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Shanna Moakler — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Pageants

Shanna Moakler, at the age of 17, represented Rhode Island in the Miss Teen USA 1992 pageant. She placed third in the preliminaries, sixth in the interview segment, and fifth in the swimsuit competition (scoring 9.115, 9.279 and 9.087 respectively). Moakler made it to the semi-finals and finished seventh overall. Moakler won the Miss Teen All American title for 1993.

In 1995, Moakler was named Miss New York USA and represented New York in the Miss USA pageant, held that year in South Padre Island, Texas. Moakler finished second (to Miss Texas USA) in the preliminaries and in each of the interview and swimsuit divisions, with scores of 9.06, 9.62 and 9.61 respectively, and first in the evening gown competition, with a score of 9.86. Overall, Moakler was the first runner-up in the Miss USA Pageant. In May 1995, at the age of 20, Moakler received the 1995 Miss USA crown when the winner, Chelsi Smith, became Miss Universe.

Moakler enjoyed some aspects of her reign as Miss USA, such as celebrity pool tournaments. However, she has complained that the experience required her to "sign autographs at places like Bob's Home Furnishing Rentals." She was also forced to live with a pageant chaperone, who made sure she dressed and acted appropriately.

Moakler responded to the 2009 Miss USA gay marriage controversy by appearing in a public service announcement supporting efforts to overturn the result of California's Proposition 8. Following allegations that reigning Miss California USA Carrie Prejean had posed for risqué photos and violated terms of her contract, Donald Trump decided that there had been no breach and therefore declined to strip Prejean of her crown. Moakler then resigned as co-director for the pageant on May 13, 2009, stating "I cannot with a clear conscience move forward supporting and promoting the Miss Universe Organization when I no longer believe in it, or the contracts I signed committing myself as a youth." However, on November 13, 2009, it was announced that Moakler returned to the Miss California USA organization, around the same time Carrie Prejean was dethroned.

In 2008, Moakler made a pro-vegetarianism ad for PETA and in 2013 she posed nude for a PETA anti-fur ad campaign, stating that as long as she is the director of Miss Nevada, fur coats would not be given as prizes.

Television

Moakler started her television career in 1996 with appearances on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Due South. Moakler then played Lisa in Friends 'Til the End, a 1997 NBC movie of the week starring Shannen Doherty. In 1998 she appeared in an episode of Timecop playing the role of Allison Kendall.

Beginning in 1998, Moakler was a regular on the television drama Pacific Blue. The USA Network series featured a team of police officers who patrolled the beaches of Santa Monica, California on bicycles. In seasons four and five Moakler played Officer Monica Harper, described as the trouble-maker rookie. Moakler has admitted that, even equipped with a $5,000 Trek bike, she was somewhat accident-prone on the set, saying that when the cast had to "ride really close together for the camera" they would often "crash into each other like idiots and end up in a big ball of arms and legs."

Moakler was a celebrity contestant on Search Party, a game show on the E! network. The show filmed at exotic beach resort locations and required contestants to team up for competitions such as athletic events and scavenger hunts. Moakler appeared in three episodes in 1999 to 2000.

In 2003, Moakler appeared on Punk'd to help Ashton Kutcher and his crew set up her then-boyfriend Travis Barker. They punk'd Barker by having a waiter flirt excessively with Moakler while the couple were on a romantic date at a local restaurant. The episode originally aired on November 30, 2003.

In 2005, Moakler made a guest appearance as Mariska on the television program Joey, starring Matt LeBlanc and also made an appearance as Josie on the show Jake in Progress. That same year, Moakler and her then-husband Barker starred in Meet the Barkers, a reality series for MTV that premiered April 6, 2005. The series followed the former couple throughout their daily activities. It covered the couple's wedding and their life as a family while they were together. The show continued for two seasons until February 2006.

Moakler and Barker appeared together in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation entitled "Poppin' Tags", which originally aired on April 13, 2006. She played a character named J-Lady, while Barker played a rapper involved in conflict with a rival rap artist. Later that year, Moakler was featured on the third season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, which premiered on September 12, 2006. She was eliminated in week two. She guest starred on several more shows, such as HBO's Entourage, Telemundo's Mas Vale Tarde and as hostess for The CW's Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants. On the 120th episode of NBC's Minute to Win It (aka The Last Beauty Standing) which aired just before the 2010 Miss Universe contest on August 23, 2010, Moakler was the Last Beauty Standing among 10 contestants and was the top winner with $100,000 for her charity.

In 2014, Moakler was one of the celebrity judges to select a new, and second only, male model for the long running television game show The Price Is Right. Other judges included the show's Executive producer Mike Richards and its first male model Robert Scott Wilson.

In 2022, Moakler was announced as a HouseGuest competing on the third season of Celebrity Big Brother, in which she finished in seventh place out of eleven.

Personal life

Moakler had a relationship with rock star Billy Idol in 1997. The couple appeared together in a scene of The Wedding Singer. Moakler has described Idol as a gentleman, but "not too sweet and sensitive." She also praised his intelligence and flair for history and philosophy.

Moakler started dating boxer Oscar De La Hoya in October 1997, and they moved in together in early 1998. The couple announced their engagement in October 1998. They have one child together, a daughter. In September 2000, the relationship abruptly ended when Moakler, who was at home watching the Latin Grammy Awards on television, saw De La Hoya escorting another woman to the show. In December 2000, Moakler filed a $62.5 million palimony suit against her ex-fiancé, claiming he was an alcoholic, abusive to her and to their daughter, and that he used them "as props to promote his public image." The case was settled out of court in 2001 for an undisclosed amount. After the time of De La Hoya's split from Moakler, he had little contact with his daughter, although he continued to provide financial support.

Moakler dated actor Dennis Quaid from February to October 2001. They were together when she was approached by Playboy, and they discussed it before she posed nude in the magazine.

On October 30, 2004, Moakler married Travis Barker, the drummer for the band Blink-182. Moakler and Barker have two children, a son and daughter. Barker filed for divorce from Moakler on August 8, 2006. Later it was reported that Barker was seeing Paris Hilton. Tensions between Hilton and Moakler led to a confrontation at Los Angeles nightclub Hyde Lounge in early October. Hilton and Moakler each accused the other of battery in separate complaints filed with the Los Angeles Police Department. Ultimately, no charges came out of the altercation. In February 2008, Barker told People magazine "No, I'm no longer with her [...] We were actually divorced a few days ago."

On December 7, 2014, the police were called to Moakler and Barker's shared home in Los Angeles after the former couple got into a verbal argument which led to the two of them getting arrested. However, no charges were filed against either party. In June 2016, it was reported that Moakler and Barker were amicably co-parenting their two children.

In 2024, Moakler began dating actor Greg Vaughan.