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 now judged on these competition segments with the following scoring percentages: Private Interview (30%) – a 10-minute press conference-style interview with a panel of judges, On Stage Question (10%) – answering of a judge's question while onstage, Talent or HER Story (20%) – a performance talent or 90 second speech, Health and Fitness (20%) – contestants demonstrate physical fitness onstage while dressed in athletic wear, and Evening Gown (20%) – contestants model evening-wear onstage.
Jenna Edwards is an American beauty queen from Brandon, Mississippi who has held the titles Miss Florida and Miss Florida USA. Edwards represented Florida at the Miss America 2005 pageant and the Miss USA 2007 pageant.
Jennifer Berry-Gooden is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss America on January 21, 2006. A resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the time of her investment to sovereignty of beauty, she became the fifth Miss America from Oklahoma to have held the title.
The Miss Alabama competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alabama in the annual Miss America Competition.
The Miss Minnesota competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Minnesota in the Miss America pageant. Women from Minnesota have won the Miss America crown on three occasions. The most recent winner was Gretchen Carlson in 1989.
The Miss Tennessee competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Tennessee in the Miss America Scholarship Competition.
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.
The Miss New York scholarship competition selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss America scholarship competition.
The Miss Idaho scholarship program is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Idaho in the Miss America pageant. The current titleholder receives a $4,000 cash scholarship to any accredited institution of her choice. She also represents the state of Idaho for the live ABC broadcast of the Miss America pageant.
The Miss Massachusetts competition is a scholarship pageant put on annually by the Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Foundation, Inc. The winner of the pageant receives the title of Miss Massachusetts and represents the state of Massachusetts at the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
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.
Amanda Kozak-Miliner is a pageant titleholder and educator from Warner Robins, Georgia who competed in the Miss America and Miss USA pageants. She is also the 2015 Georgia Teacher of the Year.
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.
Miss America 2009, the 82nd Miss America pageant, was held on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on Saturday, January 24, 2009.
Miss USA 2010 was the 59th Miss USA pageant, held at the Planet Hollywood Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 16, 2010 which was broadcast live on NBC. Kristen Dalton of North Carolina, crowned her successor, Rima Fakih of Michigan as Miss USA 2010 at the end of this event. This was Michigan's third Miss USA title and the first title in 17 years. Fakih became the first Arab American to win the Miss USA title. This was also the first pageant since 1986 taking place in the month of May.
Miss America 1935, the ninth Miss America pageant, was held at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 7, 1935, following a one-year hiatus. Upon arrival in Atlantic City, contestants were strongly encouraged to exhibit some form of talent during the pageant, which was a first for the pageant. Aside from Henrietta Leaver, Miss Pittsburgh winning the Miss America crown, entrants from Pennsylvania placed as three of the nine semi-finalists.
Miss America 1951, the 24th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 9, 1950. Based on the majority of Miss America's reign occurring during the year following her coronation, the pageant began referring to her title with the upcoming year. Thus, Yolande Betbeze, who was crowned in September 1950 would be called Miss America 1951. This continued until pageant activities moved from September to January in 2006. At that point, the queen would once again have the year of her title the same as the year in which she won. That change also marked the move away from its long-time base and point of origin, Atlantic City, to its new home in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Miss America 2014, the 87th Miss America pageant was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey Sunday, September 15, 2013. Miss America 2013, Mallory Hagan crowned the winner, Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, who served as Miss America until September 14, 2014.
Cara D. Mund is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Bismarck, North Dakota. In June 2017, she was crowned Miss North Dakota 2017. On September 10, 2017, she was crowned Miss America 2018 in Atlantic City and became the first contestant from North Dakota to win the competition.
Miss America 2019, the 92nd Miss America pageant, though the Miss America Organization celebrated its 98th anniversary in 2018. This discrepancy is due to national pageants not being held from 1928 to 1932 or in 1934 because of financial problems associated with the Great Depression. The 2019 competition was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On May 23, 2018, it was announced that the pageant would air live on ABC on Sunday, September 9, 2018. This was the last Miss America to be aired on ABC before would be moving to NBC beginning from 2020 pageant.
Memphis 
