What has Caite Upton been doing since she was Miss South Carolina?
—Alexandra Lincoln, Raleigh, N.C.
The former Miss South Carolina Teen USA (2007), 23, who became an Internet sensation for famously rambling when asked a question during the pageant, has turned a negative into a positive.
“It wasn’t hard to live down,” says Upton, who placed fourth in the pageant. “I have accomplished a lot from it.”
Among those accomplishments are participating in “The Amazing Race,” on which she finished in third place with ex-boyfriend Brent Horne as a partner; appearing on the MTV series “Ridiculousness”; and sharing her experience in “Speak,” a documentary, now on DVD, about the fear of public speaking, which teaches terrified public speakers how to find their voice. “I wanted to take part in it to show people how you can overcome tough situations, how you can make a joke of it, grow from it and I wanted to teach other people, who have been through similar situations,” Upton says. “It teaches you lessons in life.”
These days, Upton has moved from her Lexington, S.C., hometown to Los Angeles, where she says she is "as busy as the Energizer bunny." One of her latest projects is a show that she and her manager are working on called "Learning Stuff." She says, “It is very similar to what I used to do with Jimmy Kimmel as his correspondent. I get to be myself and I get to be funny [and interact with people]. It is going to be a great show and I really look forward to it.”
