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Miss Teen USA

 
Wikipedia: Miss Teen USA
Stevi Perry, Miss Teen USA 2008

Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant run by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 15–19. The reigning titleholder is Stormi Henley of Tennessee.

The pageant was first held in 1983 and has been broadcast live on a succession of channels, most recently on NBC from 2003-2007. In March 2007 it was announced that the broadcast of the Miss Teen USA pageant on NBC had not been renewed, and that Miss Teen USA 2007 would be the final televised event.[1]

Notable pageant winners include actresses Kelly Hu (1985—Hawaii), Bridgette Wilson (1990—Oregon), Charlotte Lopez-Ayanna (1993—Vermont) and Vanessa Minnillo (1998—South Carolina).

Contents

History

The Miss Teen USA pageant was created in 1983 as a sister pageant to the Miss USA system. The first pageant was held in Lakeland, Florida in August, 1983 and was won by Ruth Zakarian of New York. The pageant moved to April the following year, and then was held in January the next two years. It was held in July from 1988–1990 and has been held in August since 1991. The most common host city was Biloxi, Mississippi which hosted the pageant from 1990–1994, which caused problems in 1992 when the conclusion of the live broadcast was delayed because of Hurricane Andrew. Other frequent host cities have been South Padre Island, Texas (1997, 2001–2002), Shreveport, Louisiana (1998–2000) and Palm Springs, California (2003–2004, 2006).

Competition rounds

Prior to the final telecast the delegates compete in the preliminary competition, which involves private interviews with the judges and a presentation show where they compete in swimsuit and evening gown.

During the final competition, the semi-finalists are announced and go on to compete in swimsuit and evening gown. From 1983 to 2001 all semi-finalists also competed in an interview competition as well as both swimsuit and evening gown, followed by one or two final interview questions. In 2003, a new format was introduced where the top fifteen competed in evening gown, the top ten competed in swimsuit and the top five competed in the final question. In 2006, the order of competition was changed where the top fifteen competed in swimsuit and the top ten in evening gown. The latest competition format was used since 2008 the final not broadcast on TV, where the top fifteen both competed in swimsuit and evening gown, and the top five competed in the final question who all signed up by a panel of judges.

Titleholders

Hilary Cruz, Miss Teen USA 2007
Katie Blair, Miss Teen USA 2006
Shelley Hennig, Miss Teen USA 2004
Tami Farrell, Miss Teen USA 2003
Year Miss Teen USA State Represented Age Host City Date
1983 Ruth Zakarian Flag of New York.svg New York 16 Lakeland, Florida August 30
1984 Cherise Haugen Flag of Illinois.svg Illinois 17 Memphis, Tennessee April 03
1985 Kelly Hu Flag of Hawaii.svg Hawaii 16 Miami, Florida January 22
1986 Allison Brown Flag of Oklahoma.svg Oklahoma 17 Daytona Beach, Florida January 21
1987 Kristi Addis Flag of Mississippi.svg Mississippi 16 El Paso, Texas July 21
1988 Mindy Duncan Flag of Oregon.svg Oregon 16 San Bernardino, California July 25
1989 Brandi Sherwood Flag of Idaho.svg Idaho 18 San Bernardino, California July 25
1990 Bridgette Wilson Flag of Oregon.svg Oregon 16 Biloxi, Mississippi July 16
1991 Janel Bishop Flag of New Hampshire.svg New Hampshire 17 Biloxi, Mississippi August 19
1992 Jamie Solinger Flag of Iowa.svg Iowa 17 Biloxi, Mississippi August 24
1993 Charlotte Lopez Flag of Vermont.svg Vermont 16 Biloxi, Mississippi August 06
1994 Shauna Gambill Flag of California.svg California 17 Biloxi, Mississippi August 16
1995 Keylee Sue Sanders Flag of Kansas.svg Kansas 18 Wichita, Kansas August 15
1996 Christie Lee Woods Flag of Texas.svg Texas 18 Las Cruces, New Mexico August 21
1997 Shelly Moore Flag of Tennessee.svg Tennessee 18 South Padre Island, Texas August 20
1998 Vanessa Minnillo Flag of South Carolina.svg South Carolina 17 Shreveport, Louisiana August 17
1999 Ashley Coleman Flag of Delaware.svg Delaware 18 Shreveport, Louisiana August 24
2000 Jillian Parry Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania 18 Shreveport, Louisiana August 26
2001 Marissa Whitley Flag of Missouri.svg Missouri 18 South Padre Island, Texas August 22
2002 Vanessa Semrow Flag of Wisconsin.svg Wisconsin 17 South Padre Island, Texas August 28
2003 Tami Farrell Flag of Oregon.svg Oregon 18 Palm Springs, California August 12
2004 Shelley Hennig Flag of Louisiana.svg Louisiana 17 Palm Springs, California August 06
2005 Allie LaForce Flag of Ohio.svg Ohio 16 Baton Rouge, Louisiana August 08
2006 Katie Blair Flag of Montana.svg Montana 18 Palm Springs, California August 15
2007 Hilary Cruz Flag of Colorado.svg Colorado 18 Pasadena, California August 24
2008 Stevi Perry Flag of Arkansas.svg Arkansas 17 Nassau, Bahamas August 16
2009 Stormi Henley Flag of Tennessee.svg Tennessee 18 Nassau, Bahamas July 31

Delegates

Map of Miss Teen USA-winning states as of 2007: red (3 titles) and blue (1).
This map shows the number of times a state has placed as a finalist in Miss Teen USA pageants as of 2006

General

  • The pageant's viewership peak was hit in 1988, when the pageant averaged over 22 million viewers on CBS. Even as recently as 1999, the show managed to bring in over 10 million viewers. The 2006 airing was the second lowest rated in the pageant's 23-year history, with only 5.6 million viewers watching the live broadcast (the lowest: 2004, with 5.34 million).[2] It is rumored that the 2007 telecast (25th Anniversary, scheduled for August 24, 2007) will be the last time Miss Teen USA is aired live on TV, at least on NBC. And since NBC and Donald Trump jointly own the parent company (Miss Universe Organization; MUO) it's doubtful that another television station will be given/sold the rights to air the pageant if it's continued to be held. While the 2008 pageant was held, untelevised, on August 16, 2008, one factor that prevented NBC from participating was its prime time commitment to the 2008 Summer Olympics. More information regarding the status of the national pageant, as well as the direction state pageants may choose to take, should be forthcoming.[citation needed]
  • The 1984 pageant was held so close to the 1983 pageant that not every state had time to hold its 1984 state pageant. As a result, a disclaimer appeared at the end of the telecast stating that each of the contestants had been "a winner or a runner-up" in her state pageant.

Crossovers with Miss USA

Kelly Hu when she was Miss Hawaii Teen USA 1985
Miss Teen USA 1985 Kelly Hu became a TV and film actress, in addition to being a model.
(Photo taken April 17, 2002)

Miss Teen USA at Miss USA

In the early years of Miss Teen USA, three winners represented the title "Miss Teen USA" at Miss USA. The three queens were: Ruth Zakarian (1983), Cherise Haugen (1984), and Allison Brown (1986). This also made history because the Miss USA 1984 pageant had 53 delegates, the most ever in a Miss USA pageant. In 1987, Miss Teen USA 1986, Allison Brown participated in the 1987 Miss USA pageant. All three failed to make the cut at their respective Miss USA pageants.

Only in the three years mentioned above did Miss Teen USAs automatically gain representation at Miss USA. From 1988, if the Miss Teen USA winners want to compete at Miss USA, they first must win a Miss USA state crown. A total of seven Miss Teen USA winners have participated at Miss USA, with four winning their state Miss USA crowns first. The first of these was Kelly Hu, Miss Teen USA 1985, who won the Miss Hawaii USA 1993 title and represented Hawaii at Miss USA 1993. She finished as a finalist. The next was Jamie Solinger, Miss Teen USA 1992. She took the Miss Iowa USA 1998 title but failed to make the cut at the Miss USA pageant. Only two Miss Teen USAs have made the top 3 of Miss USA. Brandi Sherwood, Miss Teen USA 1989 won the Miss Idaho USA 1997 title. Succeeding Kelly, she took 1st runner up and later inherited the Miss USA crown, when Brook Mahealani Lee of Hawaii won Miss Universe 1997. She is the only Miss Teen USA winner to hold the title Miss USA. Shauna Gambill was close in winning the Miss USA 1998 title, but placed 1st runner up to Shawnae Jebbia, Miss Massachusetts USA 1998.

There have been two years when two Miss Teen USAs participated at Miss USA. The first was 1984, when Miss Teen USA 1983 and Miss Teen USA 1984 participated, the second was 1998, when Jamie Solinger competed as Miss Iowa USA but went unplaced, and Shauna Gambill competed as Miss California USA and placed first runner-up.

The first Miss Teen USA not to win a Miss USA state pageant on her first attempt was Christie Lee Woods, Miss Teen USA 1996, of Texas, who placed third runner-up in the Miss Texas USA 2002 pageant. She would also become the first Miss Teen USA to compete for, but never win a Miss USA state title (she also placed as a semi-finalist in 2003 and 2004). The second Miss Teen USA who did not win a Miss USA state title on her first attempt was Ashley Coleman, Miss Teen USA 1999, of Delaware, who competed in the Miss California USA 2006 pageant and finished third runner-up. She is the first Miss Teen USA winner to compete in a different state from that where she won her Miss Teen USA crown. Tami Farrell, Miss Teen USA 2003, competed at Miss California USA 2009 as Miss Malibu USA, but failed to win the crown, placing first runner-up to Carrie Prejean. Farrell competed at Miss Teen USA as Miss Oregon Teen USA, and was one of the only Miss Teen USA's to try for the state crown outside of the state she represented for Miss Teen USA.

Miss Teen USA state delegates at Miss USA

A large number of Miss Teen USA state delegates have won Miss USA state titles and competed at Miss USA. Most held both titles in the same state, but a number have held titles from two states. From 1996, many former Miss Teen USA delegates have gone on to win the Miss USA crown. All seven competed for Miss USA in the state they won their Teen title. They are: Ali Landry, Miss USA 1996 (Miss Louisiana Teen USA 1990, Miss Louisiana USA 1996); Kimberly Pressler, Miss USA 1999 (Miss New York Teen USA 1994, Miss New York USA 1999); Lynnette Cole, Miss USA 2000 (Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1995, Miss Tennessee USA 2000); Susie Castillo, Miss USA 2003 (Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 1998, Miss Massachusetts USA 2003); Chelsea Cooley, Miss USA 2005 (Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2000, Miss North Carolina USA 2005); Tara Conner, Miss USA 2006 (Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2002, Miss Kentucky USA 2006) and Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2007 (Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2002, Miss Tennessee USA 2007).

At Miss USA 2009, it became the first time since 1994 that not a single former Miss Teen USA state titleholder managed to place on finals night.

See also

References

External links


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