Miss California
The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America competition.
Formation | 1924 |
---|---|
Type | Scholarship pageant |
Headquarters | Fresno |
Location | |
Membership | Miss America |
Key people | Russ Gladden (CEO) |
Website | Official website |
The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Miss California pageant was held, the competition was primarily in San Francisco and Venice, California. In 1947, it returned to Santa Cruz and was held there annually until 1985, after which it moved to San Diego in response to years of protests and a "Myth California" counter pageant organized by local feminist activists led by Ann Simonton and Nikki Craft.[1][2][3][4] It has been held in Fresno, California since 1994.[5][6]
Catherine Liang of San Francisco was crowned Miss California on June 25, 2022 at the Paul Shaghoian Memorial Concert Hall Fresno, California. She competed for the title of Miss America 2023 at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut where she was a Women in Business Finalist and Non-finalist Talent Winner.
Gallery of past titleholders
- Rosemary LaPlanche,
Miss California 1940 and 1941 in 1940 - Sharon Terrill,
Miss California 1968, at Arlington State College in Texas in 1965 - Susan Anton,
Miss California 1969 in 2001 - Rita Ng,
Miss California 2000 - Jacquelynne Fontaine,
Miss California 2006 - Melissa Chaty,
Miss California 2007 - Kristy Cavinder,
Miss California 2009 - Noelle Freeman,
Miss California 2011, at the Great Wall of China - Leah Cecil,
Miss California 2012 - Crystal Lee,
Miss California 2013 - Bree Morse,
Miss California 2015 - Jessa Carmack,
Miss California 2016
Results summary
The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss California titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.
Placements
- Miss Americas: Fay Lanphier (1925), Rosemary LaPlanche (1941), Jean Bartel (1943), Marilyn Buferd (1946), Lee Meriwether (1955), Debra Maffett (1983)
- 1st runners-up: Adrienne Dore (1925), Phyllis Dobson (1936), Claire James (1938), Rosemary LaPlanche (1940), Phyllis Mathis (1945), Suzanne Reamo (1961), Charlene Dallas (1967), Lucianne Buchanan (1975), Kristy Cavinder (2010), Crystal Lee (2014)
- 2nd runners-up: Fay Lanphier (1924), Blanche MacDonald (1933), Jeanne Shores (1953), Susan Anton (1970), Janet Carr (1976), Rita Ng (2001)
- 3rd runners-up: Lillian Knight (1924), Phyllis Randall (1937) (tie), Marguerite Skliris (1939), Lorna Anderson (1958), Sandra Jennings (1959), Susan Bronson (1960), Linda Mouron (1977), Marlise Ricardos (1989), Tiffany Stoker (1996)
- 4th runners-up: Lucille Lambert (1942), Laura Emery (1947), Jone Pedersen (1949), Rebekah Ann Keller (1998), Nicole Lamarche (2004), Veena Goel (2005), Noelle Freeman (2012)
- Top 7: Jackie Geist (2009)
- Top 8: Melissa Chaty (2008)
- Top 10: Patricia Johns (1954), Joan Beckett (1957), Susan Henryson (1962), Wendy Douglas (1964), Susan Shipley (1974), Connie Lee Haugen (1978), Jacquelynne Fontaine (2007), Arianna Afsar (2011), Jessa Carmack (2017)
- Top 12: Virginia Donham (1935), Shirley Ballard (1944)
- Top 13: Polly Ellis (1945)
- Top 15: Ruby Smith (1927), Bertha Weizel (1927), Eileen Kim (2020)
- Top 16: Joanne Durant (1951)
- Top 20: Stephanie Baldwin (2002)
Preliminary awards
- Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Rosemary LaPlanche (1940 and 1941), Jean Bartel (1943), Marilyn Buferd (1946), Jone Pedersen (1950), Joanne Durant (1951), Jeanne Shores (1953), Patricia Johns (1954), Lee Meriwether (1955), Joan Beckett (1957), Sandra Jennings (1959), Sherri Raap (1965), Charlene Dallas (1967), Carolyn Stoner (1972), Lucianne Buchanan (1975), Janet Carr (1976), Debra Maffett (1983), Lisa Michelle Duncan (1994), Tiffany Stoker (1996), Rebekah Ann Keller (1998), Nicole Lamarche (2004)
- Preliminary Talent: Phyllis Dobson (1936), Phyllis Randall (1937), Marguerite Skliris (1939), Jean Bartel (1943), Polly Ellis (1945), Susan Henryson (1962), Charlene Dallas (1967), Debra Maffett (1983), Rita Ng (2001), Veena Goel (2005), Dustin-Leigh Konzelman (2006), Jacquelynne Fontaine (2007), Kristy Cavinder (2010)
Non-finalist awards
- Non-finalist talent: Sandra Lynne Becker (1966), Sharon Terrill (1969), Karin Kascher (1971), Christine Acton (1979), Lisa Kahre (1987), Maria Ostapiej (1991), Jennifer Hanson (1995), Danielle Coney (1999), MaryAnne Sapio (2000), Dustin-Leigh Konzelman (2006), Catherine Liang (2023)
Other awards
- Miss Congeniality: Susan Henryson (1962)
- Final Night Swimsuit: Nicole Lamarche (2004)
- Miss America Scholar: Rita Ng (2001)
- STEM Scholarship Award Winners: Crystal Lee (2014)
- Waterford Business Scholarship: Danielle Coney (1999)
- Women in Business Finalists: Catherine Liang (2023)
Winners
- Declared as winner
- Ended as a runner-up
- Ended as a finalist or semi-finalist
Year | Name | Hometown | Age | Local Title | Miss America Talent | Placement at Miss America | Special scholarships at Miss America | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Sabrina Lewis | Berkeley | 26 | Miss Berkeley | HERstory | TBA | TBA | Previously Miss California USA 2021 |
2022 | Catherine Liang | San Francisco | 22 | Miss San Francisco | Piano | Women in Business Finalist
Non-finalist Talent Award |
||
2021 | Jazmin Avalos[7] | Garden Grove | 24 | Miss Los Angeles County | Vocal | |||
2019–20 | Eileen Kim[8][9] | Orange | 22 | Miss Culver City | Violin | Top 15[10] | ||
2018 | MacKenzie Freed[11] | Lodi | 23 | Miss Treasure Island | Vocal, "Hit Me With a Hot Note" | |||
2017 | Jillian Smith[12] | Grass Valley | 22 | Miss Yosemite Valley | Piano, "Malaguena" | |||
2016 | Jessa Carmack[13] | Santa Clara | 22 | Miss North Bay | Gymnastics Dance | Top 10[14] | Previously Miss California's Outstanding Teen 2011[15] Finalist at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2011 pageant | |
2015 | Bree Morse[16] | Garden Grove | 23 | Miss Orange Coast | Tap Dance, "Land of a Thousand Dances" | |||
2014 | Marina Inserra | San Diego | 24 | Miss Yosemite Valley | Vocal, "Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables | |||
2013 | Crystal Lee[17] | San Francisco | 22 | Miss Silicon Valley | Ballet en Pointe, "The Dying Swan" | 1st runner-up[18] | STEM Scholarship Award | Previously Miss California's Outstanding Teen 2008[19] Top 10 at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2009 pageant[20] Previously Miss Chinatown USA 2010 Cousin of Miss Louisiana 2016, Justine Ker[21] |
2012 | Leah Cecil | Garden Grove | 22 | Miss Southern California Regional | Classical Harp, "Great Day" by Nancy Gustavson | Contestant at National Sweetheart 2011 pageant | ||
2011 | Noelle Freeman | Carlsbad | 22 | Miss Culver City | Ballet en Pointe, "The Black Swan Variation" from Swan Lake | 4th runner-up | Previously Miss Teenage California 2007 | |
2010 | Arianna Afsar[22] | San Diego | 19 | Miss San Diego County | Vocal, "I (Who Have Nothing)" | Top 10[23] | Previously Miss California's Outstanding Teen 2005[24] 1st runner-up at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2005 pageant[24] Top 36 contestant on American Idol's 8th season[25] Was cast as Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton in the Chicago production of Hamilton[26][27] | |
2009 | Kristy Cavinder | Orange | 21 | Miss Yosemite Valley | Ballet en Pointe, "The Slave Maiden Variation" from Le Corsaire | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | |
2008 | Jackie Geist | Vacaville | 22 | Miss Hollywood | Ballet en Pointe, "The Dying Swan" | Top 7 | ||
2007 | Melissa Chaty[28] | Ukiah | 24 | Miss North Coast | Operatic Vocal, "The Jewel Song" from Faust | Top 8 | Previously Miss Teenage California 2003 | |
2006 | Jacquelynne Fontaine | Moorpark | 24 | Miss Santa Barbara County | Operatic Vocal, "Vissi d'arte" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
2005 | Dustin-Leigh Konzelman | Carlsbad | 23 | Miss San Diego | Fiddle, "Twelfth Street Rag" | Non-finalist Talent Award Preliminary Talent Award |
Contestant on The Amazing Race 10 with Kandice Pelletier, Miss New York 2005 | |
2004 | Veena Goel | Laguna Hills | 22 | Miss Southland | Jazz Dance, "Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | Contestant at National Sweetheart 2003 pageant |
2003 | Nicole Lamarche | Berkeley | 24 | Miss San Francisco | Vocal, "At This Moment" | 4th runner-up | Final Night Swimsuit Award Preliminary Swimsuit Award |
Contestant at National Sweetheart 2001 pageant as Miss Arizona |
2002 | Jennifer Glover | Castro Valley | 23 | Miss Contra Costa County | Contemporary Vocal, "A New Life" from Jekyll & Hyde | Contestant at Miss International 1999 as Miss USA Previously Miss California USA 2001 | ||
2001 | Stephanie Baldwin | Fullerton | 23 | Miss Northern California Regional | Vocal, "Time to Say Goodbye" | Top 20 | ||
2000 | Rita Ng | Tracy | 22 | Miss Los Altos | Classical Piano, "Sonata Appassionata" | 2nd runner-up | Miss America Scholar Award Preliminary Talent Award |
|
1999 | MaryAnne Sapio | Rohnert Park | 21 | Miss Gavilan Hills | Tap Dance, "Go Daddy-O" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1998 | Danielle Coney | Santa Clara | 21 | Miss Gavilan Hills | Vocal, "A Piece of Sky" from Yentl | Non-finalist Talent Award Waterford Business Scholarship |
||
1997 | Rebekah Ann Keller | Lakewood | 22 | Miss Los Angeles County | Vocal, "Someone Like You" from Jekyll & Hyde | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Later Miss California USA 2000 |
1996 | Lyndsay Kahler | Orange | 22 | Miss City of Orange | Vocal, "Where Is It Written?" from Yentl | |||
1995 | Tiffany Stoker[29] | Clovis | 21 | Miss Clovis | Vocal, "Think of Me" from The Phantom of the Opera | 3rd runner-up[30] | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Previously America's Junior Miss 1992[31] |
1994 | Jennifer Hanson | La Habra | 21 | Miss Garden Grove | Vocal, "Since I Fell for You" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1993 | Lisa Michelle Duncan | Tulare | 21 | Miss Tulare County | Character Ballet, "Turkey in the Straw" | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1992 | Patricia Northrup | Agoura Hills | 23 | Miss Los Angeles County | Vocal Medley | Pilot for American Airlines Judge for the Miss America 2001 pageant | ||
1991 | Paige Adams | Hemet | 22 | Miss Los Angeles County | Vocal, "Some Day My Prince Will Come" | Previously Alaska's Junior Miss 1986 Judge for the Miss America 2008 pageant | ||
1990 | Maria Ostapiej | La Mesa | 24 | Miss San Diego North County | Vocal Medley, "Phantom of the Opera" & "Angel of Music" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1989 | Wendy Berry | San Pedro | 22 | Miss Centinela Valley | Classical Ballet, "The Black Swan" from Swan Lake | Professor at Harvard University | ||
1988 | Marlise Ricardos | San Pedro | 26 | Miss Lomita | Dramatic Vocal, "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables | 3rd runner-up | ||
1987 | Simone Stephens | Cerritos | 25 | Miss El Camino | Stand-up Comedy | |||
1986 | Lisa Kahre | Salinas | 19 | Miss San Ramon Valley | Flute, "Carnival of Venice" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1985 | Lisa Davenport | Santa Cruz | 23 | Miss San Mateo County | Popular Vocal, "Once in my Lifetime" | Previously named Miss California 1982 when the original winner, Debra Maffett, won the Miss America 1983 pageant Became the first titleholder to hold a state title twice | ||
1984 | Donna Grace Cherry[32] | Northridge | 21 | Miss West Los Angeles | Vocal, "Quando me'n vo"[33] | |||
1983 | Shari Moskau | Mission Viejo | 19 | Miss Saddleback Valley | Popular Vocal, "Greatest Love of All" | |||
1982 | Lisa Davenport | Santa Cruz | 20 | Miss Tulare County | Did not compete; later assumed the title after Maffett won Miss America 1983 | |||
Later Miss California 1985 | ||||||||
Debra Maffett | Anaheim | 25 | Miss Anaheim | Popular Vocal, "Come In From the Rain" | Winner[34] | Preliminary Swimsuit Award Preliminary Talent Award |
||
1981 | Cheryl Vancleave | Riverside | 20 | Miss Los Angeles County | Country Vocal Medley, "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" & "You're Lookin' at Country" | Later married Frank Kalil Mother of Ryan Kalil and Matt Kalil | ||
1980 | Robin Brooks | Elverta | 23 | Miss Fullerton | Vocal Medley, "America the Beautiful" & "Battle Hymn of the Republic" | |||
1979 | Deanna Rae Fogarty | Azusa | 22 | Miss Azusa | Vocal, "Cabaret" | |||
1978 | Christine Acton | Chula Vista | 23 | Miss San Bernardino County | Flute / Piccolo, "Hungarian Peasant Suite" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1977 | Connie Lee Haugen | Redlands | 24 | Miss San Bernardino County | Vocal, "Nobody Does It Like Me" from Seesaw | Top 10 | ||
1976 | Linda Mouron | Orange | 19 | Miss Orange County | Tap Dance, "Puttin' On the Ritz" | 3rd runner-up | ||
1975 | Janet Carr | San Gabriel | 21 | Miss Pomona Valley | Vocal, "They Call the Wind Maria" from Paint Your Wagon | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | |
1974 | Lucianne Buchanan | Claremont | 21 | Miss Pomona Valley | Harp, "Concerto in B Flat" | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Assumed title when the original winner, Alice Tobler, resigned due to mononucleosis |
1973 | Susan Shipley | Hillsborough | 21 | Miss San Joaquin County | Piano, "Malaguena" | Top 10 | ||
1972 | Diane Wagner | Daly City | 20 | Miss San Mateo County | Ballet, "Swan Lake" | |||
1971 | Carolyn Stoner | Belmont | 18 | Miss San Mateo County | Gymnastic Ballet, "Malaguena" | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1970 | Karin Kascher | Castro Valley | 18 | Miss Hayward | Violin, "Méditation" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1969 | Susan Anton | Yucaipa | 18 | Miss Redlands | Vocal, "Get Happy" & "Put On a Happy Face" | 2nd runner-up | Actress best known for her role as "Susan Williams" in the various Stop Susan Williams!-related television series and television movies | |
1968 | Sharon Terrill | Torrance | 21 | Miss Torrance | Dramatic Reading, "Little Word, Little White Bird" by Carl Sandburg | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1967 | Karen Pursell | Lindsay | 22 | Miss Fresno County | Vocal, "Much More" from The Fantasticks | |||
1966 | Charlene Dallas | Danville | 19 | Miss Contra Costa County | Piano, "Toccata" by Khachaturian | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award Preliminary Talent Award |
Assumed title when the original winner, Donna Danzer, resigned for school and personal reasons[35] |
1965 | Sandra Lynne Becker | Covina | 18 | Miss Los Angeles County | Semi-classical Vocal, "Make Believe" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1964 | Sherri Raap | Fremont | 18 | Miss Oakland | Jazz Baton Dance & Acrobatics | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1963 | Wendy Douglas | Sacramento | Miss Sacramento | Vocal, "Summertime" | Top 10 | |||
1962 | Pamela Gamble | Carmel | 18 | Miss Monterey County | Classical Jazz Interpretive Dance | |||
1961 | Susan Henryson | Fresno | 19 | Miss Fresno County | Vocal, "You've Got to See Momma Every Night" | Top 10 | Miss Congeniality Preliminary Talent Award |
|
1960 | Suzanne Reamo | La Mesa | 20 | Miss San Diego | Vocal, "Love is Where You Find It" | 1st runner-up | ||
1959 | Susan Bronson | San Lorenzo | 19 | Miss Southern Alameda County | Modern Dance, "An American in Spain" | 3rd runner-up | ||
1958 | Sandra Jennings | Riverside | Miss Riverside | Piano, "Clair de Lune" | 3rd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1957 | Lorna Anderson | Sacramento | Miss Sacramento | Accordion, "Dark Eyes" | 3rd runner-up | |||
1956 | Joan Beckett | Sacramento | Miss Sacramento | Dramatic Sketch, "A Dream: Faith Over Atheistic Sciences" | Top 10 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1955 | Barbara Harris | Santa Cruz | Miss Watsonville | Vocal, "Over the Rainbow" | ||||
1954 | Lee Meriwether | San Francisco | 19 | Miss San Francisco | Dramatic Monologue from Riders to the Sea | Winner[36] | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Actress best known as Betty Jones in the 1970s television series Barnaby Jones |
1953 | Patricia Johns | Fresno | Miss Fresno | Dramatic Monologue from The Country Girl | Top 10 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1952 | Jeanne Shores | Azusa | Miss Alhambra | Dramatic Monologue | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1951 | Patricia Lehman | Sacramento | Miss Sacramento | Piano | ||||
1950 | Joanne Durant | San Diego | Miss San Diego | Vocal / Poetry Recitation, "Alice Blue Gown" | Top 16 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1949 | Jone Pedersen | Santa Rosa | Miss Sonoma County | Dramatic Monologue, "You Will Come Back" | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1948 | Reba Watterson | Stockton | Miss Stockton | |||||
1947 | Laura Emery | Salinas | 18 | Miss California | Vocal, "So Long for so Long" | 4th runner-up | Multiple California representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |
Marilyn Davidson | Los Angeles | Miss Los Angeles County | Vocal / Dress Design, "A Sunday Kind of Love" | |||||
1946 | Marilyn Buferd | Los Angeles | 21 | Miss Wilshire District | Dramatic Monologue from Accent on Youth | Winner | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | |
1945 | Polly Ellis | Tarzana | Miss California | Vocal, "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" | Top 13 | Preliminary Talent Award | Multiple California representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |
Phyllis Mathis | San Diego | Miss San Diego | Hula | 1st runner-up | ||||
1944 | Shirley Ballard | Los Angeles | Top 12 | |||||
1943 | Jean Bartel | Los Angeles | 19 | Vocal, "Night and Day" | Winner | Preliminary Swimsuit Award Preliminary Talent Award |
||
1942 | Lucille Lambert | Hollywood | Miss Hollywood | Vocal, "Embraceable You" | 4th runner-up | |||
1941 | Rosemary LaPlanche[37] | Los Angeles | 18 | Dance | Winner | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1940 | 17 | Dance | 1st runner-up[37] | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||||
1939 | Marguerite Skliris | San Francisco | Miss San Francisco | Dramatic Monologue, "The Poison Scene" from Romeo and Juliet | 3rd runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
1938 | Claire James | Los Angeles | Miss Los Angeles | Dance | 1st runner-up | |||
1937 | Phyllis Randall | Hollywood | 20 | Miss Hollywood | Vocal / Dance | 3rd runner-up (tie) | Preliminary Talent Award | Sister of Miss North Carolina 1941, Joey Augusta Paxton |
1936 | Phyllis Dobson | Hollywood | Miss Hollywood | Drama | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
1935 | Virginia Donham | San Francisco | Miss San Francisco | Vocal, "Chlo-e" & "I Ain't Got Nobody" | Top 12 | |||
1934 | No national pageant was held[38] | |||||||
1933 | Blanche MacDonald | Miss Venus de Milo | N/A[39] | 2nd runner-up | ||||
1932 | No national pageants were held[38] | |||||||
1931 | ||||||||
1930 | ||||||||
1929 | ||||||||
1928 | ||||||||
1927 | Ruby Smith | Miss Oakland | N/A[39] | Top 15 | Multiple California representatives Contestants competed under local title at national pageant | |||
Naoma Farrand | Miss San Francisco | |||||||
Bertha Weizel | Miss Santa Cruz | Top 15 | ||||||
Louise Heathman | Miss Southern California | |||||||
1926 | Eleanor Twohig | Miss San Francisco | Competed under local title at national pageant | |||||
1925 | Fay Lanphier | Oakland | 19 | Miss California | Winner | Multiple California representatives Contestants competed under local title at national pageant | ||
Adrienne Dore | Miss Los Angeles | 1st runner-up | ||||||
Edyth Flyn | Miss San Francisco | |||||||
Yetta Haber | Miss Santa Cruz | |||||||
1924 | Lillian Knight | Miss Los Angeles | 3rd runner-up | Multiple California representatives Contestants competed under local title at national pageant | ||||
Fay Lanphier | 18 | Miss Santa Cruz | 2nd runner-up | |||||
Irma Frazier | Miss Oakland | |||||||
1923 | Violet Regal[40] | San Francisco | Miss San Francisco | Competed under local title at national pageant | ||||
1922 | Katherine Grant[41] | Los Angeles | Miss Los Angeles | Multiple California representatives Contestants competed under local title at national pageant | ||||
Tanssia Zara[42] | San Francisco | Miss San Francisco | ||||||
1921 | No California representative at Miss America pageant[43] |
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...talent contest that was established in 1935.
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