The Miss Missouri USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Missouri in the Miss USA pageant. It is directed by Vanbros and Associates, based in Lenexa, Kansas. In 1993, Missouri joined the Vanbros group of state pageants for the Miss USA and Teen USA system.
| Formation | 1952 |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters | Shawnee, Kansas, U.S. |
| Location |
|
Membership | Miss USA |
Official language | English |
Key people | John M. Vannatta Jason Vannatta Jennifer Vannatta-Fisher, State Pageant Director |
| Website | Official website |
Missouri has had only one Miss USA, Shandi Finnessey, who placed as 1st runner-up to Jennifer Hawkins of Australia in the Miss Universe 2004 pageant. The most recent placement was Mikala McGhee in 2022, placing Top 16. Three Miss Missouri USAs have competed at Miss America, including Finnessey. Six former Miss Teen USA delegates have also won the title, equalling Indiana and Virginia for the most crossovers, although both Indiana and Missouri have had titleholders who competed in a different state at Miss Teen USA.
Ashleigh Bedwell of Campbell was crowned Miss Missouri USA 2024 on June 15, 2024 at Polsky Theater in Overland Park. She will represent Missouri at Miss USA 2024.
Gallery of titleholders
-
Larissa Meek, Miss Missouri USA 2001 -
Shandi Finnessey Miss Missouri USA and Miss USA 2004 -
Amber Seyer, Miss Missouri USA 2007 -
Candice Crawford, Miss Missouri USA 2008 -
Katie Kearney, Miss Missouri USA 2012
Results summary
Placements
- Miss USA's: Shandi Finnessey (2004)
- 2nd runners-up: Carolyn Carlew (1952), Sandra Lee Marlin (1963), Melanie Breedlove (1998)
- 3rd runners-up: Nancy Rebecca Rich (1971), Sandra Percival (1984), Dawn Fonseca (1987)
- 4th runners-up: Karen Hendrix (1967)
- Top 5: Larissa Meek, (2001)
- Top 10/12: Dorothy Ann McElven (1974), Nancy LaRose (1975), Donna Hibbitts (1976), Amy Ruth Coverdale (1985), Shelly Lehman (1994), Britt Powell (1995), Amber Seyer (2007), Candice Crawford (2008), Ashley Strohmier (2010), Sydnee Stottlemyre (2016), Bayleigh Dayton (2017)
- Top 15/16/20: Alice Jean Porritt (1954), Barbara Jayne Stell (1959), Marilyn Jean Stalcup (1960), Hope Driskill (2011), Megan Renee Kelly (2020), Mikala McGhee (2022)
Missouri holds a record of 26 placements at Miss USA.
Awards
- Miss Congeniality: Bayleigh Dayton (2017)
Winners
- Color key
- Declared as Winner
- Ended as runner-up
- Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
| Year | Name | Hometown | Age[a] | Local title | Placement at Miss USA | Special awards at Miss USA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Ashleigh Bedwell | Campbell | 25 | Miss Heartland | |||
| 2023 | Autumn Black | Kansas City | 24 | Miss Kansas City | |||
| 2022 | Mikala McGhee | St. Louis | 28 | Miss St. Louis | Top 16 | Appeared on MTV reality show Made | |
| 2021 | Joye Forrest | Spanish Lake | 25 | Miss Spanish Lake | Former professional cheerleader of Laker Girls | ||
| 2020 | Megan Renee Kelly | Seymour | 22 | Miss Springfield | Top 16 | ||
| 2019 | Miriah Ludtke | St. Louis | 24 | Miss City of St. Louis | |||
| 2018 | Victoria "Tori" Kruse | Osage Beach | 26 | Miss Osage Beach | |||
| 2017 | Bayleigh Dayton | Lee's Summit | 23 | Miss Kansas City | Top 10 | Miss Congeniality (tied with Miss Wyoming USA 2017 Mikaela Shaw) |
|
| 2016 | Sydnee Stottlemyre | Chesterfield | 21 | Miss Wildhorse Creeks | Top 10 | Triple crown winner
| |
| 2015 | Rebecca Dunn | Columbia | 23 | Miss Columbia | Game Day Host for the Missouri Mavericks and Entertainment Host for Fox 22. Former anchor at Newsy.com. | ||
| 2014 | Erica Sturdefant | Springfield | 23 | Miss Creve Coeur |
| ||
| 2013 | Ellie Holtman[citation needed] | Montgomery City | 20 | Miss Montgomery | |||
| 2012 | Katie Kearney | St. Louis | 23 | Miss St. Louis | |||
| 2011 | Hope Driskill | Jefferson City | 21 | Miss Jefferson City | Top 16 |
| |
| 2010 | Ashley Strohmier | Jefferson City | 21 | Miss Cole County | Top 10 | ABC 17 KMIZ Evening News Anchor | |
| 2009 | Stacey Smith | Florissant | 22 | Miss Florissant | |||
| 2008 | Candice Crawford | Columbia | 21 | Top 10 | Sister of actor Chace Crawford and wife of NFL quarterback Tony Romo. | ||
| 2007 | Amber Seyer | Oran | 20 | Top 10 |
| ||
| 2006 | Kristi Capel | Springfield | 22 | Weather presenter at WBRE | |||
| 2005 | Andrea Ciliberti | Kansas City | 21 | Contestant on Beauty and the Geek, season 3 | |||
| 2004 | Ashley Litton | Columbia | 20 | did not compete |
| ||
| Shandi Finnessey | Florissant | 25 | Miss Metro St. Louis | Miss USA 2004 |
| ||
| 2003 | Tara Bollinger | 23 | |||||
| 2002 | Melana Scantlin | Gladstone | 24 |
| |||
| 2001 | Larissa Meek | St. Louis | 23 | Top 5 |
| ||
| 2000 | Denette Roderick | ||||||
| 1999 | Teri Bollinger |
| |||||
| 1998 | Melanie Breedlove | 22 | 2nd runner-up |
| |||
| 1997 | Amanda Jahn | St Joseph | 25 | ||||
| 1996 | Aimee Rinehart | 24 | |||||
| 1995 | Britt Powell | Kansas City | Semi-finalist |
| |||
| 1994 | Shelly Lehman | Semi-finalist | |||||
| 1993 | Stephanie Nunn | Marshfield | Mother of Miss Missouri Teen USA 2016 Dallas Ezard | ||||
| 1992 | Tonya Snodgrass | Mother of Miss Arkansas Teen USA 2016 Makenzie Sexton | |||||
| 1991 | Tiffany Hazel | ||||||
| 1990 | Lori Suschnick | Liberal | Mother of Miss Missouri Teen USA 2018 Chloe Bartlett | ||||
| 1989 | Rhonda Hoglan |
| |||||
| 1988 | Alecia Workman | ||||||
| 1987 | Dawn Fonseca | Independence | 22 | 3rd runner-up | |||
| 1986 | Barbara Webster | Kansas City |
| ||||
| 1985 | Amy Coverdale | Columbia | Semi-finalist | ||||
| 1984 | Sandra Percival | Sunrise Beach | 20 | 3rd runner-up |
| ||
| 1983 | Robin Riley | Columbia |
| ||||
| 1982 | Susan Heiman | Kansas City | |||||
| 1981 | Karyn Smagacz | Fulton | |||||
| 1980 | Kelly Laxson | Kansas City | |||||
| 1979 | Virginia Dean | ||||||
| 1978 | Paula Taylor | ||||||
| 1977 | Connie Ast | Successor to crown; Competed at Miss USA 1977 | |||||
| Leigh Middleton | did not compete | Won the title of Miss Missouri USA 1977, but due to car accident, was unable to continue her reign or compete at Miss USA | |||||
| 1976 | Donna Hibbitts | Semi-finalist | |||||
| 1975 | Nancy LaRose | Marshall | Semi-finalist | ||||
| 1974 | Dorothy McElven | Semi-finalist | |||||
| 1973 | Camilla Crist | ||||||
| 1972 | Janet Potter | ||||||
| 1971 | Nancy Rich | 3rd runner-up | |||||
| 1970 | Suzette Grinham | Independence | |||||
| 1969 | Sherry Hoffman | ||||||
| 1968 | Jan Barton | Macon | |||||
| 1967 | Karen Hendrix | 4th runner-up | |||||
| 1966 | Martha Taylor | ||||||
| 1965 | Barbara Brooks | ||||||
| 1964 | Sandy Bawol | 4th runner up in Miss World USA 1963 | |||||
| 1963 | Sandra Marlin | 2nd runner-up | |||||
| 1962 | Mikee Campbell | ||||||
| 1961 | Joan Roberts | ||||||
| 1960 | Marilyn Stalcup | Semi-finalist | |||||
| 1959 | Barbara Stell | Semi-finalist | |||||
| 1958 | Beverly Wright | ||||||
| 1957 | Judith Murback | Sikeston | |||||
| 1956 | Carol Thrower | ||||||
| 1955 | Bennie Pritchard | ||||||
| 1954 | Alice Porritt | Semi-finalist | |||||
| 1953 | Donna Gardner | ||||||
| 1952 | Carolyn Carlew | Sikeston[2] | 18 | 2nd runner-up | |||
- ^ Age at the time of crowning
References
- ^ "2004 Mrs America". Archived from the original on June 24, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
- ^ "U.S. Beauty List". Independent. 22 June 1952. Retrieved 20 June 2023.