Times are tough when a former Miss Universe doesn't have a job on television. But don't expect Jennifer Hawkins to be standing in the dole queue any time soon. Five years after reaching the very top of the beauty pageant business -- and it is a business -- she is still the most bankable star in the country, with estimated earnings of around $7 million a year in endorsements and appearances.
Not bad for a 25-year-old former cheerleader from Newcastle.
Even though her shows Make Me a Supermodel and The Great Outdoors have been shelved, there's no chance Channel 7 will let her go.
In fact they'll probably give her any role she wants. Anything to stop the other networks stealing her away. News, Jennifer? Why not!
There are many, many beautiful women in this country, so why is Hawkins so popular? What makes her stand out from all the other clothes horses who have ambitions of a career on the box?
For starters, she's actually good, unlike some other Aussie pin-ups who've tested the TV waters -- in a bikini, of course -- only to be sent packing back to the catwalk.
Sure, Hawkins has the distinction of having held the title as the most beautiful woman in the world.
But she also has something much more valuable: the brains to know that other women hold the key to her success on the small screen.
Yes, we know blokes love her. That much is obvious.
But what makes Jen so remarkable is that most women do, too. Perhaps not in the same way as the blokes, but what I mean is she isn't threatening to women -- you wouldn't mind having a yarn and a glass of wine with her.
She is a non-threatening beauty. And that's the key for beauty queens to turn a catwalk career into something a little more enduring -- likeability by both sexes equals bankability.
Gorgeous women who succeed always risk falling victim to that quirky Aussie trait, the tall-poppy syndrome.
We've all done it. It's when we decide that someone is getting too big for their boots, or stilettos as the case may be, and they need to be cut down to size.
And other women are more often than not the worst offenders. We are particularly vicious when it comes to our own sex.
There's nothing new to seeing beauty queens on TV. American television networks are absolutely chockers with high-profile women who have a sash at home in the cupboard.
Even Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was crowned Miss Wasilla in 1984.
But now, in Australia, years after the death of the iconic Miss Australia Quest, we're seeing a new wave of ambitious and beautiful women. Women who are not ashamed to use their beauty and brains as a shortcut to a career.
Go to any beauty pageant, quest or ``Miss fast car/bikini'' competition and most of the entrants will tell you their ambition is to be on television.
And why not? A sash and a title, once considered a little daggy, is now proven to be a very effective entree into the television world.
It's a great way to get through the door, but without personality or talent, it's generally a short stay.
Erin McNaught, Laura Dundovic and Kimberley Busteed are all recent Miss Universe Australia title-holders, who are trying their luck in television. Time will tell if they make it.
Without doubt, the resurgence in the beauty quest or pageant is due to the success of Jennifer Hawkins.
She turned her title into the most remarkable career, in which she is not only wealthy but liked and respected by both sexes. Not even accidentally flashing her G-string-clad bottom to the world during a shopping centre parade could hurt her. In fact, it made her all the more human.
She's not just the glossy goddess gracing the pages of our Myer catalogue. She's flesh and blood, just like us.
Models are a dime a dozen on television; beauty queens are something quite different.
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