Miss Mississippi USA
The Miss Mississippi USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Mississippi in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant was directed by Premier Pageants from 2001 to 2010, before becoming part of Greenwood Productions in 2010 under the ownership of Miss Tennessee USA 1989 Kim Greenwood.[1]
Formation | 1952 |
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Type | Beauty pageant |
Headquarters | Jackson |
Location | |
Membership | Miss USA |
Official language | English |
Key people | Kim Greenwood, State Pageant Director |
Website | Official website |
Mississippi has had 12 Miss USA placements as of 2021. They won Miss USA in 2020. The most recent placement was Asya Branch in 2020, winning the Miss USA 2020 title, becoming the 36th state to have the Miss USA title, 33rd to be crowned. Four titleholders have competed at Miss Teen USA, and as of 2007, four have competed at Miss America, including Branch.
Sydney Russell of Meridian was crowned Miss Mississippi USA 2023 on April 1, 2023.
Results summary
Placements
- Miss USA: Asya Branch (2020)
- 1st runners-up: Leah Laviano (2008)
- 3rd runners-up: Cindy Williams (1986)
- 4th runners-up: Laurie Kimbrough (1979), Dana Richmond (1988)
- Top 10/11/12: Kathy Manning (1987), Stephanie Teneyck (1990), Jennifer Adcock (2005), Breanne Ponder (2010)
- Top 15/16: Marlene Britsch (1961), Patricia Ann Turk (1964), Bailey Anderson (2021)
Mississippi holds a record of 12 placements at Miss USA.
Awards
- Miss Photogenic: Stephanie Teneyck (1990)
- Impact Award: Sydney Russell (2023)
Winners
- Color key
- Declared as Winner
- Ended as runner-up
- Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
Year | Name | Hometown | Age1 | Local title | Placement at Miss USA | Special awards at Miss USA | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | Sydney Russell | Meridian | 24 | Miss Lauderdale Co. | Impact Award | ||
2022 | Hailey White | Picayune | 23 | Miss Southern Magnolia | |||
2021 | Bailey Anderson | Hurley | 22 | Miss Jackson County | Top 16 | Longest reigning Miss Mississippi USA (1 year and 20 days) | |
2020 | Asya Branch | Booneville | 22 | Miss Northeast MS | Miss USA 2020 |
| |
2019 | Madeleine Overby | Columbus | 20 | Miss Hattiesburg | Former New Orleans Saintsation cheerleader | ||
2018 | Laine Mansour | Tupelo | 21 | Miss Tupelo | |||
2017 | Ashley Hamby | Madison | 23 | Miss Madison Co. | |||
2016 | Haley Sowers | Meridian | 22 | Miss Lauderdale Co. |
| ||
2015 | Courtney Byrd | Oxford | 22 | Miss North Mississippi | |||
2014 | Chelsea Reardon | Southaven | 23 | Miss Heart of Dixie | International Junior Miss Teen 2010 | ||
2013 | Paromita Mitra | Hattiesburg | 21 | Miss Starkville |
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2012 | Myverick Garcia | Hattiesburg | 21 | Miss Dixieland | |||
2011 | Keeley Patterson | Starkville | 20 | Miss Starkville | |||
2010 | Breanne Ponder | Mount Olive[2] | 20 | Top 10 | |||
2009 | Jessica McRaney | Terry | 23 |
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2008 | Leah Laviano | Ellisville | 19 | 1st runner-up | |||
2007 | Jalin Wood | Waynesboro | 25 | Previously Miss Mississippi 2004 | |||
2006 | Kendra King | Monticello | 20 | ||||
2005 | Jennifer Adcock | Hattiesburg | 24 | Top 10 |
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2004 | Beth Richards | Laurel | 25 | ||||
2003 | Allison Bloodworth | Grenada | 21 |
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2002 | Heather Soriano | Philadelphia | 24 |
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2001 | Melanie Vaughn[3] | Olive Branch | |||||
2000 | Angie Carpenter | Greenwood |
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1999 | Kari Babski | Gloster | |||||
1998 | Angel Whatley[4] | Jackson | |||||
1997 | Arlene McDonald[5] | Tupelo |
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1996 | Caroline Ramagos[6] | Soso | |||||
1995 | Jill Tullos | Married Senator Chris McDaniel | |||||
1994 | Leslie Jetton | Gave up her title in March to become a national spokesperson for Caribe Corporations in New Orleans.[7] | |||||
1993 | Sherry Bowles | Lambert | |||||
1992 | Tammy Johnson | Jackson | 22 | Previously Mississippi's Miss Hospitality 1989 | |||
1991 | Mitzi Swanson | ||||||
1990 | Stephanie Teneyck | 20 | Semi-finalist | Miss Photogenic | 2nd Runner up at Miss All Nations 1990 | ||
1989 | Laura Durrett | Olive Branch | |||||
1988 | Dana Richmond | Madison | 20 | 4th runner-up |
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1987 | Kathy Manning | Drew | 24 | Semi-finalist |
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1986 | Cindy Williams | Hattiesburg | 22 | 3rd runner-up |
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1985 | Camille Gilliland | Meridian | |||||
1984 | Carla Green | Biloxi | |||||
1983 | Becky Case | Jackson | |||||
1982 | Nancy Perkins | Marks | |||||
1981 | Angela Ashmore | ||||||
1980 | Cheri Brown | Meridian |
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1979 | Laurie Kimbrough | Oxford | 4th runner-up | ||||
1978 | Wanda Gatlin | ||||||
1977 | Leigh Tapley | Jackson | |||||
1976 | Teresa Camp | ||||||
1975 | Leigh Cross | Hernando | |||||
1974 | Denise Clark | ||||||
1973 | Karen Clements | ||||||
1972 | Deborah Pawlik | ||||||
1971 | Janey Gillis | ||||||
1970 | Susan Ladner | Pass Christian | |||||
1969 | Rose Ray | ||||||
1968 | Brenda Conerly | ||||||
1967 | Lassie Cooke | ||||||
1966 | Jane Sutherland | ||||||
1965 | Madeline Scarbrough | ||||||
1964 | Patricia Turk | Semi-finalist | |||||
1963 | Joan Kenebrilde | Hattiesburg | competed in the 1964 Miss Dixie Pageant | ||||
1962 | Sandra Mazur | Jackson | competed in the 1963 Miss Dixie Pageant | ||||
1961 | Marlene Britsch | Semi-finalist | |||||
1954–1960 | Did not compete | ||||||
1953 | Jessie Morgan | Semi-finalist at Miss America 1951 | |||||
1952 | Carolyn Thomas |
1 Age at the time of the Miss USA pageant
References
- "Producers". Miss Mississippi USA/Teen USA Pageants. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
- Profile: Mississippi USA - Breanne Ponder
- Purdy, Jean (2000-06-06). "With near misses in past, Desoto beauty wins title". The Commercial Appeal. p. DS1.
- "Jackson woman wins Miss Mississippi USA title" (Press release). Associated Press. 1997-06-14. p. B3.
- "Two pageants crown winners in Biloxi in double ceremony". The Commercial Appeal. 1996-06-10. p. B3.
- "Shooting For a New Goal MISS USA contestant turns from hoops to rule over different courts". The Commercial Appeal. 1995-12-29. p. C1.
- "Miss Mississippi gets a better offer". The Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate. 1994-03-10. p. 4-B.