Co-Anchor, Fox & Friends Crowned Miss America at 23, Carlson insists she did not feel like a natural beauty back then. "To even be comfortable entering the Miss Minnesota pageant in June, I took a year off from Stanford [where Carlson was a junior] to work out and get in shape. My natural body is chubby so walking around in a swimsuit was not within my comfort zone," she says. In fact, Carlson claims she entered the pageant at her mother’s urging. The talent portion had recently been elevated to half of each contestant’s total score-which made her mom think that, as a classically-trained violinist, Carlson might have an advantage. Mom was right. Carlson won the Miss Minnesota and Miss America crowns in quick succession. But even then, she says she felt far from ravishing. Interviewed by reporters, she mentioned her weight struggle and picked up the paper the following morning to find the front-page headline "Blimpo wins Miss America." "Truly, I feel so much prettier now than I did when I wore that crown," insists Carlson. "I’m more sure of myself and feel I deserve the recognition I get. Now I love my job and have two small children who have given me a purpose in life. I’ve learned how to take care of myself and stay slim without being so obsessive-I run three miles, five days a week and that does the trick. I also have a husband who tells me I look better when I don’t try too hard, something I’ve come to believe too."

Beauty Entrepreneur/Former QVC Host "I used to torture myself about my weight," says Rogers. "In my twenties, I was carrying an extra 40 pounds and I beat myself up over it constantly." Rogers worked as a makeup artist and achieved considerable success-she was the chief artist at the Grammy Awards and worked on dozens of celebrities-but it wasn’t until her thirties, when she started appearing in front of a TV camera, that she felt she’d arrived. "I became a QVC host for their beauty segments. And I loved this new role. I shed the 40 pounds and it wasn’t even that hard. Once I was happy in my life and my career, I didn’t need the weight anymore to justify my unhappiness." For the next decade, Rogers went on to host a number of beauty infomercials, in addition to the QVC gig. "I’ve been told I was pretty most of my life, but it wasn’t until my 40s that I really started to feel beautiful. Losing the 40 pounds helped, as did finding professional happiness." Then her career crashed and burned. "I got embroiled in a lawsuit with the infomercial company and my marriage of 15 years was crumbling. Suddenly the pendulum of my life swung very hard in the other direction. But it wasn’t all bad. I found the drama and challenge of dealing with this far more interesting than the self-imposed weight struggle of my twenties. Professionally, I came out the other end okay-and with my looks and weight intact." Today Geisinger is married to a man 10 years her junior and together they’ve just launched a new (hilarious) infomercial for a body deoderizer called Doc Bottoms Aspray. "My life has changed a lot in the last four years but it’s also been an amazing ride. I love where I am and the way I look. I wouldn’t change any of it."

Dianne Vavra, 42 Vice president of public relations, Dior Beauty Gloria Jean Morton, 46 Dental hygienist Growing up in New York City, sisters Gloria (right) and Dianne strove to look like Dynasty characters. "My beauty regimen was all about glitter, hot rollers and lip liner," Vavra admits. Today, the sisters have scaled back and feel the result is more flattering. "I never noticed how pretty Gloria’s green eyes were until she lost the blue mascara," Vavra says. Morton concurs, pointing out how aging heavy makeup can be: "Dianne looks today the way I remember her as a teenager, when she was fresh-faced." Both say their current regimen is quicker than it used to be. "On a daily basis, I wear no more than a tinted moisturizer, mascara, tinted lip balm and maybe eyeliner," says Vavra, who, as an executive at Dior, could acquire zillions of high-quality products but has decided simple is better. Morton also subscribes to the less-is-more philosophy and has a skin care routine that consists of just an all-natural cleanser and moisturizer. She does, however, cop to applying a full face of makeup-albeit in softer colors than she donned in the 1980s-because, "At work, I have to be thisclose to people." Overall the sisters say they like what they see. "Maybe I’ve just come to accept my hair and face so I feel less compelled to ‘improve’ them," Vavra says. "Regardless, I appreciate the extra time I’ve gained in the morning."

Host of PBS’ MoneyTrack In the 1980s, Krueger was the only female broker in her Denver office, and she felt anxious all the time. "I was burdened by the need to earn my coworkers’ respect." So she killed herself to succeed at the office and let her personal appearance languish. "I rarely exercised and didn’t watch what I ate," she says. "Plus, I’d been in a motorcycle accident as a teen and never got my teeth properly fixed." At 30, she quit her job as a broker to go after a new showcase for her financial knowledge: TV. She began appearing on local news programs and eventually created her own show. As her TV career took off, Krueger finally carved out time for her appearance. "I got my teeth fixed. I started coloring my hair. I splurged on facials. And I began working out. I’ve lost 10 pounds in the past year. They say it’s all about inner beauty, but once I put myself first, I discovered an outer beauty I didn’t know I had."