Shanna Moakler is no stranger to reality television. She's appeared on Punk'd when she was still dating now-husband Travis Barker, helping Ashton Kutcher set him up for a prank. She and Travis were then featured on Meet the Barkers which followed her marriage to Travis.

However, her next reality appearance, on Dancing with the Stars, was not during the happiest time in their marriage. Travis had just filed for divorce a little more than a month before she appeared on that show. Adding to the challenging personal time, she also had the disappointment of being eliminated in the second week of that season.

However, her upcoming role in the new CW reality series, Crowned: The Mother of All Beauty Pageants, seems to bringing with it some better fortunes for the blond beauty and former Miss USA.

Shanna will be acting as a judge for Crowned. She will be working with television personality Cynthia Garrett and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's fashion guru Carson Kressley. The role will be Shanna's chance to capitalize on her pageant experience, which culminated in her taking the Miss USA spot in 1995 when the original winner went on to become Miss Universe.

The series might not initially sound like it has that much broad appeal, but it actually has quite a bit going for it. For one, the Crowned premiere will air directly after the season finale for America's Next Top Model, so it will be able to capitalize on that strong lead-in with an audience already predisposed to watch women duke it out for a top spot in a beauty contest.

Reality programming has continued to be strong even before the Writers Guild work stoppage, but the fact that the strike has continued has given reality series yet another boost. If it continues, shows like Crowned might find themselves with an even greater audience than before.

And things are looking rosier for Shanna on a personal level too.  She has been reconciling with Travis Barker, and the two recently shared a romantic getaway for their third wedding anniversary. "We drove to the Bacara [Resort in Santa Barbara], where we got married," Shanna told People magazine. "We had dinner at our favorite spot, Trattoria Mollies [in Montecito] and we spent a romantic weekend together, getting spa treatments and just having some alone time. It was amazing."

And probably even better than the romantic getaway was the fact that Travis is not dead! There was a very random rumor circulating early in the month that he had passed away, and although it took off through the internet, it turned out, happily, to be quite false.

Crowned is schedule to run through January 2008, so no doubt Shanna is hoping that the good fortune continues into the new year.


- Leslie Seaton, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: People Magazine
(Image courtesy of CW)