A beauty pageant is a competition traditionally focused on judging and ranking the contestants' physical attributes. Pageants have now moved towards including inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, talent, character, and charitable involvement, through private interviews with judges and answers to public on-stage questions. Pageant titles are subdivided into Miss, Mrs. or Ms., and Teen – to clearly identify the difference between pageant divisions.
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.
Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, when the organization announced it was licensing operation of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants to Crystle Stewart, Miss USA for 2008 prior to her suspension in October 2022, thus returning the said pageants to the Miss Universe Organization.
The Miss Vermont USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Vermont in the Miss USA pageant. It is formerly directed by Sanders & Associates, Inc., dba- Pageant Associates based in Buckhannon, West Virginia from 2004 to 2017 before GDB Theatre and Pageant Productions becoming the new directors of the stage pageant since 2018.
The Miss Alaska competition is a scholarship pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alaska in the Miss America pageant. Unlike most state-level pageants in the Miss America system, Alaska allows any eligible woman to enter the Miss Alaska pageant without first having to win a local qualifying pageant. Emma Broyles was crowned Miss America 2022 on December 16, 2021. She is the first woman from Alaska to win the title, and only the third woman from Alaska to place at Miss America.
The Miss South Carolina competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Carolina in the Miss America pageant. The pageant was first held in Myrtle Beach and moved to Greenville starting in 1958 and remained in that city until the 1990s. Spartanburg hosted the pageant in a few different venues until new leadership took over the organization and moved the pageant to Columbia, SC in 2011. The pageant was televised since the 1960s until the 1998 pageant. Televising was resumed with the 2000 pageant through 2006. The pageant returned to television in 2014.
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 New York scholarship competition selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss America scholarship competition.
The Miss Delaware competition is the pageant that selects the representative of Delaware in the Miss America pageant. The event takes place annually in the month of June and has previously been held in Rehoboth Beach at Convention Hall, in the state capital of Dover, Delaware at the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, and in Milton at the Milton Theatre. Miss Delaware serves as the official hostess to the state of Delaware.
The Miss District of Columbia competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the District of Columbia in the Miss America Pageant.
The Miss Pennsylvania competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Pennsylvania in the Miss America pageant. Pennsylvania, including early years' city representatives, has won the Miss America crown on five occasions.
For the state pageant affiliated with Miss Teen USA, see Miss Delaware Teen USA
The Miss Pennsylvania's Teen competition selects the representative for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the Miss America's Teen Competition. The Miss Pennsylvania's Teen Competition is held each June at the Appell Center for Performing Arts in York, Pennsylvania.
Miss Earth USA is an annual beauty pageant which selects the United States representative to Miss Earth which is an annual international beauty pageant promoting environmental awareness.
Miss International Queen is the world's biggest beauty pageant for transgender women. The pageant was conceived in 2004 and named the largest and most prestigious transgender pageant by CNN original American documentary television series This Is Life with Lisa Ling aired on 26 November 2017.
Renee Charmaine Bull is an American beauty pageant titleholder. She was first Runner-Up at Miss Delaware 2012 and a Top 11 Finalist at Miss Delaware 2013. She was crowned Miss Delaware USA 2015 and represented her state at Miss USA 2015 where she became the first delegate from her state to place in the semifinals, finishing in the Top 11.
Georgia Lynn Canady is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was crowned Miss Oklahoma's Outstanding Teen 2009 and Miss Oklahoma 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015 and placed in the Top 10.
Bree Morse is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Garden Grove, California, who was crowned Miss California 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015.
Brittany Lee Lewis is an activist, television personality, political commentator, disc jockey (DJ), Miss Delaware 2014, and Miss Black America 2017. She is a native of Brigantine, New Jersey. Lewis was crowned the 49th Miss Black America in 2017 and she competed in the Miss America Pageant as Miss Delaware in 2014. She is also a regular commentator on RT News, Roland Martin Show, Fox5DC, and various Sinclair Broadcasting programs.
Courage Productions runs the Miss BC pageant, including the Mrs. BC, Miss Teen BC, and Miss Charity BC titles. It was founded in Langley in 2002 by Darren Storsley. The final pageant night is televised by Shaw TV. The pageant has not been held since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
