10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas

It takes more than a pretty face to win this title.

Produced by Gisela Borghi/IA AGENCY, Kristin Hull & Jamie Laubhan-Oliver   
Text by Katie McNew
Photography by Scogin Mayo/IA AGENCY
Styling by Mimi Le/Seaminx

 

Everyone has an opinion about who the beautiful people are, so it’s only natural that we turned to, well, everyone else to choose the 10 Most Beautiful Women in Dallas. True, we solicited nominations through dmagazine.com and supplemented those with some women we admire. Then the D Beauty editors went through hundreds of nominations and interviewed 25 ladies to find 20 finalists. So, yes, we had a hand in selecting the winners. But, in the end, we have you, our readers, to thank.

Online voting lasted three weeks, and every week three women were eliminated. During that time, 76,840 votes were cast, and more than 14,000 of those went to Nanci Masso. (As an aside, when we called to tell Nanci she’d been selected as a semi-finalist, she thought we had the wrong number. So she’s modest and beautiful.) Nanci and the nine other exceptional women exemplify inner beauty with their compassion, charisma, and intelligence. And their outer beauty? Look below to find out.

 

NEELY HOLLAND, 25
{marketing mav, red raider fan}

Neely is wearing Malene Birger’s Darling purple strapless dress ($530/Stanley Korshak) and Rachelle Dauphinée’s gold “Electra” earrings ($285/Saks Fifth Avenue).

 

This bubbly beauty, the marketing director for a real estate law firm and title company, focuses much of her charitable energy on the American Cancer Society. In her spare time, she enjoys Big 12 football (go Red Raiders!) and recently went skydiving over the Alps.


What’s your style secret? I’m always putting on my deodorant then slipping on a black shirt, but my mom taught me that you can take the inside of your shirt and rub it on the stain,
and it’ll disappear. Happiness is … being in Amarillo with my family—parents, cousins, aunts, uncles—and husband. What’s in your fridge? Nothing. My husband, poor guy. He’s a big guy, and he does eat a lot. So, okay, I guess you’ll find leftovers from a restaurant in my fridge.

 

HEATHER WIESE-ALEXANDER, 33
{paper princess, popsicle junkie}

Heather is wearing a BCBG Max Azria navy gown ($378/Saks Fifth Avenue), Rachelle Dauphinée gold earrings ($225/Saks Fifth Avenue), and her own gold necklace.

Heather owns Nest in Snider Plaza and Bell’Invito, a stationery studio known for its handcrafted designs. She’s involved with Central Dallas Ministries—a nonprofit that provides the poor with food, housing, employment training, and other services—and also with Predisan, a mission providing mobile water treatment facilities to villages in Honduras.


Philosophy on life: This one’s from my dad: “Good deals will always outlast your money.” And from my mom: “God loves you, and so do I.” Those two pretty much cover everything. What is your guilty pleasure? Which one do I reveal? Probably “Bullet time.” They’re Blue Bell popsicles. I’ve gotten everybody at work addicted. At about 3 pm, when everybody’s fading, somebody asks, “Is it Bullet time?” What’s in your fridge? Oh, gosh, all the stereotypical organic stuff. I love cooking. I do it for therapy. I come in, turn on the music, and start chopping vegetables.

 

NIKKI NGO, 40
{eyebrow guru, diet coke fiend}

Nikki is wearing a Tibi one-shoulder dress ($345/Saks Fifth Avenue), a Saks Fifth Avenue studded belt ($198/Saks Fifth Avenue), and John Hardy silver bamboo hoop earrings ($295/Saks Fifth Avenue).

When she was a child, Nikki’s family moved from Vietnam during the war to a refugee camp in Arkansas. They soon moved to Dallas to achieve the American dream, and with five successful children, they’ve done it. Recently, the hairstylist and beauty expert launched eyecandy, a custom eyebrow stencil business.


What’s one of Dallas’ hidden treasures? There’s this Buddhist temple in Garland called Dao Quang Temple, and they welcome everybody from every religion. I go there when I’m stressed.
Philosophy on life: Treat people like you treat your dog. My dog can eat my shoes and I’ll still love it. If everyone could be treated like we treat our dogs, we’d all be happy. What’s in your fridge? Coke and Diet Coke. There are too many restaurants to stay at home and cook.


MARIE REYES, 38
{skincare genius, sunscreen pusher}

Marie is wearing a Ports 1961 orange satin dress ($725/Stanley Korshak), Ippolita gold earrings ($1,400/Saks Fifth Avenue), Ippolita bangles ($595–$3,950 each/Saks Fifth Avenue), and her own Christian Louboutin gold stilettos.

The SkinSpaMed owner was turned on to the beauty industry in her early 20s, when she was working as an actress and a model. While others were basking in the sun, she was applying sunscreen (her No. 1 beauty tip) and studying up on the chemistry behind all kinds of beauty concoctions. Marie is involved with Heroes for Children and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

What’s Dallas’ best-kept secret? SkinSpaMed! Are you kidding? What’s your style secret? Great skin. Everything looks good with a radiant complexion. What’s your must-have beauty item? After sunscreen, my must-have beauty item is BADgal Lash Mascara by Benefit. I also don’t go anywhere without YSL’s Golden Gloss #1.

 

KAREN NOSEFF, 32
{denim designer, vaseline devotee}

Karen is wearing a Tibi strapless dress ($340/Saks Fifth Avenue), Miu Miu sequined stilettos ($690/Saks Fifth Avenue), and an Adriana Orsini floral necklace ($400/Saks Fifth Avenue).

Besides writing and co-producing her own dance record, this jeans designer and hip-hop class teacher has also teamed up with designer Abi Ferrin to create a line of silk and jersey tops to complement her denim line, Fortune. Proceeds will go to the Nepal Project.


What’s your favorite thing about Dallas? It’s one of those rare big cities that has a small-town feel. Who’s your favorite designer? Shouldn’t it be me? Is that too arrogant? I really like Betsey Johnson. What’s your must-have beauty item? So I’m gonna be real. It’s Vaseline. I carry it with me everywhere. I put it on my lips. If your hands are dry, you can put on a little. And it’s 89 cents. You can’t beat that.


D’ANDRA SIMMONS, 39
{beauty mogul, sharp shooter}

D’Andra is wearing a Melinda Eng dress ($1,770/Saks Fifth Avenue) and Rachelle Dauphinée’s “Kalypso” cuff ($795/Saks Fifth Avenue).

D’Andra’s list of charitable affiliations is staggering—everything from Junior League to the Genesis Women’s Shelter Alliance and Dallas Summer Musicals—and after speaking with her, it’s clear she’s passionate about each organization. She also has her own skincare line, Hard Night Good Morning.


Philosophy on life: You are here to serve others, not just yourself, so do something every day for another person. I have all of these blessings in life, so I feel like I want to give back some blessings to others. What’s one thing we’d be surprised to know about you? I am a great hunter and an incredible shot. So don’t enter my house without notice! What’s your style secret? Kaycee Clark and Holly Dear at Dear Clark Hair Studio. They keep me looking red-carpet ready at a moment’s notice.

 

GAIL WARRIOR-LAWRENCE, 40
{construction queen, ex-body builder}

Gail is wearing a Carolina Herrera printed dress ($2,890/Stanley Korshak).

You could call Gail lots of things—businesswoman, philanthropist, wife, mother. As the CEO of a successful construction company, she spends some days visiting sites in her jeans and hardhat. But as you can see, she cleans up good. Last year, she and her husband, Wayne, founded the Heart of a Warrior Charitable Foundation in honor of her parents, Melvin and Dorothy Warrior.


What’s your style secret? I love to wear hats. But you’ve gotta have hattitude. You have to wear the hat. The hat can’t wear you. Philosophy on life: Don’t sweat the small stuff. When you think about what’s going on in the rest of the world, your problems are really so small. What’s one thing we’d be surprised to know about you? I used to do body building competitions, and I ran two marathons in Anchorage.

 

NANCI MASSON, 51
{texas girl, family woman}

Nanci is wearing an Alexander McQueen strapless paisley dress ($4,350/Stanley Korshak), Rachelle Dauphinée’s gold “Valhalla” necklace ($695/Saks Fifth Avenue), and Rachelle Dauphinée’s “Crazy Majarani” gold and carnelian earrings ($315/Saks Fifth Avenue).

This woman loves Texas. Even when she crossed the Red River to live in Tulsa, she claimed to be a Dallas gal. That’s love. In 1986, after discovering one of her children had a birth defect that would require multiple surgeries, she started her first business, a nutrition company, to keep her daughter healthy. She also founded a nonprofit kids camp in Colorado. Now that she’s back in Dallas, she’s picked up golf and takes care of her 10-year-old son.


Philosophy on life: Since I lost my best friend and husband of 28 years very suddenly, I think my philosophy is never take life for granted. What’s your style secret? I think your style is you, and I think more of us should be examples for our daughters and young girls to just be themselves.
What’s one thing we’d be surprised to know about you? I think people are surprised that I have five kids, three grandkids, and one grandkid on the way.


WENDY CRUZ, 28
{anchorwoman, optimist}

Wendy is wearing a Kay Unger pink strapless dress ($390/Saks Fifth Avenue) and John Hardy silver pavé hoops ($200/Saks Fifth Avenue).

Wendy moved to Dallas from Costa Rica to become the anchor for Univision, and although she knew not a soul when she arrived a year and a half ago, she has settled right into the Dallas scene. Now, instead of zip lining through the rainforest, she enjoys biking along the Katy Trail and trying new restaurants.


What’s your style secret? I love that people can change their faces with a little bit of makeup. The people who used to do my makeup in Costa Rica could contour my nose to make it point slightly up. What’s your must-have beauty item? Perfume. I feel like I haven’t taken a shower if I don’t have perfume, even if I have. Philosophy on life: In my life I have had some hard moments, and I have had some wonderful moments. I think the secret is to just live one day at a time.

 

JOETTE WHITE, 41
{animal lover, mom-to-be} 

Joette is wearing a Martin Grant satin v-neck dress ($1,395/Barneys New York), Rachelle Dauphinée’s gold “Venus” necklace ($850/Saks Fifth Avenue), Rachelle Dauphinée’s “Cleopatra” earrings ($265/Saks Fifth Avenue), and a Marise Pujana ring ($385/Saks Fifth Avenue).

Joette loves animals, and she created a successful business, Park Cities Pet Sitter, to prove it. She continues her good work through her involvement with local pet shelters and rescue groups. When she’s not channeling Dr. Dolittle, she’s wrangling her 3-year-old son and getting ready for baby No. 2 (due in January).


Happiness is … loving yourself. If you can’t love your­self, how can you really be happy? Of course, my husband says I might be too in love with myself. What’s your favorite Dallas store? Anything with a sale. What’s one thing we’d be surprised to know about you? I don’t like vegetables. Trying to get a 3-year-old to eat them when you don’t eat them is tough. Chocolate is my vegetable. 

 

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