It’s fitting that Claudia Jordan’s background features work on two of the most popular game shows in television history. Her entire life and career has played out like a girl’s dream prize package, jam-packed with success, TV and radio fame, and her very own spot on the greatest international stage.

HOST WITH THE MOST: Claudia Jordan relied on her considerable Pageant experience when she co-hosted the Miss Universe 2009 Pageant televised worldwide on NBC.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Claudia has become the native daughter of the Ocean State through her success in the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA competitions. She attended Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio where she majored in broadcasting and journalism and had her own campus radio program. Claudia also earned all-American honors as a sprinter in the 400 meter relay. In 1990 she made a name for herself by winning the Miss Rhode Island Teen USA crown, her first major crown and the pavement for her golden road to stardom. Seven years later she returned to the pageant stage, nabbing the title of Miss Rhode Island USA and a Top 10 finish at the 1997 Miss USA Pageant.

The 36-year old has had a variety of roles on television, culminating in her ultimately popular roles as a Barker’s Beauty on The Price is Right and a model on Deal Or No Deal. She’s worn so many different hats, from appearances on Dr. Phil to guest spots on That’s So Raven and her Sirius radio show on Jamie Foxx’s Foxxhole station called The Claudia Jordan Show.

But it wasn’t until 2009 that her relationship with the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA organizations brought her career to an entirely new level. Claudia linked up with Miss Universe Organization co-owner Donald Trump as a contestant on the 2009 season of his blockbuster TV hit, Celebrity Apprentice. In the series, celebrities competed to raise money for a charity of their choice; Claudia selected the NAPSAC Foundation [National Association to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Children] as her charity. On August 23rd she linked up with The Donald one more time as a co-host alongside Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush at the 2009 Miss Universe Pageant.

With her own universe rapidly expanding, Claudia explains the secret to her success, and offers up a glimpse of her blueprints to building a lasting foundation in the entertainment industry.

Pageantry magazine: The pageant and modeling competition industry has proven to be a great training ground for the entertainment world. When did you first realize that you wanted to pursue a career in the entertainment industry?
Claudia Jordan: I feel like I have layers—a lot of us do—but often we only see one side to a person. Sometimes you just have to throw a bunch of things against a wall and see what sticks. I started off thinking I was going to be a runway model, but then I found out I was too short for that so I just tried a bunch of other things and I like them all.

I don’t want to have to pick just one. It makes me feel good to be able to work in different arenas. Being diverse means you’ll never be out of a job. When the modeling dries up I can get on the radio and when the radio dries up I can go on television. I also write and do stand-up comedy, which many people don’t know.

PM: Within the pageant industry, you’re one of a select few to garner a major title at both the Teen and Miss levels of competition. Can you tell us a little about the titles?
CJ: When I was in the Teen pageant, my mother made me do it. I was very shy and introverted. I wore bangs and I always had hair in my face. I didn’t want my mom spending money on me to be in these pageants and not win. But she made me do it and that kind of made me come out of my shell. It wasn’t until I was probably 21 that I said, Hey, I can probably do something with this.

Later, I entered the Seventeen cover model competition and was selected as one of the top eight girls out of 40,000, and then I was on MTV and one thing led to another, building up my self-confidence.

There are a lot of critics of these pageants out there, but it made me go from being very shy and insecure about myself to being more encouraged. I’m happy to have gotten very positive results in the pageant systems. I’m glad my mother saw something in me and believed in me enough to get me involved.

When I was growing up, I never thought I would be doing what I’m doing now. The journey has been fantastic. My life for the past two years have been so much fun. I’ve been to the inauguration, the Democrat’s convention, fundraisors, the Emmy’s... it’s just been incredible. I still look at myself as a small town girl from Providence Rhode Island, and I have my success in pageantry to thank for getting me started in all of this.

I wish I could go back now and compete. Once I had a taste of winning Miss Teen Rhode Island, I new I had to go further. I actually entered Miss Ohio when I was going to college in Ohio and though I didn’t win, I placed in the top five. Then I went back to compete in Miss Rhode Island Pageant and it wasn’t until my third time competing that I won my state. From there I went to Miss USA and placed in the top ten, which rarely happens when you’re from as small state like Rhode Island. We’ve only had one or two top finishers in the forty-plus year history before. It was a great honor to compete and it felt really good.

PM: Did competing in these events prepare you for the transition to your present career?
CJ: Absolutely, and you actually get more from losing than you do from winning. I know it sounds funny, but it’s true. In the business I’m in, you deal with a lot of rejection. If you go on 100 auditions, you might get three callbacks, which might lead to one job or maybe you’ll get put on hold. You have to have it within you to deal with rejection more than 95 percent of the time. When you go into a pageant with 50 or 100 women, it’s kind of absurd to think you’re going to win. So when you don’t, you can’t take it so personally.

When I didn’t win a pageant, I feel like it toughened my skin. It makes you want to go back to the drawing board and do better. It helps you understand that it’s not always something you did wrong, it could just be the timing. In this business, you have to have a strong skin because you’ll always have just as many critics as you do fans. Pageant competition has helped me deal with the criticism and rejection so that it doesn’t hurt me as much. When I was younger, sixteen or seventeen, the negativity would devastate me, but now I feel much more powerful.

I would tell all the young pageant girls coming up, that are still in high school, be strong. People don’t “hate on” people who are not successful or making an impact, people “hate on” winners. Keep that in mind when you hear people talking about you, it all stems from jealousy.

PM: Your profile and bio is quite impressive. Please give us an overview of some of your credits.
CJ: I’m currently on a 10-city tour with The Foxxhole, which is a (Sirius) radio show group with Jamie Foxx. It’s an adult content radio show, and it’s uncensored and I wouldn’t recommend the young people to listen in. But it’s great to get to work with an Academy Award winner every week. Comedy Central is going to make a cartoon of us. I have a reality show coming to VH1 soon called Single, Sexy and Starving. It’s kind of like a female version of Entourage, in that you’ll get to see our ups and downs in the business, trying to get to the next level. It’s very positive and upscale. We’re not one of these reality shows where people are arguing in a house.

PM: Let’s talk about the transition following your reign as a titleholder.
CJ: What I really enjoy about being a pageant girl turned celebrity is that we’re always judged like we have one layer, like we’re plastic figures that just smile for the camera, and that is so not the case. I have met so many amazing girls in pageants and they’re smart, intelligent, fun and witty. They are just normal girls who want to achieve and be role models and examples of what other women should aspire to be.

PM: Would you say you see yourself as a role-model?
CJ: I do. I get a lot of emails from men who say they would like their daughters to be like me. They tell me they think I’m beautiful and they like that I stand up for myself and still stay classy.

When I was on Celebrity Apprentice, there was a lot of negativity with Joan and Melissa Rivers and I could have lashed out and sunk to the lowest common denominator, but instead I was able to hold my composure. The years being in pageants trained me to take the high road and communicate my thoughts so I won’t reduce myself to the role of arguing on reality shows.

PM: Tell us about your experience on the Celebrity Apprentice.
CJ: I learned a lot from that show, mostly things about myself. I learned that I’m too soft and nice sometimes and I don’t put myself first. Sometimes you try harder to be nice and make people like you, because of the stereotype of the pretty girl—the stuck up cheerleader.

I also found that under pressure and backed into a corner, I can still maintain myself with class and dignity when people aren’t showing me respect or class. And that’s really tough, because how you deal with something when emotions are involved shows a lot about your intelligence.

PM: When you were on Deal or No Deal on NBC you were the first case. Is there any significance to holding the first position?
CJ: I like to say I was the best [laughs]. There really isn’t a significance, they place people in positions based on the look of the group. It just so happened that I was a veteran in the show-business game compared to the other girls.

PM: How did you become reacquainted with the Miss USA system this past year to be part of the Miss Universe Pageant in the Bahamas?
CJ: Donald trump came to the set of Deal or No Deal and he was promoting Celebrity Apprentice, thinking that he wanted to put a model-type girl on the next season. None of the girls were interested, but I have always been into real estate. All of the money that I have earned has been put back into real estate, as I’ve bought three properties. I want to have a nice little real estate empire and, it’s funny, on my MySpace page I even said that I wanted to be a watered down version of Donald Trump. On the set I would preach to the girls about their credit and their money and investments, and taking control of their lives. Modeling is the one field that women make more than men. Take advantage of that.

So Donald came up to me and said, “I hear you’re the girl I need to talk to,” and I said, “You’re absolutely right.” It didn’t work out for the first season, but we became friends and he told me that he respected what I was doing and he really wanted me to be on the show. When I finally got the call to be on the show I got one days notice to pack for a month and be on a plane to New York the next day. And though I was unprepared to be on the show, cause I had only seen the show once, I’m glad I did it. It was really tough.

PM: The Miss Universe Pageant is held on the largest live stage in the world in terms of viewership. Describe the feeling of a live telecast.
CJ: I wasn’t nervous about hosting but I was nervous about my voice. When I’m really exhausted, I have a really raspy voice. I had to do 12 hour rehearsal days two days before the event. I got in before Billy Bush, but he’s a pro, he doesn’t need the practice. I’m in there and I’m on no sleep and there’s smoke and the teleprompter went out—little things here and there. But I wasn’t nervous about it, I was really excited.

I would love to do it again. I would be even more relaxed, it would be a dream job. I can relate to the girls and they thanked me because I made them feel comfortable because I know where they’re coming from and how they feel. I hung out with a few girls after and they were just a good group of girls.

PM: Many of our readers dream of a life in the spotlight. They dream of following in your footsteps. What advice can you give them?
CJ: If you really want this, you have to know the good and the bad that come along with it. There have been so many family events that I have missed because of my jobs, and that’s the sacrifice you have to know you’re going to make. But if you’re one of the lucky ones, and you have the talent and do the work, it can be one of the most amazing careers.

People write me all the time now to let me know I inspire them and make them feel good about themselves. If you really want it, go after it 110 percent, but always have a plan B, just in case. Stay in school, because there’s nothing more attractive than a girl who is beautiful and intelligent. Work on your inner beauty as much as your outer beauty to become a well-rounded individual. And don’t ever think you are better than anyone else just because you have been blessed with good looks.

PM: What’s next for Claudia Jordan?
CJ: I really want to get into movies. I was an All-American in track and field, so I’d like to do something where I could showcase that. It’s time for me to stop worrying and just take the leap into something new.

I had a meeting with Comedy Central about hosting a show, so I would love to co-host a show or have an empowering talk show like Tyra Banks or Oprah.

One of the things that make me so driven is that people used to jab me when I was younger and tell me that I was never going to make it. So I’d like to say, to all those people out there that are getting negativity from people, take that and use it as fuel. Show them that you can take that negativity and turn it into a positive.

[Editor’s note: Listen to the complete Claudia Jordan interview on the Pageantry PodCast]