NOTES:

This list does not take into account Miss USA ascensions to Miss Universe (which happened 9 times – 1954, 1956, 1960, 1967, 1980, 1995, 1997, 2012, 2022) nor does it take into account dethronements (which happened 1 time – 1957) so this list counts Maryland’s Leona Gage as the original winner of 1957. Sidenote: In 1954, this list also counts the original 1st runner up, Virginia's Ellen Whitehead who was later disqualified due to the discovery that she was underaged at age 16. 1954 will be tabulated with: South Carolina as winner, Virginia as 1st runner up, New York as 2nd runner up, New York City, NY as 3rd runner up, Texas as 4th runner up and Illinois as 5th runner up. This list will also count 1954's delegates from Maryland and Montana as semifinalists. Maryland's 1954 delegate, Barbara Ann Eschenburg placed in the top 21 and competed in the final competition but was disqualified after the pageant concluded also for being underaged (age 16). Montana's 1954 delegate, Dawn Oney was also disqualified but after the pageant concluded when it was discovered that she was a divorced mother of a 3-year-old son. Women who have been married or have children can now compete in Miss USA as of 2023 after a rule change. The age range of contestants used to be 18 to 26 years of age which was upped to 27 in 2013 and 28 in 2018 but as of 2024, any adult woman who is of the ages 18 and above can now compete in Miss USA state pageants as of the 2024 season. Openly transgendered women have been allowed to compete since 2012 and so far, the only openly transgendered delegate to compete at the national level was Nevada's Kataluna Enriquez who went unplaced at Miss USA 2021.

The “Inherited” Column indicates how many Miss USA crowns were inherited by a state due to a dethronement or a Miss Universe win. No successor was named when Miss USA won Miss Universe in 1954, 1956 and 1960. In 1957, Utah's Charlotte Sheffield inherited the Miss USA title after the original winner (Maryland's Mary Leona Gage) was dethroned for being a married mother of two who lied about her age. In 1967, Florida’s Cheryl Ann Patton who was originally 2nd runner up accepted the Miss USA crown after Alabama’s Sylvia Hitchcock won Miss Universe and California’s Susan Bradley who was 1st runner up declined the Miss USA title. Arizona’s Jineane Ford succeeded South Carolina’s Shawn Weatherly when she won Miss Universe 1980. New York’s Shanna Moakler succeeded Texas’ Chelsi Smith when she won Miss Universe 1995. Idaho’s Brandi Sherwood succeeded Hawaii’s Brook Lee when she won Miss Universe 1997 making Brandi the only woman in history to hold the titles of Miss USA (1997) and Miss Teen USA (1989). Maryland’s Nana Meriwether succeeded Rhode Island’s Olivia Culpo when she won Miss Universe 2012. North Carolina's Morgan Romano succeeded Texas' R'Bonney Gabriel when she won Miss Universe 2022.

Ties are broken if rankings are known. If not known, the more recent placements rank over those that have not placed as recently. Miss Memphis, TN 1954 will stay at 54th place and Miss Miami Beach, FL 1953 will stay at 55th place since cities other than the District of Columbia no longer compete at Miss USA. A thank you goes out to Michael Smith for your contribution.



MISS USA WINNERS:



1952 – New York – Jacqueline (Jackie) Loughery (deceased 2024)



1953 – Illinois – Myrna Hansen



1954 – South Carolina – Miriam Stevenson [won Miss Universe; no successor named]



1955 – Vermont – Carlene King Johnson (deceased 1969)



1956 – Iowa – Carol Morris [won Miss Universe; no successor named]



1957 – Maryland – Mary Leona Gage [dethroned (deceased 2010); succeeded by Utah – Charlotte Sheffield (deceased 2016)]



1958 – Louisiana – Eurlyne Howell



1959 – California – Terry Lynn Huntingdon



1960 – Utah – Linda Bement [won Miss Universe (deceased 2018); no successor named]



1961 – Louisiana – Sharon Brown



1962 – Hawaii – Macel Wilson



1963 – Illinois – Marite Ozers



1964 – District of Columbia – Barbara (Bobbi) Johnson



1965 – Ohio – Sue Ann Downey



1966 – California – Maria Remenyi



1967 – Alabama – Sylvia Hitchcock [won Miss Universe (deceased 2015); succeeded by Florida – Cheryl Ann Patton who was originally 2nd runner up but accepted the Miss USA title when 1st runner up California’s Susan Bradley declined]



1968 – Washington – Dorothy (Didi) Anstett



1969 – Virginia – Wendy Dascomb



1970 – Virginia – Deborah (Debbie) Shelton



1971 – Pennsylvania – Michele McDonald (deceased 2020)



1972 – Hawaii – Tanya Wilson



1973 – Illinois – Amanda Jones



1974 – Illinois – Karen Morrison



1975 – California – Summer Bartholomew



1976 – Minnesota – Barbara Peterson



1977 – Texas – Kimberly (Kim) Tomes



1978 – Hawaii – Judi Andersen



1979 – New York – Mary Therese Friel



1980 – South Carolina – Shawn Weatherly [won Miss Universe; succeeded by Arizona – Jineane Ford]



1981 – Ohio – Kimberly (Kim) Seelbrede



1982 – Arkansas – Terri Utley



1983 – California – Julie Hayek



1984 – New Mexico – Mai Shanley



1985 – Texas – Laura Martinez-Herring



1986 – Texas – Christiane (Christy) Fichtner



1987 – Texas – Michelle Royer



1988 – Texas – Courtney Gibbs



1989 – Texas – Gretchen Polhemus



1990 – Michigan – Carole Gist



1991 – Kansas – Kelli McCarty



1992 – California – Shannon Marketic



1993 – Michigan – Kenya Moore



1994 – South Carolina – Frances Louise (Lu) Parker



1995 – Texas – Chelsi Smith [won Miss Universe (deceased 2018); succeeded by New York – Shanna Moakler]



1996 – Louisiana – Ali Landry



1997 – Hawaii – Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee [won Miss Universe; succeeded by Idaho – Brandi Sherwood]



1998 – Massachusetts – Shawnae Jebbia



1999 – New York – Kimberly Pressler



2000 – Tennessee – Lynnette Cole



2001 – Texas – Kandace Krueger



2002 – District of Columbia – Shauntay Hinton



2003 – Massachusetts – Susie Castillo



2004 – Missouri – Shandi Finnessey



2005 – North Carolina – Chelsea Cooley



2006 – Kentucky – Tara Conner



2007 – Tennessee – Rachel Smith



2008 – Texas – Crystle Stewart



2009 – North Carolina – Kristen Dalton



2010 – Michigan – Rima Fakih



2011 – California – Alyssa Campanella



2012 – Rhode Island – Olivia Culpo [won Miss Universe; succeeded by Maryland – Nana Meriwether]



2013 – Connecticut – Erin Brady



2014 – Nevada – Nia Sanchez



2015 – Oklahoma – Olivia Jordan Thomas



2016 – District of Columbia – Deshauna Barber



2017 – District of Columbia – Kára McCullough



2018 – Nebraska – Sarah Rose Summers



2019 – North Carolina – Cheslie Kryst (deceased 2022)



2020 – Mississippi – Asya Branch



2021 – Kentucky – Ellen Elizabeth (Elle) Smith



2022 – Texas – R'Bonney Gabriel [won Miss Universe; succeeded by North Carolina – Morgan Romano]



2023 – Utah – Noelia Voigt

 BACK TO FRONT PAGE