World Class

In London, the moment had come. The judges had decided. Anticipation swept the crowd as it waited to hear who the new Miss World would be. The envelope was opened, the contestants held their collective breath--the winner was ... Miss West Germany! Gabriella Brum could not believe her ears. There were cheers and tears as the new Miss World took center stage to receive the crown and begin the endless walk down the runway of fame. In the midst of all the hoopla, one thought was plaguing Gabriella: How on earth do I get out of this? (continued on page 213)World Class(continued from page 113)

Here she was, the envy of women world-wide, about to embark on an international tour as the symbol of feminine pulchritude, and all she wanted was out!

Within 24 hours, Gabriella Brum had her wish. Thanks, but no thanks. She turned in her crown and it was given to Miss Guam, Kimberly Santos. Gabriella was once again just Gaby.

The shock waves ran round the globe. From Greenland to Argentina, the media pounced on the story. The question was why, and speculation ran wild. Gabriella, they learned, was the girlfriend of a film producer and cameraman who was, horror of horrors, 34 years her senior. From there it was just a small jump to portraying Benno Bellenbaum as a jealous Svengali bent on denying Gabriella her place in the sun. The truth was a little short of that but no less interesting.

The imposing (5'11?) Miss West Germany was born 18 years ago in Berlin. She last saw her father at the age of three; her mother has since remarried. Quiet, introspective and fiercely independent, Gabriella had had no boyfriends and no interest in having one until, at 17, she met Benno. She speaks German, naturally, a little French and a clipped English with an accent as ingenuous as it is endearing. As she talks, it becomes obvious that she is as unconcerned about the flap she has caused as she is about her world-class body. Only Benno is important to her.

She is understandably angry at the press. "They wrote so many stupid things. Things that are not true about me and my boyfriend. And if you tell them the truth, they don't want to hear. The real story was that I quit because I wanted to go to school for costume design. I didn't want to take a whole year off. If I want to quit, I quit. If Benno asks me to quit, OK, but only I decide."

Her odyssey began when she was asked to take part in a film-festival pageant in her native Berlin. She won the pageant and then was asked to try for the title of Miss Berlin. She won that, too, which led to the Miss West Germany preliminary of the Miss World contest. To her surprise, she also won that and found herself in London for the big show.

She was not an enthusiastic contestant. "I hate these contests. I just wanted the money. I have to make a living."

Actually winning the Miss World title was a possibility she did not even consider. And after reading the Miss World contract, she wondered exactly what it was she had won.

"I would have gotten about $50,000. Because my father was English, I have dual citizenship. So 40 percent of that would go to taxes in Britain, and then 25 percent after that would go to the Miss West Germany corporation, because of that contract. Then I have to pay accommodations for myself in London. If I travel for them, I pay my own flight costs. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read the contract. I called Benno. He said, 'No problem; just quit and go away.' So I did."

Part of the reason it was so easy for Gabriella to say goodbye to the somewhat dubious honor is that she doesn't really think she deserved it. "I never expected to win. There were so many beautiful girls. I don't think I'm really beautiful. Maybe I have something; I don't know. Maybe I was more natural than the others. It's so important for some girls that they forget to be natural. But I really can't say. You never know yourself."

Not long before the pageant, Gabriella had followed Benno to Los Angeles, where she began a modeling career. She's not too keen on that, either.

"When I came to L.A., everyone said, 'Oh, you've got to be an actress or a model.' So I went to the agencies and one said, 'You're too young,' and another said, 'Well, you've got to lose weight.'" She sighs heavily. "Modeling is not what people think it is. It's hard work and it can get boring. I can model for two days and be fine. But four days ... it gets boring. Then I don't always want to look good and when you're famous, you have to care what you look like, even when you go shopping. I don't like to be always beautiful ... always the make-up ... and the hair. I'm just not born for it."

Press reports said that Gabriella had done some nude modeling. She scoffs at that. "They said I did nude pictures, but I only did topless, for Benno, as a test; but the press, they try to spoil my image. So after the contest, I decide, OK, now I really do nudes--for Playboy. If they are--do you have the word?--aesthetic. Yes, if they are beautiful."

Since her Miss World experience, Gabriella has changed her mind about her future. As it stands now, she has little desire to be in front of the camera or to study costume design. In fact, she wants to go to school to be a make-up artist. "I don't want to be an actress. As an actress, if you find someone, you never know who he loves--you or the person you are to the public. It's a lonely life.

"You know, I have this side and then that side ... maybe it's because I'm young. When I get older, maybe I'll be one way. But right now, I'm this ... and this ... and this. What I think I want my life to be is a little modeling. I'd like to do television commercials, because they don't take up so much time and the pay is good. Meanwhile, I will go to school for make-up and the rest of my life ... just like anybody else. I love L.A. I have the sun. Everything. When I go back, I will buy a cat.

"The most important thing for me is to be happy with Benno and that I have my work, and be myself. Maybe later I be housewife and have children, who knows? I am very simple."

After thinking for a second, Gabriella concludes, "But ... it changes, what I want, from month to month"; and then she laughs. "I think this opinion will last for at least half a year."

"She is understandably angry at the press. 'They wrote so many stupid things that are not true.' "