Holding the title Miss USA opened opportunities for Friel to meet with various celebrities during her reign. Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants opened a lot of doors for me. I met a lot of people and made a lot of friends. She briefly travelled with singer Julio Iglesias and was invited by Mick Jagger (of the Rolling Stones) to his anniversary concert. She was also a special guest at a Beach Boys concert. She also met Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Kris Kristofferson and Cher. Her reign coincided with the murder of John Lennon, which occurred while she was attending a birthday event for singer Ben Vereen.