One tough cookie

Eunice Olsen is a beauty with a purpose. The former Miss Singapore Universe and Nominated Member of Parliament, who last week received Singapore’s Youth Award, uses her multitude of talents to help society, writes FRANKIE CHEE 

ASK a beauty queen what her greatest wish for the world is, and before she can get the answer out, sniggering pageant watchers all over the world say as one: “World peace”.  

The caring, sharing, do-gooder reply – so family-friendly and chipper – comes not long after the beauty-title wannabe has paraded as a hot babe in a swimsuit. So her wholesome mission statement of wanting everyone to be happy seems a tad conflicted.  

But shattering the idea of beauty queens as an easy target for ridicule is Eunice Olsen, a former Miss Singapore Universe whose life since winning the title in 2000 has been quite a display of commitment to, if not world peace, at least making the world within her orbit a better place.  

Not many beauty queens go on to enter their country's Parliament, in Olsen's case as Singapore's youngest Nominated Member of Parliament, at the age of 27, in 2004. She was also the first Eurasian NMP since 1997. No empty-headed bimbo, she was not afraid to ask hard questions during parliamentary debates, speaking up for Singapore's needy.  

Eunice Olsen --Straits Times pic by Desmond Foo

She has also used her celebrity status to work tirelessly as a volunteer, helping troubled teens, for example. 

Last Sunday, she was one of six outstanding individuals to receive this year's Singapore Youth Award for contributions to society, “recognising excellence with a heart”, as one of the panellists for the award puts it.  

All this at a time when many a beauty queen has retired her tiara and sash for lucrative modelling contracts as a prelude to a new role as a rich man's wife.  

Caring, sharing do-gooder, and at 29, still looking for a Mr Right soulmate. It still sounds too goody-two-shoes for words. How much of this is the real Eunice Olsen?  

Is she simply a personable, morally idealistic high-achiever? Or is she a savvy seasoned politician with a steel core beneath that beauty-queen sash?  

Those were some of the questions running through my head as I sat at the lobby of The Hyatt waiting for her arrival for this interview. I have plenty of time to ponder – she is fashionably late as is expected of beauty queens, I suppose.  

Her actual arrival, 15 minutes late, is a bit of an anti-climax. Although I have no idea what I am expecting – pretty she may be, but even at her pageant-winning peak, her looks weren’t exactly to my liking – she doesn’t bowl me over.  

For someone whose looks have (initially) unlocked a lot of doors, she is daringly, totally without make-up, at least to my untutored male eyes. It takes a brave face – and tonnes of confidence – to go that bare, I reckon.  

And her clothes are quite low-key; she is clad in a pink T-shirt and jeans.  

This casual approach – one that she is known for among her young heartland fans – actually serves to put me at ease.  

We nestle comfortably on a sofa. Perhaps now that all the glitter has been removed, I think to myself, I will get a glimpse of her true self, without the ‘aura’ that usually surrounds Beautiful People and ex-politicians.  

After uttering our hellos, she treats me like an old friend, laughing and chatting away. I try not to relax too much, though, as these are all the hallmarks of someone who has dealt with the media many times before.  

Then again, I wonder if this relaxed persona is to do with her no longer having to deal with the pressures of being an NMP. With the recent General Election, the nine NMPs found themselves without a post.  

On whether she will be applying to renew her term come nomination time in November, she says: “Yeah, of course. I am not done yet, but it’s really up to the committee to decide.” 

She lets on that she has enjoyed her time as NMP. 

“I always make sure that I say what I believe in and feel, and that it is constructive.” 

But whether she gets another shot at speaking in Parliament or not, she is certainly making the most of her time now. She is picking up golf, and is learning it with her father, Francis Oscar Olsen, 53, a marina manager.  

Then, there’s that continual volunteer work for various children or youth organisations. The multi-talented Olsen, an accomplished pianist and singer who once released her own album, also uses her musical skills in charity concert performances.  

Spicing things up a bit, she hit headlines recently, posing in a provocative outfit to promote her new TV role hosting an arts programme on Arts Central with Kumar and Debbie Wong.  

It seems some people want to see more of her. 

During the interview, I overhear her turning down a Maxim magazine spread to her producer. The men's magazine features women in scintillating outfits and sexy poses. “There are certain limits to what I will do, and I stand very strongly on not doing topless or half-nude shots,” she says.  

After all, she did don a one-piece swimsuit during the Miss Singapore Universe pageant.  

Her TV show hosting appears to be her only paid work for the moment. She is, however, in the process of setting up a company providing leadership skills, grooming and deportment with another partner. 

Her friendly demeanour and beauty-queen experience is bound to come in handy in a business like that.  

On the relationship front, she reveals that she is currently single –her latest relationship ended earlier this year, but she declines to give his identity.  

She adds: “I would love to have a family but I’m comfortable at the moment. It’s more important to find the right person than to say that I have to get married by a certain age.”  

She says all her activities leave her little time for leisure, though she does sometimes go for drinks with friends at nightclubs such as Attica and Ministry of Sound.  

Seeing that she had been up till 5.30 that morning preparing her slides for a rehearsal of a charity concert that weekend, I offered to reschedule the interview. But she declined the offer, saying she hated to say yes to something and then not do it.  

Now, where have we heard that before?  

Oh yes, that infamous headline-hitting incident last year when she missed the swearing-in ceremony for NMPs because of a prior commitment to a concert in Korea. 

At that time, she stressed it was more important to her that she keep her word.  

That principle of not letting others down, of keeping her word, crops up constantly during the interview.  

Of the swearing-in furore, she tells me that she had already agreed to the Korean concert in November, whereas she knew about her swearing-in only in January. 

She adds that no fees were involved – contrary to some nasty comments going around at that time.  

“It was quite hurtful. I knew I was going to get a lot of flak for it, but I had to honour my promise, because you should always mean what you say.” – ST/ANN  

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