Gallery of titleholders
Vanessa Minnillo, Miss South Carolina Teen USA 1998 & Miss Teen USA 1998
Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2007
K. Lee Graham, Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2014 & Miss Teen USA 2014
| Formation | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters | Aiken |
| Location | |
Membership | Miss Teen USA |
Official language | English |
| Website | Official website |
The Miss South Carolina Teen USA pageant is the competition that selects the representatives for the state of South Carolina in the Miss Teen USA pageant. The pageant has been directed by RPM Productions since its inception.
South Carolina is in the top 10 most successful states at Miss Teen USA in terms of number and value of placements, this state has placed 17 times at Miss Teen USA and has produced two winners. Vanessa Joy Minnillo won the Miss Teen USA title on August 17, 1998, in Shreveport, Louisiana and later went on to become successful in the entertainment industry and Katherine (K.) Lee Graham won the Miss Teen USA title on August 2, 2014, in Nassau, Bahamas.
South Carolina holds the record for the most Miss Congeniality awards. It has won three: 1994, 1998, and 2002. In 1998, Minnillo became the first teenager to win both Miss Congeniality and the national title, and is one of only two contestants to achieve this.
Six Miss South Carolina Teen USA titleholders have won the Miss South Carolina USA title and competed at Miss USA.
Kenlee McVay of Easley was crowned Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2023 on March 4, 2023, at North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center in North Charleston. [1]
South Carolina holds a record of 18 placements at Miss Teen USA.
| Year | Name | Hometown | Age1 | Placement at MTUSA | Special awards at MTUSA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jules Grass | TBA | TBA | TBA | ||
| 2023 | Kenlee McVay | Easley | 19 | Top 20 | ||
| 2022 | Katie Ward | Charleston | 19 | |||
| 2021 | Augusta Roach | Easley | 17 | Top 16 | ||
| 2020 | Ava Gracen Grainger | Clemson | 18 | Top 16 | Previously Miss Teen World America 2017; later Miss South Carolina USA 2024 | |
| 2019 | Allie Richardson | Lexington | 17 | Top 15 | ||
| 2018 | Kirby Elizabeth Self | Greenwood | 17 | 1st Runner-Up | Later Miss South Carolina USA 2023 | |
| 2017 | Alexis Johnson | Myrtle Beach | 17 | |||
| 2016 | Marley D'Lynn Stokes | Lexington | 18 | 2nd runner-up | Later Miss South Carolina USA 2021 | |
| 2015 | Wesley McCall Mitchell | Lexington | 17 | Top 15 | ||
| 2014 | Katherine (K.) Lee Graham | Chapin | 16 | Miss Teen USA 2014 | Daughter of Jennifer Neuen, Miss South Carolina Teen USA 1985 | |
| 2013 | Victoria "Tori" Carol Sizemore | Anderson | 17 | 1st runner-up |
| |
| 2012 | Shannon Noel Ford | Lexington | 18 | Top 16 | ||
| 2011 | Keyla Starr Childs | Summerville | 17 | Top 15 | Later 3rd runner-up at Miss South Carolina USA 2014 and top 15 at Miss South Carolina USA 2017 | |
| 2010 | Megan Tyler Pinckney | North Charleston | 18 |
| ||
| 2009 | Mary Helen Caver | North Augusta | 18 | |||
| 2008 | Brittany Pjetraj | Chapin | 18 | 1st runner-up | ||
| 2007 | Lauren Caitlin Upton | Lexington | 18 | 3rd runner-up [5] | Contestant on The Amazing Race 16 . Gained notoriety following her answer to the final question in the 2007 Miss Teen USA pageant, which was criticized as "strange" and "grammarless". Videos of her response were posted to YouTube and have received millions of views. [6] | |
| 2006 | Brittany Smith | Lyman | 17 | Top 15 | ||
| 2005 | Lauren Taylor | Travelers Rest | 18 | Later two time top 10 semifinalist at Miss South Carolina USA | ||
| 2004 | Lindsey Sporrer | Easley | 17 | Semi-finalist | ||
| 2003 | Stephanie Horton [7] | Sumter | 18 | |||
| 2002 | Austen Brown | Charleston | 17 | Miss Congeniality |
| |
| 2001 | Sarah Ashley Medley | North Charleston | 15 | Later Miss South Carolina USA 2005 | ||
| 2000 | Morgan Smith | Lexington | 17 | |||
| 1999 | Hannah Grooms [8] | Wallace | 17 | Later 3x runner-up at Miss South Carolina USA | ||
| 1998 | Vanessa Joy Minnillo | Charleston | 17 | Miss Teen USA 1998 | Miss Congeniality | Born in the Philippines. Later married actor and singer Nick Lachey |
| 1997 | Caroline Brigman | Latta | 17 | |||
| 1996 | Wendy Roberts | Pelzer | 19 | |||
| 1995 | Garianne Phillips | Leesville | 18 | |||
| 1994 | Mary Stevenson | Greenville | 18 | Finalist | Miss Congeniality | Granddaughter of Miss Universe 1954, Miriam Stevenson (Miss South Carolina USA, Miss USA 1954) |
| 1993 | Lauren Poppell | Rock Hill | 17 | Semi-finalist | Later Miss South Carolina USA 1999, finished 4th in Miss USA 1999 | |
| 1992 | Shannon Pelerin | Lexington | 17 | |||
| 1991 | Jeanie Bowers | Prosperity | 17 | |||
| 1990 | Kathryn Hancock | Greenwood | 15 | Later Mrs. North Carolina America 2007 under her married name, Kathryn Hancock-Stuart. [9] | ||
| 1989 | Michelle Warner | Inman | 15 | |||
| 1988 | Nicole Adams | West Columbia | 16 | |||
| 1987 | Carol Carver | Hilton Head | 16 | |||
| 1986 | Angela Shuler | Rock Hill | 15 | Later Miss South Carolina USA 1989 | ||
| 1985 | Jennifer Neuen | Florence | 19 |
| ||
| 1984 | Mary Delgado | Florence | 17 | |||
| 1983 | Elizabeth (Beth) Woodard | Aiken | 17 | Later Miss South Carolina USA 1987 |
1 Age at the time of the Miss Teen USA pageant
Vanessa Joy Lachey is an American television host, model and actress. She was named Miss Teen USA in 1998. She has been a New York–based correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and hosted Total Request Live on MTV. She has starred in two network sitcoms and hosted various competition and reality shows. Lachey portrayed the lead role in the CBS crime drama television series NCIS: Hawaiʻi (2021–2024) for three seasons.
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