Sharlene Wells (born March 16, 1964) is a Paraguayan-American author, singer, and reporter from Salt Lake City, Utah who was Miss America 1985.

Hawkes (née Wells), was born in Asunción, Paraguay and spent most of her childhood in Mexico, Chile and Ecuador.

[2] When she won the Miss America title, her parents were living in Holladay, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City.

Being crowned Miss America was seen by some as an antidote to the scandal associated with the prior year's winner, Vanessa Williams.

This includes a program to bring wives and daughters of veterans killed in the line of duty to the Miss America Pageant.