Karen Mellor

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Karen Hannan (née Mellor) was born in 1963 and became the 30th contestant to win the Miss United Kingdom pageant.

Mellor was discovered by a model agent while modelling bridal wear for a work colleague's wife. In May of 1987 she won the Miss Derby contest, qualifying her for entry to the Miss United Kingdom contest, which she won in August of that year. The 24-year old had been with her boyfriend Stuart Hannan since she was 19, and he proposed to her backstage after the announcement that she'd won the competition.

She came tenth in the subsequent Miss World competition. Being Miss UK meant that she had to stay single for the duration of her office. A month after she passed the crown on, she married Stuart.

[edit] Life after the pageant

Karen and Stuart Hannan have three children and run a chip van in Barnsleywith^{[citation needed]}, England.

[edit] Personal quotations

"The world of beauty pageants is superficial, but I don't regret a minute. To me there was nothing degrading or exploitative. It was such a lot of fun."
"Nobody made us enter these competitions, no-one forced anybody to watch. It's not wrong to enjoy your looks while you're young."