Miss Teen USA 1983

Miss Teen USA 1983
Date	August 30, 1983
Presenters	Michael Young Morgan Brittany
Venue	Lakeland Civic Auditorium, Lakeland, Florida
Broadcaster	CBS WTVT
Entrants	51
Placements	10
Winner	Ruth Zakarian New York
Congeniality	Angela Boyd   Arkansas
Photogenic	Linda Burkholder   Illinois
1984  →

Miss Teen USA 1983, the first Miss Teen USA pageant, was televised live from the Lakeland Civic Auditorium in Lakeland, Florida on 30 August 1983. ^[1] The event was hosted by Michael Young and included musical guests Air Supply and the Solid Gold Dancers. ^[2] At the conclusion of the final competition, Ruth Zakarian of New York was crowned Miss Teen USA, by Miss USA 1983 Julie Hayek and Miss Universe 1983 Lorraine Downes. ^[3]

Background

The Miss Teen USA pageant was created by the owners of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants as a "natural extension" of those pageants. ^[2] Originally, any winner over age 17 was automatically entered as a contestant-at-large at the Miss USA pageant. ^[2] 1983 winner Ruth Zakarian competed at Miss USA 1984 and did not make the semi-finals. ^[4]

As host city, Lakeland and its residents contributed at least $500,000 in goods and services, with the intention that the publicity brought by the pageant would offset this investment, ^[5] however local merchants later admitted the return wasn't as great as expected. ^[6] Contestants spent three weeks in the city in the lead up to the final night of competition and the telecast featured 45 minutes of promotional material of the contestants in locations around the city and county. ^{[3] [7]}

The pageant featured three nights of competition: the state costume competition on 20 August, the preliminary competition on 25 August and the final telecast on 30 August. ^[8] Governor of Mississippi Bob Graham was slated to attend both the final pageant and the following coronation ball. ^[9]

Results

Placements

Map showing placements by state

Final Results	Contestant
Miss Teen USA 1983	New York – Ruth Zakarian
1st Runner-Up	Virginia – Tina Marrocco
2nd Runner-Up	Kentucky – Krista Keith
3rd Runner-Up	Georgia – Kelly Jerles
4th Runner-Up	Texas – Sheri Sholz
Top 10	Arkansas – Angela Boyd California – Shawn Gardner Nevada – Kimberly “Kim” Cannon Pennsylvania – Diane Hoyes Washington – Rhonda Monroe

Special awards

Award	Contestant
Miss Congeniality	Arkansas – Angela Boyd
Miss Photogenic	Illinois – Linda Burkholder
Best state costume	Massachusetts – Christine Lawlor

Judges

The celebrity judges for the pageant were: ^[8]

• Jeffrey Apple – movie producer
• Tracey Bregman – actress on The Young and the Restless
• Anthony Carter – Michigan Panthers wide receiver
• Bonnie Kay – president of the Kay Models agency
• Emilio Estefan – percussionist for Miami Sound Machine
• Persis Khambatta – actress
• Nancy Stafford – actress
• Terri Utley – Miss USA 1982
• Kiki Vandeweghe - basketball player
• Leroy Neiman – artist

Delegates

The Miss Teen USA 1983 delegates were:

• Alabama - Jill Johnson (17)
• Alaska - Linda Fickus (18)
• Arizona - Kris Keim (17)
• Arkansas - Angela Boyd (18)
• California - Shawn Gardner (17)
• Colorado - Julie Meyer (18)
• Connecticut - Beth Waldron (14)
• Delaware - Laura Enslen (17)
• District of Columbia - Patricia Curtis (17)
• Florida - Lora Erdman (16)
• Georgia - Kelly Jerles (16)
• Hawaii - Erika Mattich (15)
• Idaho - Tammy Hamilton (17)
• Illinois - Linda Burkholder (17) ^[10]
• Indiana - Julie James (17)
• Iowa - Kimberly Heck (16)
• Kansas - Melissa Lyczak (16)
• Kentucky - Krista Keith (15)
• Louisiana - Vail Cavalier (18)
• Maine - Dina Duvall (17) ^[11]
• Maryland - Carla Kemp (18)
• Massachusetts - Christine Lawlor (16)
• Michigan - Cathy McBride (17)
• Minnesota - Kimberly Ess (17)
• Mississippi - Teresa Zapponi (18) ^[12]
• Missouri - Lisa Logan (16)
• Montana - Leslie Lucas (16)
• Nebraska - Jackie Kuenning (17)
• Nevada - Kimberly Cannon (18)
• New Hampshire - Maureen Murray (17)
• New Jersey - Sheri Drummond (17) ^[13]
• New Mexico - Eloisa Serna (17)
• New York - Ruth Zakarian (17)
• North Carolina - Janet Freeman (16)
• North Dakota - Lisa Rubin (18)
• Ohio - Jamie Callarik (15) ^[10]
• Oklahoma - Lorna Webb (16)
• Oregon - Gretchen Thoma (15)
• Pennsylvania - Diane Hoyes (18)
• Rhode Island - Melissa Sciarra (16)
• South Carolina - Beth Woodard (18)
• South Dakota - Karen Hernes (17)
• Tennessee - Cheri Dotson (16)
• Texas - Sheri Sholz (17)
• Utah - Natalie DeGraw (17)
• Vermont - Cindy Gentile (16)
• Virginia - Tina Marrocco (16)
• Washington - Rhonda Monroe (17)
• West Virginia - Kay Scadden (17)
• Wisconsin - Jane Zawada (17)
• Wyoming - Shanna Thompson (15)

Contestant notes

• Kelly Jerles (Georgia) became the only delegate from Miss Teen USA 1983 to compete in the Miss America pageant. She held the Miss Georgia 1987 title and won preliminary swimsuit and non-finalist talent awards at Miss America 1988.
• Ruth Zakarian (New York) competed in the Miss USA 1984 pageant as Miss Teen USA 1983 but did not place. In the early years of the pageant, the Teen titleholder could compete at Miss USA without holding a state title.
• Beth Woodard (South Carolina) - Miss South Carolina USA 1987
• Kris Keim (Arizona) - Miss Arizona USA 1988
• Maureen Murray (New Hampshire) - Miss New York USA 1991 (semi-finalist at Miss USA 1991)

References

1. "First Miss Teen Will Be Crowned". Florence Morning News. 27 August 1983. p. 35. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
2. Goudas, John (30 August 1983). "CBS' 'Miss Teen USA' Crowning Achievement". The Town Talk. p. 21. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
3. "Raven-haired New York beauty crowned first Miss Teen USA". The Birmingham News. 31 August 1983. p. 21. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
4. "Miss Teen USA: Ruth Zakarian will crown her successor on CBS". Syracuse Herald-Journal. 29 March 1984. p. 109. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
5. Absher, Debbie (14 August 1983). "Lakeland to preen for TV". The Tampa Tribune. p. 1. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
6. Gordon, Nancy (29 August 1983). "Merchants roll out their red carpets for teen pageant and dollars roll back". The Tampa Tribune. p. 7. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
7. Duke, Gayle (13 August 1983). "Businessmen are asked to tune in teen pageant". The Tampa Tribune. p. 8. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
8. "Pageant countdown: Few tickets left for Miss Teen USA". The Tampa Tribune. 20 August 1983. p. 7. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
9. "Pageant spectators invited to have a beauty of a ball". The Tampa Tribune. 30 August 1983. p. 52. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
10. "Odd Couple". The Macon Telegraph. 26 August 1983. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
11. "Miss Maine Teen USA 1983". Sun-Journal. 3 December 1982. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
12. Reynolds, Harold (30 August 1983). "Greenville teen sees herself as trailblazer in national Miss Teen USA Pageant tonight". Sun Herald. p. 6. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
13. "Parsippany teen has high hopes". Daily Record. 10 August 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 5 April 2025.