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Miss Virginia USA

Beauty pageant competition

Field	Value
name	Miss Virginia USA
formation	1952
type	Beauty pageant
headquarters	Richmond
location	Virginia
membership	Miss USA
language	English
key_people	Darrell Williams, Executive Director

website	Official Website

Kyle Kelley, Assistant Director

Lacie Ross, Assistant Director

Sheatiel Carter, Assistant Director The ** Miss Virginia USA **competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Virginia in the Miss USA pageant.

Virginia has been only moderately successful in terms of number of semi-finalists. They have had two Miss USAs. They are one of only four states to have had two Miss USAs in succession (the others being Illinois, Texas, and District of Columbia). Virginia's greatest success came from the late 1960s to early 1980s. Virginia should have had the first Miss USA crown in 1954, as Ellen Whitehead finished 1st runner-up, and Miss USA 1954, Miriam Stevenson, became Miss Universe 1954. However, there was no rule until the 1960s that the 1st runner-up became Miss USA after the winner won Miss Universe. If that was true, 2nd runner-up, Miss New York USA, Karin Hultman would have become Miss USA 1954, as Whitehead was disqualified due to being underage.

Eleven Miss Virginia USA winners have previously held the Miss Virginia Teen USA title and competed at Miss Teen USA and three were previously competed in other states (Georgia, New Jersey and New York), at thirteen. Virginia also currently holds the record for the most Miss Teen USA state winners to win a Miss USA state title from the same state. Two Miss winners have also competed at Miss America.

The current titleholder is Erin Houston of Tysons was crowned on February 16, 2025, at Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel in Arlington. She represented Virginia for the title of Miss USA 2025.

Gallery of titleholders

File:Donna Dixon at the 62nd Annual Academy Awards.jpg|Donna Dixon (pictured in 1990), Miss Virginia USA 1976 and Miss District of Columbia World 1977 File:Julielaipply.jpg|Julie Laipply, Miss Virginia USA 2002 File:Kristi Glakas headshot.png|Kristi Lauren Glakas, Miss Virginia USA 2004 File:Amber Copley 2006.jpg|Amber Copley, Miss Virginia USA 2006 File:Samantha Casey.jpg|Samantha Casey, Miss Virginia USA 2010 File:Catherine Muldoon 2012.jpg|Catherine Muldoon, Miss Virginia USA 2012 File:Desiree Williams.jpg|Desiree Williams, Miss Virginia 2013 and Miss Virginia USA 2016

Results summary

Miss USAs: Wendy Dascomb (1969), Deborah Shelton (1970)
1st runners-up: Ellen Whitehead (1954), Patricia "Pat" Southall (1994)
2nd runner-up: Samantha "Sam" Casey (2010)
4th runner-up: Lynn Herring (1977)
Top 10: Meredith Blankenship (1998), Kellie Lightbourn (1999), Lauren Barnette (2007), Desiree Williams (2016), Himanvi Panidepu (2024)
Top 11/12: Brenda Joyce Miller (1971), Linda McKee (1975), Robin Shadle (1978), Betsy Bott (1979), Pam Hutchens (1981), Sondra Dee Jones (1982), Marsha Ralls (1987), Brandi Bottorff (1992)
Top 15/16/20: Elizabeth "Betty" Karen Kallmyer (1967), Laurie Burke (1968), Maegan Phillips (2009), Arielle Rosmarino (2014), Laura Puleo (2015), Christina Thompson (2021), Ashley Williams (2023)

Virginia holds a record of 26 placements at Miss USA.

Awards

Miss Congeniality: Kimberly Nicewonder (1989)
Miss Photogenic: Elizabeth "Betty" Karen Kallmyer (1967), Deborah Shelton (1970), Brenda Joyce Miller (1971), Sondra Dee Jones (1982), Patricia "Pat" Southall (1994), Audra Wilks (1997)
** Best in Swimsuit:** Patricia Southall (1994)

Winners

;Color key

Declared as Winner
Ended as runner-up
Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists

Year	Name	Hometown	Age	Local title	Placement at Miss USA	Special awards at Miss USA	Notes
2025	Erin Houston	Tysons	27	Miss Tysons Corner
2024	Himanvi Preeti Panidepu	Centreville	23	Miss Shenandoah	Top 10	Social Impact Award
2023	Ashley Williams	Reston	24	Miss Reston	Top 20		Former professional cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders
2022	Kailee Horvath	Ashburn	23	Miss Shenandoah Valley
2021	Christina Thompson	Leesburg	25	Miss Southwest Virginia	Top 16
2020	Susie Evans	Poquoson	26	Miss Williamsburg
2019	Courtney Lynne Smits	Woodbridge	22	Miss Woodbridge
2018	Ashley Amanda Vollrath	Blacksburg	22	Miss Blacksburg
2017	Jacqueline Carroll	Stanardsville	22	Miss Greene County
2016	Desiree Janine Williams	Newport News	26		Top 10
2015	Laura Jordan Puleo	Lexington	25		Top 15
2014	Arielle Saige Rosmarino	Salem	22		Top 20
2013	Shannon Kelli McAnally	Arlington	23
2012	Catherine Muldoon	Virginia Beach	26
2011	Nikki Poteet	Richmond	24
2010	Samantha Evelyn "Sam" Casey	Jeffersonton	21		2nd runner-up
2009	Maegan Phillips	Quantico	22		Top 15
2008	Victoria "Tori" Marie Hall	Midlothian	21
2007	Lauren Elizabeth Barnette	Wise	21		Top 10
2006	Amber Brooke Copley	Abingdon	20
2005	Jennifer Pitts	Richmond	26
2004	Kristi Lauren Glakas	Centreville	23
2003	Meron Mimi Abraham	Alexandria	24
2002	Julie Marie Laipply	Alexandria	24				Public speaker
2001	Kristel Jenkins	Vinton	23
2000	Crystal Marie Jones	Virginia Beach
1999	Kellie Lightbourn	Vienna	21		Semi-finalist
1998	Meredith Blankenship	Hurley	21		Semi-finalist
1997	Audra Elizabeth Wilks	Richmond	24			Miss Photogenic
1996	Danielle Connors	Forest
1995	Susan Elizabeth Robinson	Lynchburg
1994	Patricia "Pat" Southall	Chesapeake	21		1st runner-up	Miss Photogenic & Best in Swimsuit	Married to Emmitt Smith
1993	Stephanie Satterfield	Virginia Beach
1992	Brandi Bottrof	Fairfax	21		Semi-finalist
1991	Traci Dority	Fairfax
1990	Evelyn Green	Richmond
1989	Kimberly Nicewonder	Bristol				Miss Congeniality	Current director of the Miss Virginia USA and Miss Virginia Teen USA pageants under her married name, Kim Nicewonder-Johnson
1988	Denise Adrian Smith	Fairfax
1987	Marsha Ann Ralls	Alexandria	24		Top 11
1986	Maureen McDonnell	Alexandria					Cheerleader for Notre Dame.
1985	Dana Bryant	Richmond
1984	Leah Rush	Leesburg
1983	Tai Collins	Virginia Beach					Model and actress whose credits include Baywatch and Playboy magazine, Television Writer and Producer whose credits include SAF3 and Baywatch
1982	Sondra Dee Jones	Richmond	24		Semi-finalist	Miss Photogenic
1981	Pamela Elizabeth Hutchens	Newport News	22		Semi-finalist		General District Court Judge in Virginia Beach, Virginia
1980	Kelly Humphrey	Hampton
1979	Betsy Ann Bott	Falls Church	26		Semi-finalist
1978	Robin Lee Shadle	Springfield	22		Semi-finalist
1977	Sheryl Lynn Herring	Fairfax	19		4th runner-up		Actress best known for her role as Lucy Coe on General Hospital
1976	Donna Dixon	Alexandria	18
1975	Linda McKee	Alexandria	19		Semi-finalist
1974	Hazel Thomas	Alexandria
1973	Brenda Childress	Richmond
1972	Diane Elizabeth "Dede" Moore	Radford
1971	Brenda Joyce Miller	Norfolk	20		Semi-finalist	Miss Photogenic
1970	Deborah Shelton	Norfolk	21		Miss USA 1970	Miss Photogenic
1969	Wendy Dascomb	Danville	19		Miss USA 1969
1968	Laurie Burke	McLean	18		Semi-finalist	Top 15 Best in Swimsuit
1967	Elizabeth "Betty" Karen Kallmyer	Richmond	18		Semi-finalist	Miss Photogenic
1966	Beverly Johnson	Alexandria
1965	Mary Montgomery	Martinsville
1964	Heidi Karen Smith	Fort Lee					Was Miss Richmond in 1964. German-born Heidi Karin Smith Long died on November 19, 2019, at 76.
1963	Did Not Compete
1962
1961	Bonnie Lea Jones	Norfolk
1960	Elizabeth "Betty" Noreen Fulford	Norfolk
1959	Pat Poindexter	Salem
1958	Betty Marsh	Lynchburg
1957	Patricia Bush	Portsmouth
1956	Audra Stark	Virginia Beach
1955	Jeannie Asble	Portsmouth
1954	Ellen Whitehead	Chatham			1st runner-up (later disqualified for being underage)
1953	Dorothy Lee Bailey	Norfolk
1952	Elizabeth Glenn	Roanoke

References

"Pageant Staff".
"2010 Mrs America".
"Mrs America 2010 Results". Mrs. America Pageant.
"Pageant Staff".
(8 February 1988). "HOPEFUL QUEENS". [[The Press of Atlantic City]].
(17 February 1987). "MISS USA". [[Hawaii Tribune-Herald]].
(19 May 1971). "FOR LOVERS". [[The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana).
(16 May 1968). "SWIMSUIT WINNERS". [[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

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