真人版維納斯：美國獨臂女孩摘“美國小姐”區冠軍

Nicole Kelly, 23, may have been born without her left forearm, but that didn’t stop her from her being crowned Miss Iowa on June 8 after a three-day competition in Davenport.
23歲的妮可-凱莉自出生時就沒有左前臂，但這並不妨礙她參與在達文波特舉行的選美比賽。6月8日，經過三天的激烈角逐後，凱莉摘得“愛荷華州小姐”的桂冠。

Kelly will now advance to compete for the Miss America title on Sept. 15 in Atlantic City, N. J., where she will be speaking about the importance of overcoming disabilities.
9月15日，凱莉將前往新澤西州亞特蘭大市，參加“美國小姐”選美評比，在那裏凱莉還將就克服自身殘障的重要意義進行演講。

“A year ago, I certainly didn’t see ‘pageant titleholder’ in my future,” Kelly writes on her “Meet Miss Iowa” biography page. “Perhaps I didn’t originally envision this path, but I now know that being Miss Iowa is the perfect fit for me, and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by people who have encouraged me every step of the way. Giving a voice to my platform, Overcoming Disabilities, is a tremendous honor, and I am thrilled to continue my adventure by speaking out and touching lives as Miss Iowa 2013.”
凱莉在“遇見愛荷華小姐”的傳記主頁上寫道：“一年前，我根本不會想到自己的未來和‘選美冠軍’有什麼聯繫，可能因爲我最初就沒想過這條路。但現在我知道，成爲愛荷華小姐對於我來說是完美的組合，每走一步，周圍都有許多人關照鼓勵我，讓我感到十分感恩。在舞臺上發出自己的聲音，克服身體殘疾，對我來說都是莫大的榮耀。我非常高興自己可以以2013年愛荷華小姐的身份繼續前行，講出心聲，感動生命。”

The blond beauty, who lives in Keokuk, is no stranger to the stage. Kelly graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2012 with a degree in directing and theater management. In September 2012, she had an internship on Broadway with the Manhattan Theatre Club.
這位金髮美女現居基奧卡克，她對舞臺並不陌生。2012年凱莉從內布拉斯加州林肯大學畢業，獲得導演和舞臺管理學位。同年9月她從曼哈頓戲劇俱樂部獲得了一份在百老匯的實習機會。

Kelly says theater was not only an outlet to help her express herself, but it eventually became her chosen career path.
凱莉說，戲劇不僅是她表達自我的渠道，還會是她最終選擇的職業道路。

“As I grew older, I learned to offset the initial stares I received … with an outgoing personality that would not give in to ‘No,’ she writes. “This meant that I tried everything! From baseball, to dance to diving, there was nothing I would not try. I found my passion within a world where I was giving people permission to stare … the stage.”
她寫道：“隨着我漸漸長大，我學會了坦然對待他人投來的異樣目光……我性格外向，從不說‘不’；我做過各種事情，從壘球到舞蹈到潛水，我都嘗試過，在舞臺上我找到了自己的熱情，我可以坦然面對人們對我的注視。”