Before & After: The Beauty That Is Ugly Betty

Wednesday, 14 April 2010 09:47 | Written by Byron

BETTY-IFUL: Tonight ABC will broadcast the last original episode of the U.S. version of a show that has many names all over the world, but in America goes by the name "Ugly Betty." I am really sad to see this show go. I got hooked on it because my partner, Juan, is a huge Vanessa Williams fan. And in this show, Williams had more than one chance to tear up the scenery as the diva bitch magazine editrix "Wilhelmina Slater." I would have watched the show anyway: it's funny, sweet, smart, super gay-friendly, fashionable and featured one of the most unique characters to ever cross our airwaves: Betty Suarez, aka "Ugly Betty," played to perfection by America Ferrera. When she popped up on the screen in the first episode, September, 2006, I had a weird deja vu feeling about her—like I had seen her before. It wasn't because I had seen the Latin versions such as Yo Soy Betty, la fea. No, I had seen this person in my real life. By the third episode, when Betty said something really smart/poignant/funny with her brace-filled grin, it hit me.

Betty was Christa.

Years ago, long before I contributed to The Oregonian and worked at Willamette Week, I was an ad sales rep/society columnist for The Downtowner. Like Ugly Betty's place of employment, MODE, it too was a fake fashion magazine. And I worked there. So did Christa. It had been over a decade since the publication had closed up shop in 1995, but when Betty appeared on screen it was like seeing Christa all over again. Like Betty, Christa was a whip-smart, courageous, good-hearted, and slightly naive young woman who could simply do it all. She was an ad assistant and my life-line, taking care of not only my clients but pretty much me after long nights trying to keep up with the hoi-polloi of Portland. When I would sneak a nap under my desk, she would cover my chair with her big coat so no one could see me sleeping. She allowed me to be me. And when I ran away to Europe for six weeks, she did all my work. I was grateful for her assistance, and if I remember right, never told her so.

Back then Christa also looked like Betty—it's actually uncanny how much they looked alike, as if they were identical twins right down to the Sally Jesse Raphael red-rimmed glasses.

Weird thing is, even though we both live in the same city, I've never run into Christa since we were all let go in 1995. I couldn't even remember her last name. Then a couple of days ago, after much digging through piles of crap, I was able to find an old copy of The Downtowner. That's when I found her name, and like any good social media-ist I went straight to Facebook. I found her immediately. She had a new hyphenated last name. And she didn't look like Betty anymore (see above right). But it was her. I sent her a message to double check if it indeed was her and this is what I got back:

"Yes, that be me! Hiya Byron! I'm still working in print, more on the design/production side (magazines and catalogs). Goodness but I was Ugly Betty's twin sister back at the Downtowner! Glad to "see" you after all these years!"

So she got the resemblance too. I was happy for that.

I will miss watching Ugly Betty for a lot of reasons, but one of the biggest is that it gave me a connection to my past. Thank you Ugly Betty for giving me that. And, if I never said it back in the day, thanks Christa for being such a great person. You were beautiful back then, and even more beautiful today.

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