Miss USA 1999
Miss USA 1999, the 48th Miss USA pageant, was held at the Grande Palace Theatre in Branson, Missouri on February 4, 1999. Kimberly Pressler became the fourth former Miss Teen USA state delegate in five years to win or inherit the Miss USA title.
At the conclusion of the final competition, Kimberly Pressler of New York, was crowned by outgoing titleholder Shawnae Jebbia of Massachusetts. Pressler became the fourth titleholder from New York, following Shanna Moakler four years prior as Miss USA 1995. However, as Moakler inherited the crown after Chelsi Smith won Miss Universe 1995, this is the third outright win for New York, and the first in twenty years since Mary Therese Friel won Miss USA 1979.
After months of negotiation, Branson was announced as the pageant's location in November 1998. City officials spent $125,000 of tax money to host the pageant in Branson in the hope that it would encourage tourism but admitted after the pageant that it was not worth the cost. Sponsors contributed a further $1 million towards the hosting of the event. The pageant had previously been held in Shreveport, Louisiana from 1997-1998.
Shemar Moore hosted the pageant for the only time, and color commentary was added by Miss USA 1996 Ali Landry and Julie Moran, for the second consecutive year. Entertainment was provided by Collin Raye and The Atomic Fireballs.
Results
Placements
| Final Results | Contestant |
| Miss USA 1999 |
|
| 1st Runner-Up |  Tennessee - Morgan Tandy High |
| 2nd Runner-Up |  California - Angelique Breaux |
| Top 5 |  South Carolina - Lauren Poppell New Mexico - Michelle Rios |
| Top 10 |  Indiana - Pratima Yarlagadda Virginia - Kellie Lightbourn Oklahoma - Dia Webb Ohio - Melinda Miller Michigan - Shannon Grace Clark |
New York - Kimberly PresslerSpecial awards
Scores
Final competition
| State | Interview | Swimsuit | Evening Gown | Average | Finalists |
| New York | 8.46 | 9.63 | 9.33 | 9.14 | 9.65 |
| Tennessee | 8.90 | 9.53 | 9.73 | 9.38 | 9.75 |
| California | 8.93 | 9.64 | 9.56 | 9.37 | 9.60 |
| South Carolina | 8.68 | 9.64 | 9.64 | 9.32 | 9.51 |
| New Mexico | 8.82 | 9.36 | 9.11 | 9.09 | 9.23 |
| Indiana | 8.73 | 9.08 | 9.18 | 8.99 | - |
| Virginia | 8.56 | 9.29 | 8.86 | 8.90 | - |
| Oklahoma | 8.80 | 8.88 | 8.98 | 8.87 | - |
| Ohio | 8.50 | 8.91 | 8.96 | 8.79 | - |
| Michigan | 8.43 | 8.93 | 8.95 | 8.77 | - |
Delegates
The Miss USA 1999 delegates were:- Alabama – Doree Walker
- Alaska – Anna Ruble
- Arizona – Cara Jackson
- Arkansas – Allison Heavener
- California – Angelique Breaux
- Colorado – Susan Manuello
- Connecticut – Christina D’Amico
- Delaware – Jackie Pilla
- District of Columbia – Amy Alderson
- Florida – Melissa Quesada
- Georgia – Meredith Young
- Hawaii – Trini-Ann Leilani Kaopuiki
- Idaho – Amy Ambrose
- Illinois – Christina Lam
- Indiana – Pratima Yarlagadda
- Iowa – Jaclyn Solinger
- Kansas – Amanda Carraway
- Kentucky – Lori Menshouse
- Louisiana – Melissa Bongiovanni
- Maine – Heather Coutts
- Maryland – Kelly Donohue
- Massachusetts – Jennifer Krafve
- Michigan – Shannon Grace Clark
- Minnesota – Crystal VanDenberg
- Mississippi – Kari Babski
- Missouri – Teri Bollinger
- Montana – Michon Adele Zink
- Nebraska – WaLynda Sipple
- Nevada – Shaynee Smith
- New Hampshire – Melissa MacLaughlin
- New Jersey – Candice Alana Royal
- New Mexico – Michelle Rios
- New York – Kimberly Pressler
- North Carolina – Joy Hall
- North Dakota – Shayna Bank
- Ohio – Melinda Miller
- Oklahoma – Dia Webb
- Oregon – Amy Nelson
- Pennsylvania – Melissa Godshall
- Rhode Island – Claire DeSimone
- South Carolina – Lauren Poppell
- South Dakota – Shawna Gross
- Tennessee – Morgan Tandy High
- Texas – Carissa Blair
- Utah – Rachel Rasmussen
- Vermont – Nicole Lewis
- Virginia – Kelli Lightbourn
- Washington – Tammy Jansen
- West Virginia – Amanda Burns
- Wisconsin – Elyzabeth Pham
- Wyoming – Arnica Bryant
Historical significance
- New York wins competition for the fourth time.
- Tennessee earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time and surpasses its previous highest placement in 1997.
- California earns the 2nd runner-up position for the third time. The last time it placed this was in 1991.
- South Carolina finishes as Top 5 for the first time and reaches its highest placement since Lu Parker won 1994.
- New Mexico finishes as Top 5 for the first time and reaches its highest placement since 1985.
- States that placed in semifinals the previous year were California, Michigan and Virginia. All of them made their second consecutive placement.
- Oklahoma and Tennessee last placed in 1997.
- Indiana last placed in 1996.
- New York last placed in 1995.
- South Carolina last placed in 1994.
- Ohio last placed in 1990.
- New Mexico last placed in 1987.
- Utah breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1996.
- Texas breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1992.
Crossovers
- Delegate who would later compete in Miss World:
- *Angelique Breaux - Miss World USA 2000
- Delegates who had previously held a Miss Teen USA state title were:
- *Kimberly Pressler - Miss New York Teen USA 1994
- *Lauren Poppell - Miss South Carolina Teen USA 1993
- *Meredith Young - Miss Georgia Teen USA 1991
- *Teri Bollinger - Miss Illinois Teen USA 1990
- *Trini-Ann Kaopuiki - Miss Hawaii Teen USA 1991
- *Carissa Blair - Miss Texas Teen USA 1992
- *WyLynda Sipple - Miss Michigan Teen USA 1992
- *Amy Jo Ambrose - Miss Idaho Teen USA 1995
- *Amanda Carraway - Miss Kansas Teen USA 1996
- *Amanda Burns - Miss West Virginia Teen USA 1997
- Delegates who had previously held a Miss America state title:
- *Cara Jackson - Miss Arizona 1995
- *Lori Menshouse - Miss Kentucky 1997
Judges
- Dennis Basso
- Joyce Brothers
- Kelly Le Brock
- Cheech Marin
- Michelle Phillips
- Kevin Richardson
- Stuart Weitzman