WA’s ‘Legally Blonde’, Monique Sawyer, in running for pageant crown

Breaking stigmas surrounding beauty and brains in women, WA’s own “Legally Blonde” is proving females can have both and hopes to empower other women through sharing her own personal journey. As a lawyer and award-winning pageant queen, it’s not hard to see why Monique Sawyer likens herself to Elle Woods from the movie Legally Blonde. The mother-of-two is currently a finalist representing WA in the Mrs Galaxy Australia pageant. “Since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated with pageants including the Miss Universe and Miss World pageants,” she said. “However, when I was a young teenage mother, I was really in awe of the Australia Galaxy pageant girls. I saw them as these empowered women doing amazing things in their community and fundraising for great causes. “This definitely left an impression on me and encouraged me to pursue the Galaxy pageant system.” Having placed second runner-up in last year’s pageant, and winning awards in best evening gown, people’s choice and most photogenic, Monique is no stranger to the pageant stage. She says she enjoys pageantry work because it gives her a platform to represent her philanthropic work in the community, as well as empower other women who have faced adversity. “I always believe I come as one and stand as many,” she said. “I acknowledge the sacrifices of the women who came before me, while being a role model so that those that come after me can achieve move than I could have ever dreamed of.” Pursuing a career in law or medicine was something Monique aspired to from a young age, but when she fell pregnant at age 18, her priorities quickly changed. Now with two boys, 17-year-old Isaac and two-year-old Theodore, pageantry awards and a Master of Legal Practice, Monique hopes to show others that it is never too late to reach your dreams. “I think because I was a teenage mother and experienced that adversity and stigma, I really wanted to be a role model to my son and to show him that I could still go on and achieve those goals that I had set for myself,” she said. “As a young teenage mother I knew by having an education and pursuing my goal of becoming a lawyer it would open opportunities and provide a comfortable lifestyle for my son Isaac and me.” Beyond her pageantry work and career as a lawyer, Monique is also an ambassador for Fostering Hope and is fundraising for youth mental health charity batyr. “I believe that helping to break the stigma of mental health will help influence young people to feel empowered to reach out for help and support for any mental health matters that they may be dealing with,” she said. “By supporting batyr, we’re helping empower young people with the confidence and skills to get through tough times and look out for their friends. “Through sharing lived experience stories and peer-to-peer education, we are keeping young people from reaching the point of crisis and changing lives.” Living in Perth now, Monique has several ties to Kalgoorlie-Boulder and the wider Goldfields region, having spent much of her childhood visiting the area with her dad for work, and continuing to do so with her husband who is a founding member of mining company Black Cat Syndicate. Monique said she wanted women across the State, regardless of where they grew up or what challenges they had faced, to feel empowered to achieve their goals.