　However, with the close of the Miss Universe 2002 competition in Puerto Rico on May 29, Zhuo's reputation soared above that of the world's supermodels - she now wears a sparkling crown, taking third place at Miss Universe 2002 and crowned Miss China.

　　The young girl has suddenly become very busy. Her agenda is too full to add one more thing.

　　She flies between cities like San Francisco, Beijing, Shanghai and Hawaii for interviews, charity activities and parties. Producers follow her and invite her to be their cover girl. Her boss Chen Yifei, who already enjoys national fame as a painter and businessman, announced that Zhuo will be the leading actress in his new film, starring with one of China's top actors, Ge You.

Zhuo smiles as she poses during the swimsuit portion of the 2002 Miss Universe competition.

　　"On my first day back in Beijing, I had almost no time to talk with my daughter," said her father, Zhuo Xiangbing. "But I prepared all the news clippings for her."

　　Soaring reputation

　　The girl, now called "Oriental beauty" by the domestic media, was previously given the cold shoulder by the press.

　　Zhuo is the first Chinese woman to participate in the Miss Universe competition. In addition, she is also the youngest among the top five.

　　But her journey to fame was not easy.

　　In the first-round competition in Shanghai, Zhuo only won third place. The champion of the Shanghai area was Yang Daolin, a tender-looking air stewardess.

　　In the final competition for China, Zhuo won the crown, but she still did not capture the attention of the public. As the competition lacked some type of permission from the government, the media hyped the event as a scandal and forgot the beautiful champion.

　　At that time, everyone who participated in the activity felt huge pressure, including Zhuo, according to Zhang Luyu, the co-organizer of the competition. Before Zhuo departed for abroad, she received almost no media attention.

　　Just three days before the competition, Zhuo suddenly fell ill. However, she held up even better in the pageant. Wearing a white qipao-style gown, Zhuo received her highest score for the evening dress portion of the competition.

　　Zhuo's fluent English was also a plus for her. The first and second place winners all needed English interpreters during the Q&A phase of the contest. Zhuo answered questions directly in fluent English.

　　Zhuo won everyone's heart with one of her answers. To the question: "What's the most common misconception about your country?" she answered: "Most people think that Chinese people are traditional and quiet, but look at me." She said stretching out her arm. The response won her a big hand.

　　Happy woman

　　Zhuo's success with English as a second language should be attributed partly to her boyfriend, who is from the United States. Since Zhuo fell in love with the man, who teaches English in Shanghai, her spoken English has steadily improved.

　　Unlike other stars who try to hide their love affairs, Zhuo Ling said she introduced her American boyfriend to her parents.

　　"My parents are satisfied with him," she said.

　　During the competition, Zhuo said her father and her husband - she is still single - are the people she loves most in the world.

　　The first person Zhuo called after taking third place in the pageant was her father, the dearest person in her life.

　　Zhuo's parents divorced when she was only 14 years old. "At that time, I felt very depressed and sat on the sofa till deep in the night," said her father. "My daughter accompanied me and chatted with me to pass that unhappy time."

　　Zhuo Ling once suggested her father try a second marriage, but he declined. He seems used to being a father and also a mother.

　　Since Zhuo Ling went to kindergarten, it was her father that washed her face and combed her hair every morning. He bought Zhuo her first hairpin, and first Nokia mobile phone.

　　"I felt proud of my daughter and proud that I am her dearest person," smiled her father, who accompanied her from day to night during her short visit in Shanghai.

　　By Xing Bao