The North Carolina Azalea Festival has been honored to have over seven decades of Azalea Festival Queens. We thought it would be interesting to choose one queen from each decade to see where they are today. Let’s begin with our very first queen from 1948…
Jacqueline White, 1948
Jacqueline White is 98 yrs old and alive and healthy. She had a short acting career beginning in 1943 with a movie Air Raid Wardens and left the Hollywood scene in 1952 after filming The Narrow Margin. She married Bruce Anderson and has four sons and one daughter. Her husband, Bruce, passed away in the year 2000 and White currently resides in Houston, Texas with family.
Ester Williams, 1958
In 1940 Ester was scheduled to compete in the Summer Olympics but due to the outbreak of World War II that opportunity was denied. Instead Ester turned to Hollywood where she began her fame in “Aquamusicals,” which featured elaborate performances with synchronised swimming and diving. Then she went on to star in over a dozen movies and tv shows. Williams was married four times and had three children. She passed away in 2013 at the age of 91 in Beverly Hills where her remains were scattered into the Pacific Ocean.
Linda Cristal, 1968
A film producer, Miguel Alemán Velasco, was vacationing in Mexico when he discovered Marta Victoria Moya Burges- who after signing a film contract took the name Linda Cristal. Cristal played in many western movies, even alongside the great John Wayne (side note, his granddaughter, Jennifer Wayne, would one day be Queen Azalea!). The actress transitioned to television where she won the role of Victoria Montoya on The High Chaparral. The soap General Hospital was her final acting job as she retired in 1988. Linda had 3 marriages and two sons. Cristal died at her home in Beverly Hills, California in 2020.
Nancy Addison, 1978
Nancy Addison was an American actress noted for her appearances in soap operas. She began her career as a soap opera Guiding Light, but she is best known for her role as Jillian Coleridge on the soap opera Ryan’s Hope. Nancy was married twice and in 2002 died from cancer in New York City, aged 56.
Kim Morgan Greene, 1988
Kim is most known for her performance as Channing Carter Colby in the Dynasty spin-off series, The Colbys. She later went on to star in a crime drama Silk Stalkings, and also played in the 2007 film Bratz. Kim made her way to the Boston theater scene in 2000 and she now teaches acting at Gus Giordano Dance School in Chicago, IL
Alla Korot, 1988
In 1991, Alla won the role of Jenna Norris on the soap opera Another World. But she didn’t stop there. She went on to nail roles on General Hospital, Days of our Lives, and All My Children. Alla was also known for her position as cinematographer for the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She is married to a Russian-born Israeli, Yuval Selik, and the two co-launched L’uvalla, an Internet-based skin care business. Today Korot resides in CA with her husband.
Barbara Alyn Woods, 2008
For us locals, Barbara is most known for portraying Deb Scott on the WB/CW teen drama series One Tree Hill, which was shot here in Wilmington, NC from 2003 to 2012. Woods also has appeared in guest roles on numerous television series, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Married… with Children, The Golden Girls, Picket Fences, Seinfeld, Murder, She Wrote, Touched by an Angel, Dream On, and Desperate Housewives. Barabara went on to marry John Lind, an assistant director, whom she met on the set of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show. They have three daughters who are also in the business.
Beth Troutman, 2018
Troutman was the lead host of the syndicated TV Show, RightThisMinute. In 2015 on air she disclosed she would be leaving the show to to spend more time with her ailing mother She is considered an industry expert on viral videos and on-line content and has appeared on numerous popular entertainment and news shows. Beth recently spent time living at an orphanage in Haiti providing aid, assistance, and support to the local children and community. While in Haiti, she shot a series of short documentaries that recently won TWO Emmy Awards. Beth now travels the globe speaking to thousands about purpose, priorities, success and finding joy in a world of sensory overload. Beth also owns her own production company Applesauce Productions.
So we have looked back now, let’s also look forward.
Who will our next Queen Azaleas be?
Keep your eyes and ears open, it may just be you! For more information on our North Carolina Azalea Queens, visit our website https://ncazaleafestival.org/past-queens/.
