| Miss America 1946 | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 7, 1946 |
| Presenters | Bob Russell |
| Venue | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Entrants | 50 |
| Placements | 16 |
| Winner | Marilyn Buferd  California |
Miss America 1946, the 20th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 7, 1946. [1]
The winner, Marilyn Buferd, later became an actress, as did fourth runner-up Carol Ohmart and one of the 16 finalists, future Oscar and Emmy Award winner Cloris Leachman.
| Placement | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss America 1946 | |
| 1st Runner-Up |
|
| 2nd Runner-Up |
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| 3rd Runner-Up |
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| 4th Runner-Up | |
| Top 16 |
|
| Awards | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
|
| Talent |
|
| Awards | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss Congeniality |
|
| Title | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alabama | Emma Dale Nunnally | Preliminary Talent Award | |||||
 Arkansas | Rebecca McCall | Blytheville | Vocal, "Put the Blame on Mame" | 1st Runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | ||
 Atlanta | Janey Miller | Atlanta | Classical Vocal, "Vissi d'arte" | 2nd Runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award
| ||
| Baltimore | Virginia Martin | Baltimore | |||||
| Baton Rouge | Marguerite McClelland | Baton Rouge | Classical Vocal, "Frühlingsstimmen" | 3rd Runner-up | |||
| Birmingham | Sue Donegan | Birmingham | |||||
 Boston | Paula C. Jerome | Boston | |||||
| California | Marilyn Buferd | Los Angeles | 21 | Dramatic Monologue from Accent on Youth | Winner | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |
 Chicago | Cloris Leachman | Chicago | Comic Sketch, "One Man Radio Program" | Top 16 | Later an Oscar and Emmy Award winning actress | ||
 Cincinnati | LaVonne Bond | Cincinnati | Vocal, "Thine Alone" from Eileen | Top 16 | |||
 Cleveland | Mary Eileen Kelly | Cleveland | |||||
 Colorado | Raye Donnelly | Colorado Springs | |||||
| Columbus | Mary Lou Henderson | Columbus | |||||
 Connecticut | Joan Turner | West Haven | Vocal, "Coax Me a Little Bit" | Top 16 | |||
| Detroit | Constance Liddicoat | Detroit | |||||
 District of Columbia | Jeanne Carlson | 19 | Vocal, "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" | ||||
 Florida | Jacquelyn Jennings | Miami | Pantomime, "Just a Square in a Social Circle" | Top 16 | |||
| Greater Philadelphia | Virginia Brown | Philadelphia | |||||
 Illinois | Patricia Frye | Pekin | Vocal/Tap Dance, "I Don't Know Why I Love You Like I Do" | Top 16 | |||
 Indiana | Lois Chitwood | Helmsburg | Piano & Speech | ||||
 Iowa | Jacqueline Means | Des Moines | 19 | Acrobatic Dance | |||
 Kansas | Joyce Blakemore | Liberal | |||||
| Kansas City | Nadine LaVerne Fugett | Kansas City | |||||
 Kentucky | Mary Madonna Smith | Jenkins | |||||
| Louisville | Patricia Alden Fenton | Louisville | Artistic Exhibition & Sketch | Top 16 | |||
 Maryland | Dorothy Crockett | Baltimore | Original Poetry Recitiation | ||||
 Massachusetts | Urania "Rae" Nichols | Malden | |||||
| Miami Beach | Jini Boyd | Miami | |||||
 Michigan | Ruth Margaret Lenfestey | New Baltimore | 20 | ||||
 Minnesota | Rosemarie Gregg | St. Paul | |||||
 Mississippi | Lennie Nobles | Greenwood | Dance | Non-finalist Talent Award
| Later Known as Josephine Nobles Giacketti | ||
 Nebraska | Marjorie Ann Hanson | Omaha | |||||
 New Jersey | Helen Sprinitis | Kearny | |||||
 New Mexico | Martha Cooper | Albuquerque | Speech, "Career as a Newspaper Reporter" | ||||
 New Orleans | Joyce Josephine Frink | New Orleans | |||||
 New York | Violet Mellar | White Plains | Recitation "True to the End" | Top 16 | Miss Congeniality | ||
 New York City | Eileen Henry | New York City | Dramatic Monologue from Saint Joan | Top 16 | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | ||
 North Carolina | Trudy Riley | Wilson | |||||
 Pennsylvania | Eleanor Kramer | Lebanon | Vocal, "My Hero" from The Chocolate Soldier | Top 16 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
 Rhode Island | Marilyn Tripp | Westenly | |||||
 South Carolina | Anne Mae Morse | ||||||
 Tennessee | Wilda Bowman | Chattanooga | |||||
 Texas | D. Anne Wisener | University Park | Vocal, "Embraceable You" | ||||
 Utah | Armelia Carol Ohmart | Salt Lake City | Vocal, "I Won't Tell a Soul" | 4th Runner-up | Later a well-known film & TV actress | ||
 Vermont | Lola Sundberg | Burlington | |||||
 Virginia | Bette Cannon | Alexandria | Monologue, "The Waltz" by Dorothy Parker | ||||
 West Virginia | Norma Lee Salisbury | Parkersburg | Top 16 | ||||
 Wisconsin | Antoine Lunde | Milwaukee/Westby | 20 | Top 16 |
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