BIOGRAPHY
                    is an award-winning Pageant Director, Coach, entrepreneur, model, actress, and the Founder of Miss West Coast Productions, Inc., established in 2013. With  27 years of experience in the pageantry industry as both a competitor and director, Tara has built her career around empowering girls and women, developing confident leaders, and creating opportunities that extend far beyond the stage.
Tara Rice
A New Vision for Pageantry
In 2027, Tara will bring her experience and vision to the national and international stage with the launch of US Worldwide Pageants.After decades of experiencing pageantry from multiple perspectives as a contestant, titleholder, coach, director, and producer, Tara believes the industry has an opportunity to evolve while preserving the traditions that make pageantry meaningful. Her vision for US Worldwide Pageants is centered on integrity, respect, transparency, communication, mentorship, and strong core values. Tara believes one of the most important responsibilities of a Pageant Director is to listen. Contestants and titleholders invest significant time, resources, preparation, and emotion into pursuing their goals, and she believes they deserve an organization that values their voices and continues supporting them long after the competition ends.
For that reason, mentorship will be an integral part of the US Worldwide experience. National titleholders will receive continued guidance, support, and opportunities designed to help them maximize their reigns, strengthen their platforms, pursue professional goals, and prepare for what comes next.
Transparency will be another cornerstone of the organization. US Worldwide Pageants will provide contestants with their competition scores and judges’ comments as part of the growth process. Tara believes constructive feedback is essential for personal development and that transparency helps establish trust among contestants, judges, directors, and the organization.
Tara also understands firsthand the extraordinary commitment required to compete at the national level and the countless hours of preparation, financial investment and determination. She is committed to dedicating her time and resources to building a meaningful prize package and creating an experience worthy of the women and girls who earn US Worldwide national titles.
US Worldwide Pageants will embrace a traditional state-director model, working with qualified directors who share the organization’s standards and values to produce official preliminary state pageants. In states where a pageant is not yet established, appointed titles may be awarded following an application and selective committee review process. For Tara, US Worldwide Pageants represents more than the launch of another competition. It represents the opportunity to build a pageant organization where the crown symbolizes leadership, character, purpose, service, and the responsibility to positively influence others.
From Contestant to Director
Tara’s own pageantry journey began at age 19 when, on a whim, she entered her first pageant in 2000 and won Miss Teen California All American. She went on to place in the Top 20 at her first national pageant. During her reign, Tara developed confidence and public-speaking skills that ultimately inspired her to pursue opportunities in modeling, acting, and hosting. She credits many of the skills she developed during seven years of competing in pageants with helping her navigate and succeed in the entertainment industry. Her career has included appearances in more than 50 national commercials, guest roles on television programs including House M.D., and lead roles in feature films alongside internationally recognized actors. Her recent work includes a LEGOLAND print and commercial campaign with her family and a national Walmart commercial. Rice is a supporting actress in two feature films being released in 2026. Tara has also been featured or published in numerous publications, including Vogue, Glamour, Maxim, Fitness Hers, Viva Glam, and VoyageLA, and was recognized as one of the Top 25 Influencers in Los Angeles by Los Angeles Entrepreneur Magazine.
Community Leadership & Service
Beyond pageantry and entertainment, Tara has devoted significant time to community service and charitable causes. As a member of Soroptimist International of Santa Clarita Valley, she helped organize fundraising initiatives supporting human-trafficking awareness, breast-cancer awareness, and nonprofit organizations serving women and children. She has also volunteered with or supported organizations including Relay For Life, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Food on Foot, and Operation Blankets of Love, among others. Her leadership and community involvement have earned recognition from local, county, state, and federal leaders and organizations. Her honors include recognition from the City of Santa Clarita as an exemplary community leader; a California State Senate Certificate of Recognition; a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from the U.S. House of Representatives; the Enriching Lives Award from the County of Los Angeles; recognition from the California State Assembly; and recognition from the California State Senate associated with the JCI Forty Under 40 Class of 2018. Tara was also honored with the prestigious Forty Under 40 Award presented by JCI and the Santa Clarita Valley and received recognition for her leadership and service to the community from Assemblyman Dante Acosta. In 2026, Tara and her husband were honored with a Parents of the Year Award, recognizing their dedication to family and community.
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Despite the titles, awards, professional accomplishments, and opportunities she has experienced throughout her career, Tara considers her greatest achievement to be something much more personal: being a mother to her two sons, Ryder and Weston.
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As she begins this next chapter, Tara is bringing together everything pageantry has taught her—as a contestant, coach, director, entrepreneur, mentor, and mother—to build US Worldwide Pageants into an organization where women and girls are encouraged not simply to win a title, but to lead with integrity, advocate with purpose, grow with confidence, and leave a meaningful legacy.
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In 2014, Tara produced the inaugural Miss West Coast Pageant, which became an official
preliminary to the Miss California USA Pageant, leading to Miss USA. After five years
working with the Miss California USA preliminary, Tara transitioned to another established
national pageant organization, allowing her to expand opportunities to contestants across a
broader range of age divisions.
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Throughout her 15 years as a Pageant Director and Coach, Tara has helped hundreds of girls, teens, and women prepare for competition and achieve State, National, and International titles. Her coaching philosophy extends beyond winning a crown. Her goal is to help each participant discover her strengths, build confidence, develop communication and leadership skills, and gain tools that contribute to lifelong success. Platform advocacy has also remained an important part of Tara’s work. She encourages contestants and titleholders to identify causes that hold personal meaning and teaches them how to transform their passion into purposeful advocacy, community involvement, and measurable impact. Under Tara’s leadership, the Miss West Coast State Pageant has received multiple industry honors from Pageant Planet, including Best State Pageant Director, Best State Pageant, and Best Prize Package. These recognitions reflect reviews and evaluations from pageant-industry professionals, businesses, contestants, and the pageantry community.