| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
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| Birth name | Larissa Meek |
|---|---|
| Birthdate | August 29, 1978 |
| Birth location | St. Louis, Missouri U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Eye color | Green |
| Hair color | Brown |
| Title(s) | Miss Missouri Teen USA 1997 Miss Missouri USA 2001 |
| Major competition(s) | Miss Teen USA 1997 Miss USA 2001 (4th runner-up) |
| Official website | |
Larissa Meek (born August 29, 1978 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former beauty queen who has competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants and a model who was the star of the television show Average Joe: Hawaii.
In 1996 Meek won the Miss Missouri Teen USA 1997 title and competed in the Miss Teen USA 1997 pageant held at South Padre Island, Texas. She did not place but did earn an Honorable Mention (meaning that Meek placed 11th to 15th place). In 2000 she competed in the Miss Missouri USA pageant for the first time and won the title. Meek represented Missouri at the Miss USA 2001 pageant telecast live from Gary, Indiana in March 2001, and made the semifinals. She won both the swimsuit and evening gown competitions with scores of 9.45 and 9.39 respectively, and made the final five in first place. After this, Meek gave a performance in the interview portion and received the lowest score for this competition (8.02, the next highest being Nevada with 9.16), and failed to make the final three, meaning that Meek notably placed as 4th Runner-up even though she received the highest swimsuit and evening gown scores. Many pageant fans were disappointed and thought that Meek could have won the crown, but with Meek's case, it shows that the interview portion, now known as The Final Question, is the most important competition in the pageant. It has been speculated that Meek's case prompted format changes in both the Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA pageants later that year, where there was no cut to a final 3. The pageant was ultimately won by Texas' Kandace Krueger.
In 2003 she appeared as the star of the reality television show Average Joe: Hawaii, succeeding fellow Miss Missouri Teen USA and Miss Missouri USA titleholder Melana Scantlin for this role (Scantlin had been Meek's first runner-up at the Miss Missouri USA 2001 pageant). When the show started she went on dates with "average Joes". Partway through the show, however, a bunch of "hunks" were brought in to compete against the Joes, a twist also used on the first edition of the show. When down to the final two men, Meek chose Gil Hyatt over average Joe Brian Worth.
Meek is an accomplished artist and web designer. Since 2006 she has worked at Agencynet in Florida, and in 2008 started serving as an associate creative director. In 2009 she moved to Los Angeles, still working for Agencynet.
External links
| Preceded by Denette Roderick |
Miss Missouri USA 2001 |
Succeeded by Melana Scantlin |
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