Miss Teen USA


Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant run by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe and Miss USA, which are broadcast on Fox, this pageant is webcast on the Miss Teen USA website and simulcast on mobile devices and video game consoles.
The pageant was first held in 1983 and has been broadcast live on CBS until 2002 and then 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.
From 2008–15, the pageant was held at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, located in Nassau, Bahamas.
Notable pageant winners include actresses Kelly Hu, Bridgette Wilson, Charlotte Lopez-Ayanna, Vanessa Minnillo and Shelley Hennig.
The current titleholder is Kaliegh Garris of Connecticut who was crowned on April 28, 2019 at Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada.

History

The following is a list of pageant editions and information.
YearDateEditionVenueEntrants
1983August 301stLakeland Civic Center, Lakeland, Florida51
1984April 32ndMemphis Cook Convention Center, Memphis, Tennessee51
1985January 223rdJames L. Knight Center, Miami, Florida51
1986January 214thOcean Center, Daytona Beach, Florida51
1987July 215thEl Paso Civic Center, El Paso, Texas51
1988July 256thOrange Pavilion, San Bernardino, California51
1989July 257thOrange Pavilion, San Bernardino, California51
1990July 168thMississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi51
1991August 199thMississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi51
1992August 2510thMississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi50
1993August 1011thMississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi51
1994August 1612thMississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, Mississippi51
1995August 1513thCentury II Convention Center, Kansas51
1996August 2114thPan American Center, Las Cruces, New Mexico51
1997August 2015thSouth Padre Island Convention Centre, South Padre Island, Texas51
1998August 1716thHirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana51
1999August 2417thHirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana51
2000August 2618thHirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana51
2001August 2219thSouth Padre Island Convention Centre, South Padre Island, Texas51
2002August 2820thSouth Padre Island Convention Centre, South Padre Island, Texas51
2003August 1221stPalm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, California51
2004August 622ndPalm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, California51
2005August 823rdBaton Rouge River Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana51
2006August 1524thPalm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, California51
2007August 2425thPasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California51
2008August 1626thGrand Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas51
2009July 3127thImperial Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas51
2010July 2428thImperial Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas51
2011July 1629thGrand Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas51
2012July 2830thGrand Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas51
2013August 1031stGrand Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas51
2014August 232ndGrand Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas51
2015August 2233rdGrand Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas51
2016July 3034thVenetian Theatre, The Venetian Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada51
2017July 2935thPhoenix Symphony Hall, Phoenix, Arizona51
2018May 1836thHirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport, Louisiana51
2019April 2837thGrand Sierra Resort's Grand Theatre, Reno, Nevada51

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 2002 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.
Former Miss Teen USA Katherine Haik supported calls to eliminate the swimsuit competition. The swimsuit category was chastised for exploiting and sexualizing young women and not promoting diverse body types. The new active-wear portion will increase the focus on wellness and health of young ladies.

Titleholders

This is a list of delegates who have won the Miss Teen USA beauty pageant.
YearMiss Teen USAState RepresentedHometownAgeNotes
1983Ruth Zakarian New YorkAmsterdam17She competed as Miss Teen USA in the Miss USA pageant in 1984 alongside Cherise Haugen of Illinois who had held the Miss Teen USA title that year.. She was unplaced.
1984Cherise Haugen IllinoisSleepy Hollow17She competed as Miss Teen USA in the Miss USA pageant in 1984 alongside Ruth Zakarian of New York who had also previously held the Miss Teen USA title, in 1983.. She was unplaced.
1985Kelly Hu HawaiiHonolulu16First Asian American to win the Miss Teen USA title. Later Miss Hawaii USA 1993 and top 6 at Miss USA 1993 Actress has starred in moves such as Cassandra in The Scorpion King and Lady Deathstrike in
1986Allison Brown OklahomaEdmond17She competed as Miss Teen USA in the Miss USA pageant in 1987. She was unplaced.
1987Kristi Addis MississippiHolcomb16
1988Mindy Duncan OregonNewberg16
1989Brandi Sherwood IdahoIdaho Falls18Later Miss Idaho USA 1997 and 1st runner-up at Miss USA 1997, assumed the Miss USA title after Brook Lee won Miss Universe
1990Bridgette Wilson OregonGold Beach16Actress; recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award in 1998; married to tennis player Pete Sampras
1991Janel Bishop New HampshireManchester17First African American to win the Miss Teen USA title
1992Jamie Solinger IowaAltoona17Later Miss Iowa USA 1998
1993Charlotte Lopez VermontDorset16First Hispanic American to win the Miss Teen USA title
1994Shauna Gambill CaliforniaActon17Later Miss California USA 1998, 1st runner-up at Miss USA 1998 and top 10 at Miss World 1998
1995Keylee Sue Sanders KansasLouisburg18She was co-director of the Miss California USA and Miss California Teen USA pageants from 2006 to 2007 along with Keith Lewis of K2 Productions
1996Christie Lee Woods TexasHuntsville18Two-time The Amazing Race contestant
1997Shelly Moore TennesseeKnoxville18
1998Vanessa Minnillo South CarolinaCharleston17Born in the Philippines. Actress and presenter is known for hosting Total Request Live on MTV from 2003–2007 as well as her past reporting as a New York-based correspondent for Entertainment Tonight; married to singer-actor and TV personality Nick Lachey
1999Ashley Coleman DelawareCamden17Appeared briefly on The Price Is Right as a Barkers Beauty
2000Jillian Parry PennsylvaniaNewtown18
2001Marissa Whitley MissouriSpringfield18
2002Vanessa Semrow WisconsinRhinelander17
2003Tami Farrell OregonPhoenix18Later 1st runner-up at Miss California USA, assumed the title after Carrie Prejean was dethroned due to Miss USA 2009 same-sex marriage controversy
2004Shelley Hennig LouisianaDestrehan17One of the most successful Miss Teen USA winners as she became an actress, model and dancer. Notable appearance roles on Days of Our Lives as Stephanie Johnson, The Secret Circle as Diana Meade and Teen Wolf as Malia Tate. Also appeared in films like Ouija, Unfriended and Summer of 8.
2005Allie LaForce OhioVermilion16Correspondent on the show Game Changers. Won an Emmy in 2011 for the show Friday Night Touchdown
2006Katie Blair MontanaBillings18Later 1st runner-up at Miss California USA 2011, assumed the title after Alyssa Campanella crowned Miss USA 2011
2007Hilary Cruz ColoradoLouisville18
2008Stevi Perry ArkansasHamburg18
2009Stormi Henley TennesseeCrossville18
2010Kamie Crawford MarylandPotomac17
2011Danielle Doty TexasHarlingen18
2012Logan West ConnecticutSouthington18Previously Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen 2010. First former Miss America's Outstanding Teen state titleholder to win the Miss Teen USA title.
2013Cassidy Wolf CaliforniaTemecula19The oldest Miss Teen USA ever to win the title
2014K. Lee Graham South CarolinaChapin17
2015Katherine Haik LouisianaFranklinton15The youngest Miss Teen USA ever to win the title at the age of 15
2016Karlie Hay TexasTomball18
2017 MissouriKansas City17
2018Hailey Colborn KansasWichita17
2019Kaliegh Garris ConnecticutNew Haven18

Winners gallery

By number of wins

List of states have yet to win the Miss Teen USA title

StateNumberMost recent placement
Tennessee20 placementsBailey Guy
California20 placementsJaneice Love
Texas20 placementsKirby Lindley
Georgia19 placementsSavannah Miles
Oklahoma18 placementsAbigail Billings
Louisiana16 placementsLindsey Conque
New York16 placementsIsabella Griffith
South Carolina15 placementsAllie Richardson
Missouri15 placementsSophia Dominguez-Heithoff
Illinois14 placementsA’Maiya Allen
Maryland14 placementsAmalia Sanches
Kansas13 placementsHannah DeBok
North Carolina13 placementsKaaviya Sambasivam
North Dakota12 placementsCaitlyn Vogel
Alabama12 placementsKalin Burt
Kentucky11 placementsTaylor Hubbard
Virginia11 placementsJacqueline Carroll
Massachusetts10 placementsAnnie Lu
Indiana10 placementsPaige Robinson
Pennsylvania10 placementsJasmine Daniels
West Virginia10 placementsTrinity Tiffany
New Jersey10 placementsValentina Sanchez
Nevada9 placementsErica Yvette Bonilla
Michigan9 placementsAnane Loveday
Hawaii9 placementsSamantha Neyland
Mississippi8 placementsKaylee Brooke McCollum
Arkansas8 placementsMaggie Williams
Wyoming8 placementsGrace Turner
Florida8 placementsLou Schieffelin
Arizona8 placementsKarly Riggs
Washington8 placementsCamilla Cyr
Colorado7 placementsChloe Dru Zambrano
Minnesota7 placementsMaggie McGill
Utah6 placementsMadilen Kellogg
Oregon6 placementsVanessa Matheson
New Mexico6 placementsJacqueline Cai
Rhode Island6 placementsTalia Turco
Vermont5 placementsKelsey Golonka
Ohio5 placementsOlivia Turk
Connecticut4 placementsKaliegh Garris
Iowa4 placementsCarley Arnold
Delaware4 placementsEmily Hutchison
Wisconsin4 placementsKate Redeker
Maine4 placementsAlexis Mcilwain
Nebraska3 placementsErin Shae Swanson
South Dakota3 placementsMakenzie Falcon
Alaska3 placementsSonja Garness
District of Columbia3 placementsJacqueline Drakeford
Idaho2 placementsShareece Pfeiffer
New Hampshire2 placementsCourtney Morgan
Montana1 placementKatie Blair

Delegates

1983–2007: Viewership and later decline

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 2007 telecast was the last time Miss Teen USA aired live on television.

2008–present: internet pageant

The 2008 pageant was held, untelevised, on August 16, 2008. One factor that prevented NBC from broadcasting was its prime time commitment to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Since then, it is broadcast over the Internet on the Miss Teen USA website. It can be viewed worldwide, without any region restrictions via geolocation. Currently, it is hosted by YouTube. In addition, the webcast can be accessed on the pageant's Facebook page and on mobile devices using the official Miss Universe mobile app released during Miss USA 2016.
In 2012, the pageant began to simulcast in selected regions on Microsoft's Xbox Live service, allowing owners of the Xbox 360 and/or Xbox One consoles to watch the pageant on a television screen. In 2017, the pageant was also broadcast on Sony's PlayStation Network service.
The 2017 pageant was the first to include both a 360-video option for virtual reality headsets and HDR10 support for Xbox One S owners. The 2018 pageant featured support for Dolby Atmos audio and 4K video on the Xbox One S and X consoles.
Since 2018, the pageant is held concurrently with its sister Miss USA pageant in a single city a few days before the start of Miss USA final competition.

Crossovers with Miss USA

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, Cherise Haugen, and Allison Brown. 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 USA winners automatically gain representation at Miss USA. Starting in 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 USA winners 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. However, to date it has never happened that the same woman had won the 2 separate pageants officially.
There have been two years when two Miss Teen USA winners 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. 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 few Miss Teen USA winners to try for the state crown outside of the state she represented for Miss Teen USA. In a span of only two years later, Miss Teen USA 2006, Katie Blair also competed at Miss California USA 2011. Representing the state of Montana at Miss Teen USA 2006, Blair is only the third Miss Teen USA to compete in a state other than the state she competed in Teen. Similarly to Coleman and Farrell, Blair placed 1st runner up in the pageant, to Alyssa Campanella, who also competed in Miss Teen USA representing New Jersey. Campanella went on to win Miss USA 2011. Danielle Doty, Miss Teen USA 2011, competed at Miss Texas USA 2018, who placed in the semifinals.