Funny girl
Dena (Querubin) Blizzard ’94
Once gown-garbed and tiara-topped, former Miss Gloucester County and Miss New Jersey 1995 Dena (Querubin) Blizzard ’94 has replaced the clichés of her beauty queen past with jeans, a microphone and a clever wit. As a stand-up comic, Blizzard entertains audiences in the northeast with her humorous monologues on bygone pageant days and more current tales of stretch marks and motherhood.

“One day I’m Miss New Jersey, then suddenly, I got married, bought a house and had kids,” Blizzard said. “Now I’m doing stand-up comedy.” She gained confidence as a comic when her husband, Jim, signed her up for classes at the Comedy Cabaret as a birthday present.

“I asked for the classes because I was turning 30 and always wanted to try stand-up comedy, but was too embarrassed,” she said. “Now, I have two kids and figured nothing else could embarrass me after what they sometimes put me through.” One year later, she continues to perform at the Cabaret and at several other local clubs.

Having recently won preliminary rounds on a local radio station’s “Last Comic Standing,” Blizzard will appear as the headliner for Rowan University’s Comedy Night scheduled for January 2004 (see page 46). “I’m really excited about it,” she said. “When I was last at Rowan I was a studious biology type, and nothing I do now, except for making babies, has anything to do with biology.”

Comedy isn’t the only thing keeping Blizzard busy: She is a spokesperson on QVC television and is promoting its new line of luxury towel and spa items called “Solitude.” She also hosts the live show “For Women Only” on WPSJ-TV. The show focuses on different women’s health topics each week and features guest medical professionals to answer viewers’ questions.

Now that she has cast aside her crown and unveiled her witty ways, Blizzard would like one day to host her own television show. “You never know what you’re going to end up doing,” she said. “You just have to try everything once and do what you love the most.”