Wendy Fitzwilliam strides elegantly into the suite at the Hilton Kingston Hotel. She's casually clad in a pink mini-dress with white and blue borders. Her six-foot slim frame is further enhanced by gold, strappy sandals. Her smile is beautiful and reveals chiselled teeth framed by healthy-looking black gums.

Our last encounter was at the now defunct Crowne Plaza Hotel in 1998; she was then visiting Jamaica as Miss Universe. She exudes that same Caribbean warmth and charm.

This afternoon, she is here as spokesperson for Coca-Cola Light -- major sponsors of Caribbean Fashionweek. In fact, the new ad revealing the sultry jazz side of Fitzwilliam styled like jazz goddess Billy Holiday was unveiled (for the first time) Thursday last in the Jamaica Observer newspaper.

In response to the question "who chose whom", Fitzwilliam throws back her head and chuckles, "It was an easy sell. I was at that point, I remember well (28 1/2), where I was watching what I ate, paying closer attention to my body and making the transition from chasing rum with regular coke to diet coke, which was already part of my existence. Plus Coca-Cola really included me in putting together the campaign," she said.

"Fact is, health issues like diabetes have really increased in the Caribbean."

Copping the Coca-Cola Light deal is yet another major achievement for Fitzwilliam since being crowned Miss Universe in 1998. When asked if she has managed to give up the crown, her response was: "I've attempted to" is more than accurate.

This Diego Martin resident has just returned (full time) to her native Trinidad and Tobago and has been appointed VP of business development at PIDCOTT ú Property and Industrial Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago. It's a project that she's very excited about. For, in two-and-a-half years, Fort Reid in Wallerfield -- an old American base in Trinidad and Tobago -- will be home to a new university.

"The entire world is moving towards technology and this will allow my country to be a partner in creating industry," she said.

Not a bad career move for someone who, at age 31 (her birthday was on October 4), has toured the world as Miss Universe; something that she confesses was "never a dream, but just happened along the way". She campaigned locally for children with AIDS (in Tunapuna at the Cyril Ross Nursery) and has worked as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund.

She landed a development deal with Elektra Records and was once signed to Warner Brothers.

Among Fitzwilliam's personal milestones are a two-hour audience with Nelson Mandela -- a man she describes as totally "selfless"; and performing in Angola at the Miss Universe show (her performance was televised to every Portuguese-speaking country).

She's survived the ordeal (during her reign to boot) of having all four wisdom teeth removed at one time, and shudders as she recalls the day she was licked by an over-enthusiastic admirer in Barcelona, Spain.

These are all seen as a trade-off "everything in life is just that -- a trade-off".

Her most treasured possession, her soul, has not changed. "My soul allows me the ability to experience all that life has to offer. It allows me to see both the good and the not-so-good. It gives me the ability to positively guide my life and to make the decisions which will impact who and what I've become".

Family and community continue to play an important role in Fitzwilliam's life. Her mother still calls the shots.

"I'm there telling my mom about the great fashion party in New York, The Costume de National Ball at the Metropolitan Museum, everyone's there; I mean Nicole Kidman, everyone and she asks me if I went to church on Sunday".

There's one bit of information that she shared exclusively with SunDay. Blushing, she admits that her love interest is from Zimbabwe. They met on a flight, she was sipping soup, spooning sundaes, and dealing with the aftermath of her wisdom teeth extractions.

He was fascinated by it all. Several trips later to Trinidad and Tobago, including a Trini Carnival initiation, and he's still around; she says home for him now is Italy where he owns a vineyard. Wendy, with a great big smile, and a sudden urge for more Coke Light, ignores our pleas, and holds his name close to her chest. There's a firm no comment when we ask if a wedding date has been set.

Her new job, plus her many endorsements, will see this much-accomplished woman living out of a suitcase for some time to come. Life for Wendy Fitzwilliam will, we suspect, continue at her own soca beat.

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