1921–1967 Margaret Gorman, Miss District of Columbia, was declared "The Most Beautiful Bathing Girl in America" in 1921 at the age of 16 and was recognized as the first "Miss America" when she returned to compete the next year. The contest that year was won by
Mary Katherine Campbell (
Miss Ohio), who won again in 1923. She returned to compete a third time in 1924 but placed as first runner-up that year, and pageant rules were then amended to prevent anyone from winning more than once. Alta Sterling, competing as Miss Sioux City, was the first to represent the state of Iowa at the 1924 Miss America pageant. Sterling had the distinction of being the first Jewish contestant to compete for Miss America – one of some very notable "firsts" by Miss Iowa contestants. Beginning in 1940,
Bob Russell served as the first official host of the pageant. In 1945,
Bess Myerson became the first Jewish-American and the first
Miss New York (competing as Miss New York City, a competition organized by a local radio station or "Beth Merrick", In addition, in 1948, Yun Tau Chee, the first
Miss Hawaii, was also the first Asian-American contestant. Starting in 1950, although the pageant continued to be in September, the organization that hosted the pageant changed the Miss America title to "post-dated"; thus, that year's pageant winner,
Yolande Betbeze, became Miss America 1951, and there was no Miss America 1950. The pageant was first televised nationally in 1954, hosted by
Bob Russell. Television viewership peaked during the early 1960s, when it was the highest-rated program on American television.
1968–2016 With the rise of
second-wave feminism and the civil rights movement during the 1960s, the Miss America pageant became the subject of a series of protests that attacked it as sexist, racist, and part of U.S. militarism. The
first such demonstration took place during the
Miss America 1969 pageant held on September 7, 1968 (won by
Miss Illinois 1968,
Judith Ford), when about 200 members of the group
New York Radical Women demonstrated as part of the
Miss America protest.
Bev Grant's photographs of this event have become iconic. In addition, a pamphlet distributed at the protest by
Robin Morgan,
No More Miss America!, became a source for feminist scholarship. The protest was co-sponsored by
Florynce Kennedy's Media Workshop, an activist group she founded in 1966 to protest the media's representation of blacks, along with the feminist Jeannette Rankin Brigade and the
ACLU. Morgan later stated that the Miss America pageant "was chosen as a target for a number of reasons: it has always been a lily-white, racist contest; the winner tours
Vietnam, entertaining the troops as a 'Murder Mascot'; the whole gimmick is one commercial shillgame to sell the sponsor's products. Where else could one find such a perfect combination of American values—racism, militarism, sexism—all packaged in one ‘ideal symbol,’ a woman." The protesters compared the pageant to a county fair where livestock are judged. They thus crowned a sheep as Miss America and symbolically destroyed a number of feminine products, including false eyelashes, high-heeled shoes, curlers, hairspray, makeup,
girdles,
corsets, and bras. Burning the contents of a trash can was suggested, but a permit was unobtainable; news media seized on the similarity between
draft resisters burning draft cards and women burning their bras. In fact, there was no bra burning, nor did anyone remove her bra. The
Women's Liberation Front later demonstrated at the
Miss America 1971 pageant. She drew attention from reporters and from security personnel in Atlantic City who maintained a visible presence during pageant rehearsals. They participated in a 22-day
United Service Organizations tour for
American troops that began in
Saigon. Browne later commented that she thought "it was one of the last Miss America groups to go to Vietnam." Williams later commented that she was one of five minority contestants that year, noting that ballet dancer
Deneen Graham "had already had a cross burned on her front yard because she was the first black
Miss North Carolina [1983]." She also pointed out that "
Suzette Charles was the first runner-up, and she was biracial. But when the press started, when I would go out on the – on the tour and do my appearances, and people would come up and say they never thought they'd see the day that it would happen; when people would want to shake my hand, and you'd see tears in their eyes, and they'd say, I never thought I'd see it in my lifetime – that's when, you know, it was definitely a very special honor." First runner-up,
Miss New Jersey 1983, Suzette Charles replaced her for the final weeks of Williams' reign. Thirty-two years after she resigned however, Vanessa Williams
returned to the Miss America stage on September 13, 2015, for the
Miss America 2016 pageant as head judge (where
Miss Georgia 2015,
Betty Cantrell, won the crown).
Miss Alabama 1994,
Heather Whitestone, won the
1995 pageant becoming the first deaf Miss America (she lost most of her hearing at the age of 18 months). At the
Miss America 1999 pageant held on September 19, 1998,
Nicole Johnson (
Miss Virginia 1998) became the first Miss America with
diabetes and the first contestant to publicize an insulin pump. Around the same time, Miss America officials announced they had lifted the ban on contestants who were divorced or had had an abortion. This rule change, however, was rescinded and Miss America CEO Robert L. Beck, who had suggested it, was fired.
Angela Perez Baraquio,
Miss Hawaii 2000, was crowned
Miss America 2001, thereby becoming the first Asian-American, the first
Filipino-American, as well as the first teacher ever to win the pageant. A few years later, the
Miss America 2005 pageant held on September 18, 2004, would be the last one televised live on
ABC (which dropped the pageant after this broadcast, as it "drew a record-low 9.8 million viewers") and the last one held in
Atlantic City for ten years.
Miss Alabama 2004,
Deidre Downs, reigned as Miss America four months longer than usual as the
Miss America 2006 pageant was moved to a January broadcast at the
Las Vegas Strip's
Theatre for the Performing Arts (
Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino). It was broadcast live on
Country Music Television. After two years, the pageant moved to the
TLC network. The
Miss America 2011 pageant held on January 15, 2011, showcased
Miss New York 2010,
Claire Buffie, (the first Miss America contestant to advocate a gay-rights platform) and
Miss Delaware 2010,
Kayla Martell, (the first bald contestant).
ABC also resumed broadcasting the pageant with the 2011 competition. The
Miss America 2013 pageant, held on January 12, 2013, was the last one to take place in Las Vegas.
Miss Montana 2012,
Alexis Wineman, ("America's Choice" winner) was the pageant's first
autistic contestant. With the
Miss America 2014 pageant, held on September 15, 2013, the competition returned to
Boardwalk Hall,
Atlantic City, New Jersey. Shortly after her win, however, Davuluri became the target of
xenophobic and racist comments on social media relating the proximity of
the event date to the 9/11 anniversary and to
anti-Indian sentiment. News agencies cited tweets that misidentified her as Muslim or Arab, associated her with groups such as
Al-Qaeda, and questioned why she was chosen over
Miss Kansas 2013,
Theresa Vail (a soldier who won the "America's Choice" award and was the first contestant to display tattoos during the swimsuit competition). Davuluri said that she was prepared for this backlash because "as Miss New York, I was called a terrorist and very similar remarks", and Vail denounced the social media backlash, offering her support to Davuluri.
Torn ligaments forced
Miss Florida 2013,
Myrrhanda Jones, to perform her baton routine with a decorated leg brace, while Nicole Kelly (
Miss Iowa 2013) was the first contestant without a forearm to compete in the pageant.
Amanda Longacre, then
Miss Delaware 2014, who was preparing to compete in
Miss America 2015, was stripped of the title and the crown Longacre filed a $3 million lawsuit, In September 2014, comedian
John Oliver ran a segment on his show,
Last Week Tonight, that investigated the Miss America Organization's claim that it is "the world's largest provider of scholarships for women." Oliver's team, which included four researchers with journalism backgrounds, collected and analyzed the organization's state and federal tax forms to find that the organization's scholarship program only distributes a small fraction of its claimed "$45 million made available annually". Oliver said that at the national level, the Miss America Organization and Miss America Foundation together spent only $482,000 in cash scholarships in 2012. The pageant appeared to multiply the value of a single available scholarship by the number of contestants theoretically eligible for it, while using the term "provided" in a way that did not mean "distributed." The Miss America Organization responded by stating that Oliver affirmed that it provides the most scholarships to women and that the $45 million figure was based on all scholarships made available whether or not they are accepted. In February 2015, Sharon Pearce announced that she was stepping down from her role as President of the Miss America Organization. At that time, former CEO Sam Haskell was named Executive Chairman of the Miss America Organization, retained the title of CEO, and assumed all of Pearce's responsibilities. In addition,
Miss America 2014,
Nina Davuluri, was appointed one of the new trustees to the Miss America Foundation. In September 2015, Miss America officials announced that the organization granted $5.5 million in scholarships, a number that included all offers of in-kind tuition waivers from multiple schools when a contestant could accept one at most. In 2019, a lawyer for the Miss America Foundation put the number at $1.3-1.4 million and said that 85% of the money is raised by contestants themselves, through solicitations from friends, family, and businesses. On March 24, 2016, the Miss America Organization announced a contract renewal with
ABC to continue carrying the pageant for the next three years to the 2019 edition. In June 2016,
Erin O'Flaherty was crowned
Miss Missouri, becoming the first openly lesbian Miss America contestant.
2017–2024 (Miss America 2.0 Era) , visits the Fort Meade
USO In late December 2017,
HuffPost published an article exposing derogatory emails sent and received by CEO Sam Haskell, board members Tammy Haddad and Lynn Weidner, and lead writer Lewis Friedman. The emails, sent between 2014 and 2017, featured instances of expletive name-calling and unprofessional comments. The comments were often sexual or violent in nature and targeted former Miss America winners, notably
Mallory Hagan and
Katherine Shindle, both of whom joined 47 other former Miss Americas (including all Miss Americas from 1988 to 2017) On December 22, the Miss America Organization (MAO) released statements to
USA Today, saying that it was made aware of concerns several months prior. They stated that the organization does not "condone the use of inappropriate language" and reported that its investigation had determined that Haskell was under "unreasonable distress resulting from intense attacks on his family from disgruntled stakeholders". The organization also reported that its relationship with Friedman had been terminated. Haskell explained that attacks on his character impaired his judgment when responding to the emails. Miss America's
board of directors also suspended Haskell, who released a statement labeling the HuffPost article "unkind and untrue". Hagan and Shindle criticized the decision to suspend Haskell, rather than fire him, as inadequate. The following day, the President of Miss America, Josh Randle; executive chairwoman Lynn Weidner; and Haskell all resigned. The scandal prompted the pageant's producer,
Dick Clark Productions, to cut ties, and the
Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) announced that it was reconsidering its contract with Miss America, with its executive director Chris Howard describing the scandal as "troubling", and both Frank Gilliam, incoming mayor of Atlantic City, and State Senator
Colin Bell called for CRDA to end its relationship with Miss America. On December 24, Haddad also resigned. In January 2018,
Gretchen Carlson, who won the Miss America pageant in 1989, was elected as the new chairwoman of the organization, becoming the first former Miss America to serve as its leader.
Katherine Shindle,
Miss America 1998, was also appointed to the board alongside fellow Miss America winners,
Heather French Henry (
2000) and
Laura Kaeppeler (
2012). This move led to a number of changes. In June 2018, there was an announcement that Miss America contestants would no longer be judged based on their physical appearance. Thus, the national Miss America event would be considered a competition, rather than a beauty pageant, and the titleholders would now be candidates, rather than contestants. The swimsuit competition was replaced with state titleholders participating in a live interactive session with the judges. In interviews, Carlson emphasized the organization's desire to be more welcoming, "open, transparent, [and] inclusive to women," and to prioritize displaying the talent and scholarship in the contestants. The new board of directors increased the maximum age of titleholders to 25 years old, from 24. Therefore, contestants could not be older than 25 years old on December 31 in the calendar year of their state competition. Court fillings from October 26, 2018, ordered MAO to pay Fox Rothschild LLP $98,206.90 with interest for their unpaid legal bills. The Miss America Organization reported in December 2018 that a settlement had been made with Fox Rothschild LLP. The leadership of the
Miss Colorado organization quit in protest. On December 26, 2018; MAO also reinstated the license for the Miss New Jersey organization for one year, contingent on leadership changes and recruitment of new sponsors and board members. In December 2018, state organizations from
Georgia,
Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, and
West Virginia, along with Jennifer Vaden Barth (former titleholder and former MAO board member), filed a lawsuit requesting the actions of Carlson and Hopper be voided, citing an "illegal and bad-faith takeover of the MAO, beginning in January 2018." The court date for this suit was set for January 25, 2019. Krebs had been a member of the organization's board since October 2018. On May 8, 2020, the organization announced its next competition, originally slated for December 2020, was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The postponement will also include revised eligibility to be coordinated with state qualifying organizations to allow competitors who would usually age out to remain in consideration and ultimately there was no Miss America 2021 pageant and
Miss America 2022 was held on December 17, 2021. In November 2022, Brían Nguyen was crowned Miss Greater Derry in New Hampshire, becoming the first transgender titleholder under the Miss America organization. Beginning in January 2023, major changes were made to the competition format following the "advent of...new Miss America Opportunity" of Robin Fleming as new Owner/CEO of the Miss America organization. Fleming is an entrepreneur, dress designer, and television producer and she formerly spent over 9 years directing state level
Miss USA pageants. The new administration under Fleming has reversed some of the Miss America 2.0 changes including terminology (as of 2023, a competition participant will once again be referred to as a 'contestant' rather than the Miss America 2.0 term 'candidate') and the decision to not judge contestants based on their physical appearance (which occurred with the elimination of the swimsuit competition in 2018). The contestant age limit was also raised from 18–25 to 18–28. In November 2024, Miss America's operator filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In December 2024, Miss America Competition LLC asked to dismiss its bankruptcy.
Trump era (2025 - present) In April 2026, the Miss America organization banned transgender women from competing following a legal threat from Florida Attorney General
James Uthmeier. ==Winners==