- Mrs. America
-
Mrs. America Pageant honors married women throughout the United States of America. Each of the 51 contestants (from 50 states and DC), ranging in age from the 20s to 50s, earns the right to participate in the national event by winning her state competition. These state events are under the direction of Mrs. America state directors. Since 2009, the winner has gone on to compete in the Mrs. World pageant.[1]
Mrs. America, Inc. celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2011. The pageant has been televised on networks including PAX and WE (Women's Entertainment); in May 2011, it was carried by the My Family TV network.
The current titleholder for 2011-12 is April Lufriu of Florida.
Contents
Events
2004: Traci Clemens, Mrs. Rhode Island, competed while six months pregnant with twins. She was the first visibly-pregnant woman to compete in the nationally-televised event.[2] [3]
Titleholders[4]
Year Name State Notes 1977 Ruth Johnson California 1978 Cindy Roberts Alaska 1979 Carrie Gabriel Strom New Jersey 1980 Carol Anne McEwen Texas 1981 Paddy Boyd Argovitz Louisiana 1982 Rhonda McGeeney Texas 1983 Susan Goodman Tennessee 1984 Deborah Wolfe West Virginia 1st runner up to Mrs. World; Mother of Miss West Virginia Teen USA 2004- Mary Ellen Wolfe[5] 1985 Donna Russell Mississippi 1986 Cynthia Amann Florida 1987 Pamela Nail Mississippi Went on to win Mrs. World 1988 Suzy Kats California Was also the 1st runner-up to Pamela Nail in 1987 1989 Jennifer Kline Minnesota 2nd runner-up at Mrs. World 1990 Jennifer Johnson Oklahoma 1991 Kristianna Nichols Indiana 1992 Dr. Doris Martineaux Dalton Pennsylvania 1993 Keyna Baucom North Carolina 1994 Wendy Lewis Texas 1995 Kimberly Brasher Oklahoma Went on to be 1st runner-up at Mrs. World. Former Ms. Idaho 1996 Cynthia Pensiero Ohio 1997 Lisa Lilenthal New York 1998 Renee Cairns Florida 1999 Starla Stanley Utah Went on to win Mrs. World 2000 1999 Stacy Willis Alabama Originally 1st runner-up, ascended to title when Starla Stanley won Mrs. World[6] 2000 Leslie Lam Hawaii 2001 Nicole Brink Indiana Went on to win Mrs. World 2002, Previously Miss Indiana Teen USA 1992 (semifinalist in Miss Teen USA 1992) and Miss Indiana USA 1998 under her maiden name, Nicole Llewellyn. 2002 Laurett Ellsworth Arenz Virginia web page at herostrategies.com 2003 Kristi Phillips Alabama 2004 Heidi Dinan Missouri 2005 Julie Love-Templeton Alabama 2006 Andrea Pruess California Previously Miss Virginia Teen USA 1992 & Miss Virginia 1995 (dethroned) under her maiden name, Andrea Ballengee. 2007 Diane Tucker Arizona Went on to win Mrs. World 2007 2007 Marney Duckworth Colorado Originally 1st runner-up, ascended to title when Diane Tucker won Mrs. World 2008 Kelly McBee Wyoming 2009 Maureen MacDonald North Carolina 2010 Andrea Robertson Missouri 2011 Shelley Carbone[7] Connecticut 2011-12 April Lufriu Florida First-generation American (parents from Honduras) Crossovers
Some contestants in the Mrs. America pageant have previously held state pageant titles in the Miss USA, Miss America, Mrs. United States and Miss Teen USA pageants. They include:[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
- Mrs. North Carolina 1997 - Janice McQueen Ward - Mrs. United States 1999
- Mrs. Indiana 2001 & Mrs. America 2001 - Nicole Brink (nee Llewellyn) - Miss Indiana Teen USA 1992 & Miss Indiana USA 1998
- Mrs. Arizona 2004 - Britt Boyse (nee Powell) - Miss Missouri USA 1995
- Mrs. Idaho 2004 - Amanda Peterson (nee Greenway) - Miss Idaho Teen USA 1992
- Mrs. Iowa 2004 - Jamie Patterson (nee Solinger) - Miss Iowa Teen USA 1992, Miss Teen USA 1992, & Miss Iowa USA 1998
- Mrs. Kansas 2004 - Kimberlee Easter (nee Girrens) - Miss Kansas Teen USA 1986 & Miss Kansas USA 1992
- Mrs. Maryland 2004 - Nikki Karl - Mrs. Maryland International 2003
- Mrs. Massachusetts 2004 - Claire O'Connor (nee DeSimone) - Miss Rhode Island USA 1999
- Mrs. Minnesota 2004 - Melissa Young (nee Hall) - Miss Minnesota USA 1997
- Mrs. New Hampshire 2004 - Stephanie Mills (nee Foisy) - Miss New Hampshire 1995
- Mrs. Texas 2004 - Jennifer Palmieri (nee Craig) - Miss Georgia USA 1996
- Mrs. West Virginia 2004 - Amanda Duffy (nee Burns) - Miss West Virginia Teen USA 1997 & Miss West Virginia USA 1999
- Mrs. South Carolina 2005 - Angela Hughes-Singleton - Miss South Carolina 1996
- Mrs. California 2006 & Mrs. America 2006 - Andrea Preuss (nee Ballengee) - Miss Virginia Teen USA 1992 & Miss Virginia 1995 (dethroned)
- Mrs. Maine 2006 - Heather Clark (nee Coutts) - Miss Maine USA 1999
- Mrs. Florida 2007 - Jamie Converse-Estrada - Miss Florida USA 1998
- Mrs. Illinois 2007 - Hallie Thompson (nee Bonnell) - Miss Ohio USA 1987
- Mrs. Maryland 2007 - Adrienne Watson Carver - Mrs. Maryland United States 2006
- Mrs. North Carolina 2007 - Kathryn Hancock-Stuart - Miss South Carolina Teen USA 1990
- Mrs. Oregon 2007 - Kimberly Takla (nee Stubblefield) - Miss Oregon USA 1986
- Mrs. Tennessee 2007 - Christina Ryan (nee Lam) - Miss Illinois USA 1999
- Mrs. Utah 2007 - Heather Osmond (nee Henderson) - Miss Utah Teen USA 1994
- Mrs. Florida 2008 - Jaclyn Stapp (nee Nesheiwat) - Miss New York USA 2004
- Mrs. Michigan 2008 - Sara Dusendang-Moylan - Miss Michigan Teen USA 1999
- Mrs. Connecticut 2009 - Melanie Varian (nee Mudry) - Miss Connecticut USA 2007
- Mrs. District of Columbia 2009 - Deanna McCray James - Mrs. Maryland United States 2005
- Mrs. Massachusetts 2009 - Rosalie Allain-Morris - Miss Massachusetts USA 2000
- Mrs. Vermont 2009 - Jennifer Bisson (nee Ripley) - Miss Vermont Teen USA 1999 & Miss Vermont USA 2003
- Mrs. Arizona 2010 - Corrie Francis (nee Hill) - Miss Arizona 2003
- Mrs. Colorado 2010 - Shalon Polson (nee Pecosky) - Miss Colorado Teen USA 1990
- Mrs. District of Columbia 2010 - Regena Robinson- Mrs. Maryland United States 2008
- Mrs. Florida 2010 - Kellie Lightbourn - Miss Virginia USA 1999
- Mrs. Hawaii 2010 - Alicia Michioka-Jones - Miss Hawaii USA 2003
- Mrs. Michigan 2010 - Stephanie Hunt - Mrs. United States 2007
- Mrs. New York 2010 - Meaghan Castaldi (nee Jarensky) - Miss New York USA 2005
- Mrs. Texas 2010 - Shannon Patterson (nee Schambeau) - Miss District of Columbia 2005
- Mrs. Ohio 2011 - Melanie Miller (nee Murphy) - Miss Ohio 2006
Forerunner pageant
Prior to the current Mrs. America pageant, there was an earlier pageant of the same name. The pageant was created by public relations executive Bert Nevins in 1936 as a promotion for his client, Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey. When Nevins sold the pageant in 1963, it was the only nationally-televised beauty pageant for married women.[15]
In 1964, participants were graded on cooking, sewing, ironing, party preparation and other homemaking abilities, family psychology, grooming, poise, personality and general attractiveness.
- 1938: Margaret Chamberlain, Ohio (appeared on Family Feud in 1980)
- 1939: Evelyn Schmitt, New Jersey
- 1940:
- 1941: Ruth Licklider, New York
- 1942: Peggie Diehl, Minnesota?
- 1943:
- 1944:
- 1945:
- 1946:
- 1947: Janice Pollock, Ohio; then Fredda Acker, South Carolina (after Pollock abdicated)
- 1948: Maria Strohmeier, Pennsylvania
- 1949: Frances Cloyd, California
- 1950: Betty McAllister, Pennsylvania
- 1951:
- 1952: Penny Duncan, New York; Peggy Creel, Florida (judges' contest winner, Creel was the winner; but Duncan was announced)
- 1953: Evelyn Joyce Schenk, New Jersey
- 1954: Erna Snyder, Pennsylvania
- 1955: Wanda Jennings,[16] Missouri [17] [18]
- 1956: Ramona Deitemeyer,[19] Nebraska
- 1957: Cleo Maletis,[20] Oregon
- 1958: Lynwood Finley, District of Columbia
- 1959: Helen Giesse, Ohio
- 1960: Margaret Priebe, Iowa
- 1961: Mrs. George Murphy, Indiana
- 1962: Lila Mason, Michigan
- 1963: Marilyn Mitchell, California
- 1964: Deseree Jenkins, South Carolina
- 1965: Alice Buehner, Utah
- 1966: Joy Noufer, Texas
- 1967: Marlene Cochran, Kansas
- 1968: Joan Fisher, Utah
- 1969:
Information from online newspaper archives
References
- ^ Mrs. America website
- ^ Pageant News Bureau
- ^ The Desert Sun
- ^ Mrs. America Titleholders, pageantcenter.com
- ^ West Virginia 2004, TFTJ
- ^ http://huntsville.about.com/cs/huntsvillians/a/mrsamerica.htm
- ^ "Mrs America 2010 Results". Mrs. America Pageant. http://www.mrsamerica.com/results2010.html. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "2010 Mrs America". http://www.tftj.com/db/delegates.htm/33/Mrs/2010. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
- ^ "2009 Mrs America". http://www.tftj.com/db/delegates.htm/33/Mrs/2009. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
- ^ "2008 Mrs America". http://www.tftj.com/db/delegates.htm/33/Mrs/2008. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
- ^ "2007 Mrs America". http://www.tftj.com/db/delegates.htm/33/Mrs/2007. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
- ^ "2006 Mrs America". http://www.tftj.com/db/delegates.htm/33/Mrs/2006. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
- ^ "2005 Mrs America". http://www.tftj.com/db/delegates.htm/33/Mrs/2005. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
- ^ "2004 Mrs America". http://www.tftj.com/db/delegates.htm/33/Mrs/2004. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
- ^ New York Times, July 20, 1966
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1879&dat=19550502&id=gYUeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hcsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2036,265936
- ^ (appeared in Greyhound Scenicruiser ads and christened the first one with champagne in July 1954 in Pontiac, Michigan; "Mrs. America (Wanda Jennings, of Saint Louis, Missouri) broke a traditional bottle of champagne on the front bumper of F-701 (serial 002)."
- ^ http://bluehoundsandredhounds.info/barguag.html
- ^ Ramona Deitemeyer
- ^ Growing Up In The 1950s, the (Portland) Oregonian. The "Mrs. America" title held by Mrs. Maletis is apparently not the same as the one that is the subject of this article, because Mrs. America, Inc. reportedly celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2007, making 1977 the first title in the current series. Mrs. Maletis is not listed on the official Mrs. America, Inc. website. See Mrs. America Incorporated, History
External links
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