Tarnished tiaras

Some beauty queens wear the crown lightly and parlay their titles into lucrative careers. And others keep making headlines, for all the wrong reasons. Who can forget Tara Connor and the Donald? Or Carrie Prejean?

Keep clicking for a look at some of the scrapes beauty queens have gotten into after the pageant is over - and sometimes even before that.

Shenna Monnin

Shenna Monnin, the former Miss Pennsylvania USA who resigned after alleging that the Miss USA pageant had been fixed, says she is stunned by an arbitrator's ruling that she must pay the pageant organization $5 million for defamation.

Arbitrator Theodore Katz says Monnin's allegations that finalists had been selected in advance were false, harmful and malicious and cost the pageant a $5 million fee from a potential 2013 sponsor.

Former Miss New Hampshire USA, Nicole Houde, faces a simple assault charge stemming from a confrontation with her boyfriend, police say.

According to police, the 26-year-old Houde punched, kicked, scratched and bit 33-year-old Scott Nickerson. Houde was arrested, police say.

The two were arguing and Nickerson took Houde

Rima Fakih

Former Miss USA Rima Fakih, who appointed herself as designated driver after deciding her companion was too drunk to drive, was arrested for allegedly drinking and driving herself on the morning of Dec. 3, 2011 in the Detroit area, according to her lawyer.

She avoided the possibility of jail time during a May 9, 2012 hearing in Highland Park, an enclave of Detroit. The judge put her on six months' probation, ordered 20 hours of community service and said she must pay $600 in fines and costs. Fakih also must attend an alcohol safety class.

She won the Miss USA Pageant in May 2010. Her reign ended June 19, 2011. She was the first Miss Michigan to win the title since 1993 and the first Arab American winner ever.

Tia Shorts

A former Miss Maryland USA has pleaded guilty to obstructing a police investigation in a drug case. Tia Shorts entered her plea Aug. 6, 2009, in Montgomery County Circuit Court. Shorts was crowned Miss Maryland USA in 2004 and also was named "Miss Congeniality" by her fellow competitors.

Carrie Prejean

While competing in the 2009 Miss USA pageant, Miss California Carrie Prejean spoke out against gay marriage. It cost her the title and started a media firestorm that grew bigger as semi-nude photos of her surfaced on the Internet. On May 12, 2009, Miss USA pageant owner Donald Trump said that despite the controversy, Prejean could keep her title. She was fired a month later.

Kumari Fulbright

Kumari Fulbright is shown in a booking photo provided by the Tucson (Ariz.) Police Department and a calendar shoot in Arizona, provided by www.title2media.com. The former Miss Pima County (2005) and Miss Desert Sun (2006) was indicted with three men Dec. 18, 2007, on charges of kidnapping, armed robbery, aggravated robbery and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Ingrid Maria Rivera

Miss Puerto Rico 2008 won her title despite what she and pageant officials claimed was sabotage with pepper spray. A police investigation after the November 2007 event found no traces of pepper spray on her clothing and her makeup. Earlier in the pageant, which was interrupted in the final day by a bomb threat, Rivera's bag was stolen.

Valerie Begue

After racy photos of her appeared in a gossip magazine, Valerie Begue was allowed to keep the Miss France 2008 title she won in December 2007, but she was prevented from taking part in the international competitions. The photos included one of a bikini-clad Begue lying on a cross in a swimming pool and another of her licking what appeared to be yogurt or evaporated milk.

Lauren Caitlin Upton

Lauren Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina, answers question from host Mario Lopez, left, during the interview portion of the Miss Teen USA 2007 competition Aug. 24, 2007. Her confused, mangled response when she was asked why one-fifth of Americans can’t locate the U.S. made it into a list of most memorable quotes, compiled by the editor of the recently published Yale Book of Quotations.

Rachel Smith

Miss USA Rachel Smith took a tumble on stage at the Miss Universe pageant in May and thought that was the end of her quest for a title. But pageant officials surprised her by including her among the five finalists. Her slip went on to make YouTube history.

Katie Rees

Katie Rees, seen here at The Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, April 21, 2007, was stripped of her Miss Nevada title in December 2005 after several prurient photos of her surfaced on the Internet. Some of the photos showed Rees kissing other young women, exposing one of her breasts and pulling down her pants to show her thong underwear.

Tara Conner

The 2007 Miss USA, Tara Conner, almost lost her title for underage drinking and hearty partying. But an 11th hour appeal to pageant owner Donald Trump resulted in her being allowed to keep the crown if she entered rehab. The young woman resumed her Miss USA job after a stint in an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center.

Sharron Redmond

Sharron "Nicole" Redmond, seen here with her attorney Michael Schiavone, was four months into her reign as Miss Savannah when she was charged with the 2003 murder of her boyfriend. She was acquitted when she convinced a Georgia jury that she acted in self defense.

Laura Hernandez

Puerto Rico native Laura Hernandez, who participated in the Miss World contest in 1998, was arrested in 2002 in the Dominican Republic on a charge of drug trafficking. Both she and her then husband were convicted and sentenced to jail. After her release, she returned to Puerto Rico, where she works as a TV host.

Ivette Santa Maria

Ivette Santa Maria, a Miss Peru America contestant, told authorities in 2004 that she was lured to Gabon on the pretext of hosting a beauty pageant and was taken to the presidential palace where she was left with the president in a room furnished with a bed. She fled the palace and said she was stranded in Gabon for 12 days until international women's groups and others intervened.

Tracy Lippard

Shortly after she crowned her successor as Miss Williamsburg (Virginia) in February 1994, Tracy Lipperd was accused of killing the parents of a romantic rival. She was convicted in November of two counts of second-degree attempted murder and five other misdemeanors and sentenced to two consecutive one-year sentences.