Miss USA 1982
Miss USA 1982, the 31st Miss USA pageant, was televised live on May 13, 1982 from the Gulf Coast Convention Center in Biloxi, Mississippi on CBS.
The pageant was won by Terri Utley of Arkansas, who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Kim Seelbrede of Ohio. Utley was the first - and to date only - woman from Arkansas to win the Miss USA title, and went on to place as 4th runner-up at Miss Universe 1982.
Jeannine Boger of North Carolina is the mother of Miss USA 2009 Kristen Dalton.
Results
Placements
| Final Results | Contestant |
| Miss USA 1982 |
|
| 1st runner-upMiss World USA 1982 |
|
| 2nd runner-up |  Utah – Susan Gasser |
| 3rd runner-up |  Ohio – Kim Weeda |
| 4th runner-up |  Kentucky – Kristina Chapman |
| Top 12 |  Hawaii – Vanessa Dubois Maryland – Angie Boyer  Massachusetts – Janet Marie Flaherty Michigan – Diane Arabia Tennessee – Sherly Deanice Levy Vermont – Georgia Davis Virginia – Sondra Dee Jones |
Arkansas – Terri Utley
Texas – Luann CaugheySpecial awards
Historical significance
- Arkansas wins competition for the first time and surpasses its previous highest placement in 1955. Also becoming in the 21st state who does it for the first time.
- Texas earns the 1st runner-up position for the fourth time. The last time it placed this was in 1971.
- Utah earns the 2nd runner-up position for the first time and reached its highest placement since Linda Bement won in 1960. Ironically, Bement went on to win Miss Universe title in 1960.
- Ohio earns the 3rd runner-up position for the first time and reached its highest placement since Kim Seelbrede won in the previous year.
- Kentucky earns the 4th runner-up position for the fourth time. The last time it placed this was in 1980.
- States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Hawaii, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
- Texas placed for the eighth consecutive year.
- Maryland placed for the third consecutive year.
- Hawaii, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia made their second consecutive placement.
- Kentucky last placed in 1980.
- Massachusetts last placed in 1979.
- Utah last placed in 1978.
- Michigan last placed in 1976.
- Vermont last placed in 1971.
- Arkansas last placed in 1970.
- Alabama breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1980.
- Arizona breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1979.
Delegates
- Alabama - Lisa Wheeler
- Alaska - Toni McFadden
- Arizona - Lori Hakola
- Arkansas - Terri Utley
- California - Suzanne Dewames
- Colorado - Dusty Hutton
- Connecticut - Maureen Szekeres
- Delaware - Shawna Saints
- District of Columbia - Lori Esteep
- Florida - Lisa Smith
- Georgia - Kelly Blackston
- Hawaii - Vanessa Dubois
- Idaho - Valerie Stephan
- Illinois - Carla Danielson
- Indiana - Sara Binckley
- Iowa - Jeanne Hoyer
- Kansas - Stefanie Larson
- Kentucky - Kristina Chapman
- Louisiana - Lisa Michael
- Maine - Theresa Cloutier
- Maryland - Angie Boyer
- Massachusetts - Janet Marie Flaherty
- Michigan - Diane Arabia
- Minnesota - Lori Kmetz
- Mississippi - Nancy Perkins
- Missouri - Susan Heiman
- Montana - Perri Stevenson
- Nebraska - Lori Novicki
- Nevada - Andrea Pennington
- New Hampshire - Kathy Rogers
- New Jersey - Janice Lynn Straub
- New Mexico - Lisa Allen
- New York - Annemarie Henderson
- North Carolina - Jeannine Dalton
- North Dakota - Tammi Martinson
- Ohio - Kim Weeda
- Oklahoma - Jill Liebmann
- Oregon - Kristina Bauer
- Pennsylvania - Therese Rosa
- Rhode Island - Peggy McGraw
- South Carolina - Margo Wood
- South Dakota - Meaghan North
- Tennessee - Sherly Deanice Levy
- Texas - Luann Caughey
- Utah - Susan Gasser
- Vermont - Georgia Davis
- Virginia - Sondra Dee Jones
- Washington - Jana Minerich
- West Virginia - Cindy Baniak
- Wisconsin - Cheryl Maslowski
- Wyoming - Judy Wilder
Judges
- Summer Bartholomew, Miss USA 1975 from California
- Vic Damone, singer
- Jineane Ford, Miss USA 1980 from Arizona
- John James, actor
- Julia Meade, actress
- Robert Pine, actor
- Michelle Stevens, Model