The dirty little secret beauty pageants keep

updated 3:29 p.m. ET March 25, 2008

Ines Ligron is the ultimate Miss Universe insider, and she doesn't believe much in secrets. One of her favorite stories is of a contestant who could have won but opted for last-minute cosmetic surgery, and thus was barely able to lift her arms when she went before the judges.

Even her own protege — current Miss Universe Riyo Mori — had work done.

"But just a little plumper in the lips," Ligron says.

Hand-picked by real estate billionaire Donald Trump, who took over the Miss Universe pageant a decade ago, Ligron is possibly the world's leading trainer of beauty contestants, having coached Mori to the crown last year — Japan's first since 1959 — and Kurara Chibana to the first runner-up slot the year before.

Getting on Ligron's list can mean overnight stardom.

Hundreds of millions of people around the world watch the annual contest to be held this June, in which women from 80 countries compete. Mori is currently hopping the globe between sessions on an MTV reality show, while Chibana has become a major celebrity in Japan, gracing magazine covers, co-hosting variety programs and endorsing dozens of products.

Ligron, a vivacious and successful businesswoman in her own right, is now whittling down a list of thousands of women vying to be her pick when the contest is held in Vietnam. Along with Japan, she will be training the South Korean entry. After that, she wants to coach in her native France.

"These girls are like babies when they come to me," Ligron said. "When I'm done, they have their college diplomas."

But winning the diamond-and-pearl crown comes with a price.

And often a slice.

It's time to take a walk.

In one of the last training sessions before Ligron names her final batch of contestants for the Miss Japan contest, whose winner represents Japan at Miss Universe, she takes about a dozen of her favorites out to a crowded crosswalk in a fashionable part of town.

The women strut back and forth across the street, then hold an impromptu fashion show — in their street clothes — on the stairs outside a large clothing store. Within minutes, a crowd of about 200 has gathered. A guard warns Ligron that he is concerned it might get out of hand.

Mission accomplished.

They laugh and clap, and head back to Ligron's office.

"With a fashion model on the catwalk, it's about the clothes," Ligron said. "With Miss Universe, it's all about the woman herself."

After passing a mass audition, the competitors go through sessions with Ligron on speaking and posture, fashion and makeup, presentation and attitude. It's often brutal — Ligron turned away one contestant, a high fashion model, because the woman refused to gain weight.

"I don't advertise anorexia," she said, as the other girls looked on. "We don't want skinny rabbits."

Azusa Nishigaki is one of Ligron's disciples.

"I know some people don't respect beauty contests," she said. "But this one really appeals to me. It's not just about being cute and pretty. You have to be cool and smart. Miss Universe is the woman I want to be."

Ligron didn't think Miss Universe wanted her, however. Nishigaki, 23, failed the initial audition, but she pressed Ligron, and got another chance.

"I told her I could change," Nishigaki said. "And I did. I dyed my hair, I changed my clothes, my walk, my look. I think I have what it takes."

She is stunning.

There is just one thing.

She hates her ears.

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