{{Short description|Paraguayan-American author, singer and reporter}}
{{Infobox person |name = Sharlene Wells |image = Sharlene Wells-Hawkes.jpg |alt = |caption = Wells speaks to the Utah National Guard in 2009 |birth_name = Sharlene Wells |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1964|03|16}} |birth_place = {{flagicon|Paraguay}} Asunción, Paraguay |death_date = |death_place = |body_discovered = |death_cause = |resting_place = |resting_place_coordinates = |citizenship = |other_names = |known_for = |education = |alma_mater = Brigham Young University University of Utah |employer = |occupation = {{hlist|Author|singer|reporter|beauty pageant titleholder}} |years_active = |title = Miss Utah Valley 1984<br>Miss Utah 1984<br> Miss America 1985 |term = |predecessor = Suzette Charles |successor = Susan Akin |party = |opponents = |boards = |spouse = Bob Hawkes (m. 1987; div. 2018) |partner = |children = 4 |parents = |relations = |callsign = |awards = |signature = |website = |footnotes = }}
'''Sharlene Wells''' (born March 16, 1964) is a Paraguayan-American author, singer, and reporter from Salt Lake City, Utah who was Miss America 1985. She worked with ESPN from 1987 to 2002 and was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Armed Forces in 2015.
==Family and early life== Hawkes (née Wells), was born in Asunción, Paraguay and spent most of her childhood in Mexico, Chile and Ecuador. She was the first foreign-born, bilingual Miss America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1980/1985.aspx|title=Miss America: 1985|work=Miss America|accessdate=2014-02-07|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324191416/http://www.missamerica.org/our-miss-americas/1980/1985.aspx|archivedate=2016-03-24}}</ref> She spent most of her teenaged years in Buenos Aires, Argentina.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dacowits.defense.gov/About/Committee/Sharlene-Hawkes/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829055827/http://dacowits.defense.gov/About/Committee/Sharlene-Hawkes/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 29, 2016 |title=Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services - Sharlene Hawkes|work=United States Department of Defense|access-date=28 August 2016}}</ref> When she won the Miss America title, her parents were living in Holladay, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Being crowned Miss America was seen by some as an antidote to the scandal associated with the prior year's winner, Vanessa Williams.<ref>Knight-Rider article</ref> In 1985, Deseret Book published a biography of Wells, written by Sheri Dew.
Hawkes is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). She attended Brigham Young University (BYU), from which she graduated in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in communications.<ref>[http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=1909 Crowning Achievements], BYU magazine</ref>
==Miss America== The choice of Wells as Miss America was widely seen as a way to overcome the scandal connected with her predecessor, Vanessa Williams.<ref>Knight-Rider article</ref>
Wells publicly stated her support for the reelection of Ronald Reagan and her opposition to abortion, pre-marital sex, and the Equal Rights Amendment.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=3xXJTpQHVkkC&dq=Sharlene+Wells&pg=PA168 Karen W. Tice, ''Queens of Academe: Beauty Pageantry, Student Bodies, and College Life'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012), p. 167-168]</ref>
==Education and career== Hawkes is the author, or co-author, of several books. This includes a book written by Hawkes and Barbara Barrington Jones entitled ''The Inside Outside Beauty Book'' (1989), ''Living in but not of The World'' (1997), and ''Kissing a Frog: Four Steps to Finding Comfort Outside Your Comfort Zone''. She is also a singer and has released albums called ''When We Will All Believe'' (1994) and ''Songs of the Morning Stars'' (1996).
Hawkes holds a master's degree in integrated marketing communications from the University of Utah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/missamerica/miss-america-took-crown-in-wake-of-vanessa-williams-controversy/article_8c91fb1c-cec3-54d6-aeff-dca4efc64d72.html |title=Miss America 1985 took crown in wake of Vanessa Williams controversy|author=TRUDI GILFILLIAN|work=pressofatlanticcity.com|date=16 September 2013 |accessdate=28 August 2016}}</ref>
Hawkes was a horse racing and college football reporter with ESPN from 1987 to 2002.
Since 2007, Hawkes has worked to help veterans and their families. This includes a program to bring wives and daughters of veterans killed in the line of duty to the Miss America pageant.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160814021315/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865599851/She-treats-veterans-like-royalty.html?pg=all Lee Benson "About Utah: Former Miss America Sharlene Wells Hawkes treats veterans like royalty", ''Deseret News'', March 30, 2014]</ref>
In 2015 Hawkes was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Armed Forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lds.net/blog/buzz/lds-woman-appointed-department-defense-advisory-committee/ |title=LDS Woman Appointed to Department of Defense Advisory Committee|first=Bridget|last=Kreis|date=10 February 2015|work=lds.net|accessdate=28 August 2016}}</ref>
As of August 2016, Hawkes is serving as executive vice president of Story Rock Electronic Publishing, and as president of its military division, Remember My Service, producing historical records for military personnel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soundsofsunday.com/node/884|title=Sharlene Wells Hawks|work=soundsofsunday.com|accessdate=28 August 2016|archive-date=9 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709061532/http://soundsofsunday.com/node/884|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Hawkes served as a judge for the Miss America 2017 competition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://missamerica.org/2016/08/01/mark-cuban-sara-foster-cole-swindell-former-miss-america-sharlene-wells-hawkes-tapped-first-round-judges-96th-miss-america-competition-live-broadcast/ |title=Mark Cuban, Sara Foster, Cole Swindell, And Former Miss America Sharlene Wells Hawkes Tapped As First Round Of Judges For The 96th Miss America Competition Live Broadcast|date=1 August 2016|work=missamerica.org|accessdate=28 August 2016}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|22em}}
==Sources== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140218215448/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-08-27/features/8502260058_1_miss-america-pageant-latin-america Knight-Ridder newspapers article on Wells] * [http://alumni.byu.edu/miss-america-storyrock-executive ''BYU Magazine'' article on Hawkes] * [http://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/09/17/Sharlene-Wells-a-Mormon-Sunday-school-teacher-began-her/8084422816064/ Sep. 17, 1984 UPI article on Wells] * [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1984/11/news-of-the-church?lang=eng ''Ensign'' Nov. 1984 article on Wells] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140218215448/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-01-11/news/8501020021_1_albert-marks-pageant-swimsuit-competition ''Sun-Sentinel'' article on Wells] * Haws, J. B. ''The Mormon Image in the American Mind''. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. p. 155.
==External links== {{commons category-inline|Sharlene Wells Hawkes}}
{{s-start}} {{s-ach}} {{succession box | before=Suzette Charles | title=Miss America | years=1985 | after=Susan Akin }} {{succession box | before=Lynn Lambert | title=Miss Utah | years=1984 | after=Nancy Ayers }} {{s-end}} {{MissAmericas 1980–1999}} {{Miss America}} {{Utah Pageant Winners}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkes, Sharlene}} Category:1964 births Category:Women sports commentators Category:Latter Day Saints from Utah Category:American television sports commentators Category:Living people Category:American horse racing announcers Category:Brigham Young University alumni Category:Tennis commentators Category:Miss America winners Category:College football announcers Category:Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners Category:American expatriates in Paraguay Category:People from Asunción Category:University of Utah alumni Category:American expatriates in Chile Category:American expatriates in Argentina Category:American expatriates in Mexico Category:American expatriates in Ecuador Category:American people of Paraguayan descent