My Special Interview with Wendy

Wendy Marcelle Fitzwilliam the 1.85 cm (6’1″) Statuesque Stunner, born October 4, 1972, is Trinidad & Tobago’s second Miss Universe. Trinidad & Tobago’s first Miss Universe was Janelle ‘Penny’ Commissiong who won in 1977 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Commissiong was also the first black woman to capture the Miss Universe title; Fitzwilliam was the third.

In 1996, the first of two daughters graduated from the University of the West Indies with a Bachelor’s degree in law. She is a lawyer.

At 25, she won the 1998 Miss Universe competition held at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. This is when I jumped in. She is now a mother and we are still good friends, actually Wendy is the kind of woman that when you become friend with her it is forever.

I have interviewed Wendy with 4 simple questions, let see what she has to say….

What are you doing now?
Currently I am getting ready to launch my new radio program, The Wendy Fitzwilliam Show, which my technical guys will get online for the world, but it will be hosted by Radio Heartbeat 103.5FM in Trinidad and Tobago and Florida USA. Four years ago I very controversially decided to become a single mother, which created quite a stir in the Caribbean so I have shared that experience in my first publication called “Letters to Ailan” now available on amazon.com (shameless plug here!).
I’ve also been very busy raising and having the best time with my Little Prince, Ailan Andrew, while running Trinidad and Tobago’s investment promotion arm as Vice President Investment Promotion, eTecK.

How did Miss Universe affect your life? Positive and negative consequences?
Universe has allowed me to develop an amazing global network of friends and colleagues and travel in a manner which most people work their entire lives to achieve. It was a great temporary job with amazing long term perks! As a simple girl from Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago, I have experienced so many different cultures first hand, interacted with the greatest leaders of our time in politics, business, education, entertainment, you name it and luckily I continue to do so. I’m a little more sophisticated, confident and humble because of that amazing, once-in-a-life time experience.
The not so cool thing about Universe is the total lack of privacy – and a handful of overly friendly folks (stalkers) who can sometimes fell like a mini army. Not to mention the frogs one must date in order to find her Prince…or King:-)!

What should be the purpose of Miss Universe in today’s life?
In the last few years, like so much of entertainment, the iconic status of Miss Universe is being lost in the morass of reality television which, I think, is a euphemism for mediocrity. Reality t.v. has deteriorated to a celebration of our least attractive qualities as human beings and I think Miss Universe is feeling the pressure to compete in that space. Yet the young women who participate at Miss Universe are as smart, charismatic, ambitious and gorgeous as ever! Universe celebrates all that is wonderful about being a woman in the diverse types of women who have held the crown in its 50+ history. It has been and should continue to be a huge career boost for a young woman, whether it be in entertainment, politics, business, family or any direction that she may choose. Miss Universe should lead the charge in today’s world of iconic beauty and femininity, thereby getting back to what they do best, CELEBRATING all that is fabulous about the fairer sex.

What is your message to teenagers around the world?
A loaded question. Thinking back to my teens, someone like me could almost never win on this answer:-).
I’d say always have a great time and enjoy this phase of life, for as tough as it may seem at times, you’re not going to repeat it and you will never again in life be forgiven for silly mistakes – you can always blame your parents now. This does not work for anyone past their 21st birthday. But please be careful what you make a “permanent record” of yourself especially with what you post online, the lawyer in me knows that a permanent record can come back to haunt you! Finally never waste good energy on bad things!