Erin O'Flaherty

Last updated
Erin O'Flaherty
Born
South Carolina [1]
Title Miss Missouri 2016
Predecessor McKensie Garber

Erin O'Flaherty is an American beauty pageant titleholder who held the title of Miss Missouri in the Miss America 2017 pageant. She is the first openly lesbian contestant to compete in Miss America. [2]

Contents

Pageants

In 2013, she was crowned Miss University of Central Florida. [3] While there, she was an ambassador for Children's Miracle Network. [4] She took a couple years off from pageant competition, however, she wanted to compete before she surpassed the age eligibility. [5] In 2016, she was crowned Miss Missouri in the Miss America pageant. Also in 2016, she became the first openly lesbian contestant to compete in Miss America. [2] Her platform is suicide prevention, a cause close to her heart from losing her best friend to suicide and experiencing her first funeral at the age of 13. [6] As an advocate for suicide prevention, she works with The Trevor Project, a hotline for LGBT youth, and The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. [7] Her talent is a vocal performance. [8]

Personal life

Erin O'Flaherty is originally from Florence, South Carolina. [8] O'Flaherty came out as gay when she was 18. [1] She attended the University of Central Florida, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting. [6] During an interview at UCF, O'Flaherty's dream job was to be a cashier as a child. She loved balancing her grandmother's checkbook every Sunday and was fascinated with the transaction process. As her strength for rules, organization, and numbers increased with her entrepreneurial drive, her dream of owning or operating a small business was created. [4] She currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri as the Director of Operations for Captiva Marketing. She enjoys world traveling, kayaking to see wildlife in Wekiwa Springs, and playing soccer. She also enjoys singing, which contributes to her talent in pageants. [4]

In 2018, a short documentary was made about her life story called "Crowning Change" that premiered to audiences at film festivals around the world. [9] [10] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Fag hag</i> A gay slang term for a woman who associates either mostly or exclusively with gay men

A fag hag is, in gay slang, a woman who associates either mostly or exclusively with gay and bisexual men. The phrase originated in gay male culture in the United States and was historically an insult. Some women who associate with gay men object to being called fag hags while others embrace the term. The male counterpart, for heterosexual men who have similar interpersonal relationships with gay and bisexual men, is fag stag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss America</span> Annual competition in the United States

Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: Private Interview (30%) – a 10-minute press conference-style interview with a panel of judges, On Stage Question (10%) – answering a judge's question onstage, Talent or HER Story (20%) – a performance talent or 90 second speech, Health and Fitness (20%) – demonstrated physical fitness onstage dressed in athletic wear, and Evening Gown (20%) – modeling evening-wear onstage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shandi Finnessey</span> American model (born 1978)

Shandi Ren Finnessey is an American actress, model, TV host and beauty pageant titleholder. She is best known for winning the Miss USA title, as Miss Missouri USA. She previously held the title of Miss Missouri 2002 and competed in Miss America, where she won a preliminary award. She placed as first runner-up at the Miss Universe 2004 competition.

The Miss Missouri competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of Missouri in the Miss America pageant.

The Miss Florida competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Florida in the Miss America pageant. Florida has twice won the Miss America crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Gay America</span> Annual competition in the United States

Miss Gay America is a national pageant for female impersonators. Established in 1972, the pageant is based on the Miss America contest and follows a similar format.

The most frequently presented Miss America awards are for preliminary talent and swimsuit. The talent award was introduced in 1936, and the swimsuit award in 1940. In the 2000s, preliminary awards for evening gown and interview were briefly introduced but were discontinued after two years as it was felt that they made the semi-finalists too predictable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Rodríguez (model)</span> Spanish actress and model, Miss Spain 2008, Miss Universe Spain 2013

Patricia Yurena Rodríguez Alonso is a Spanish model, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Spain 2008 and then Miss Universe Spain 2013. She represented Spain at Miss World 2008, where she placed in the top fifteen, and at Miss Universe 2013, where she was the first runner-up, becoming the highest-placing Spanish delegate since Teresa Sánchez López who was the first runner-up at Miss Universe 1985, and after Amparo Muñoz won the title in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss USA 2009</span> 58th Miss USA pageant

Miss USA 2009 was the 58th Miss USA pageant, held at the Planet Hollywood Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19, 2009. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Kristen Dalton of North Carolina was crowned by outgoing titleholder Crystle Stewart of Texas.

Drag pageantry is a developed form of pageantry for female impersonators, drag queens, and trans women, styled after traditional beauty pageants or contests for cisgender women. It has also evolved into a pageantry for male impersonators, drag kings and trans men.

Miss America 2010, the 83rd Miss America pageant, was held on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada at the Theatre for the Performing Arts of Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on Saturday, January 30, 2010. Miss America 2009, Katie Stam from Indiana, crowned her successor, Caressa Cameron from Virginia, at the end of the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss USA 2011</span> 60th Miss USA pageant

Miss USA 2011 was the 60th Anniversary of the Miss USA pageant, held at the Planet Hollywood Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 19, 2011. Rima Fakih of Michigan crowned her successor, Alyssa Campanella of California, at the end of this event. This was California's sixth Miss USA title and the first title since 1992. Campanella represented the United States at the Miss Universe 2011 pageant in São Paulo, Brazil on September 12, 2011.

Brittany Wiser is an American model and beauty pageant titleholder. she is one of only two women to earn both the Miss Montana and Miss Montana USA titles. She is also the only titleholder to do so consecutively.

Jenelle Hutcherson is an American hair artist, activist, public figure, designer, youth mentor and visionary. She is best known for being the first openly lesbian contestant and the first contestant to wear a tuxedo in the Miss Long Beach 2011 pageant in Long Beach, CA, and the Miss California USA pageant in Palm Desert, CA 2012. Her participation in the pageants shattered stereotypes in many angles; feminist groups, women who have never fit in society's ideal of what beauty is, butch women embracing themselves, the standard that only feminine women enter pageants, and that women from minority descent don't win pageants.

Mary Katherine Fechtel is an American titleholder from Leesburg, Florida, who was crowned Miss Florida 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015 live on ABC and placed in the top 10.

McKensie Lane Garber is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Hale, Missouri, who was named Miss Missouri's Outstanding Teen 2011 and crowned Miss Missouri 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015.

Miss USA 2020 was the 69th Miss USA pageant. It was held at the Exhibition Centre and the Soundstage at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 9, 2020. Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and Allie LaForce served as hosts, while Cheslie Kryst and Christian Murphy served as backstage commentators, and Haley Reinhart performed. Cheslie Kryst of North Carolina crowned Asya Branch of Mississippi as her successor at the end of the event. Branch is the second consecutive African American to win the title, and the fourth one in five years. This is Mississippi's first win at the Miss USA pageant. Branch represented the United States at the Miss Universe 2020 pageant and placed in the Top 21.

Swe Zin Htet is a Burmese model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Myanmar 2019.

References

  1. 1 2 Mansouri, Kavahn. "New Miss Missouri Erin O'Flaherty Is Proud to Be Gay". The Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on September 2, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Shepherd, Ken. "Erin O'Flaherty hoping to become first openly lesbian Miss America". The Washington Times . Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  3. ↑ Coyne, Amanda. "Meet Erin O'Flaherty, the First Openly Gay Beauty Queen to Compete at Miss America". Cosmopolitan . Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Meet Someone Who Looks Forward to Balancing Her Checkbook – Miss UCF". UCF News - University of Central Florida Articles - Orlando, FL News. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  5. ↑ "Former Miss UCF Wins Miss Missouri Title". UCF News - University of Central Florida Articles - Orlando, FL News. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  6. 1 2 Mansouri, Kavahn. "New Miss Missouri Erin O'Flaherty Is Proud to Be Gay". Archived from the original on 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  7. ↑ Nichols, James Michael (2016-09-09). "Meet The First Openly Gay Miss America Contestant In History". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  8. 1 2 "Erin O'Flaherty: Miss Missouri is Miss America's first openly gay contestant". 11 September 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  9. ↑ Crowning Change (2018) - IMDb , retrieved 2019-08-06
  10. ↑ lgbttorontofilmfestival (2018-09-25). "Short Film: CROWNING CHANGE – THE ERIN O'FLAHERTY STORY, 17min., USA, LGBT". LGBT Toronto Film Festival. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  11. ↑ "Miss Missouri's Groundbreaking Role Is Subject of New Documentary, Crowning Change". Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on 2019-08-06. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Miss Missouri
2016		Succeeded by
Jennifer Davis


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.