The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Miss California pageant was held, the competition was primarily in San Francisco and Venice, California. In 1947, it returned to Santa Cruz and was held there annually until 1985, after which it moved to San Diego in response to years of protests and a "Myth California" counter pageant organized by local feminist activists led by Ann Simonton and Nikki Craft.[1][2][3][4] It has been held in Visalia, California since 2023.[5][6]
Kimberly Vernon of Santa Clara was crowned Miss California 2024 on June 15, 2024, at the Visalia Convention Center Visalia, California. She will compete for the title of Miss America 2025.
The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss California titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.
Top 10: Patricia Johns (1954), Joan Beckett (1957), Susan Henryson (1962), Wendy Douglas (1964), Susan Shipley (1974), Connie Lee Haugen (1978), Jacquelynne Fontaine (2007), Arianna Afsar (2011), Jessa Carmack (2017)
Top 12: Virginia Donham (1935), Shirley Ballard (1944)
Top 13: Polly Ellis (1945)
Top 15: Ruby Smith (1927), Bertha Weizel (1927), Eileen Kim (2020)
No California representative at Miss America pageant[43]
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Rosemary LaPlanche,
Sharon Terrill,
Susan Anton,
Rita Ng,
Jacquelynne Fontaine,
Melissa Chaty,
Kristy Cavinder,
Noelle Freeman,
Leah Cecil,
Crystal Lee,
Bree Morse,
Jessa Carmack,
