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Miss World America

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Not to be confused with Miss America, Miss USA, Miss U.S. International, Miss United States, Miss Earth USA, Miss Supranational USA, or Miss Grand USA.

Miss World America
Formation1951; 73 years ago (1951)
TypeBeauty pageant
HeadquartersSeattle
Location
MembershipMiss World
Official language
English
National Director
Ekta Saini and Sanjay Saini
WebsiteMiss World America Official Website

The United States has continuously sent a representative to Miss World since its inception in 1951. The United States has won the Miss World crown three times in 1973, 1990 and 2010. Currently, Miss World America is the official national pageant that selects the contestant from the United States to Miss World.

The current Miss World America is Athenna Crosby of California, who was crowned on November 17, 2024, at the Highline Performing Art Center in Burien, Washington. She represented the United States at 72nd Miss World 2025 pageant.[1]

History

During the mid-1950s, the Miss Universe organization sent delegates from the Miss USA system to compete at Miss World (1953–57). Alfred Patricelli of Bridgeport, Connecticut, was the executive director of the Miss World USA during its existence from 1958 to 1977. From 1958 to 1961, the winner of Miss United States competed at Miss World. Then from 1962 to 1966 Alfred Patricelli organized the Miss USA World pageant annually. In 1967, the pageant was renamed Miss World USA and was held every year until 1977. During this time, Miss World USA 1969 Gail Renshaw was the first person to resign from the title of "Miss World USA" after competing in Miss World 1969 in order to get married. Also in 1973, Marjorie Wallace won the Miss World title and became the first American woman to win the Miss World title. Between 1978 through 1980, BBS Productions, Inc., based in New York City, was given the franchise for the Miss World pageant where Griff O'Neil was the organizer, during this time the pageant was named "Miss World America".

Miss World USA 1969

From 1981 to 1991, the Miss Universe organization were the license holders, and the American representative to Miss World ended up being the 1st runner-up of the Miss USA pageant. The Miss World Organization however wanted a public announcement during the finals of the Miss USA pageant that the 1st Runner-up would be going to Miss World, but they refused to do so. Therefore, after 1991 the Miss World Organization did not accept any more Miss USA 1st Runners-up.

From 1992 to 1997, Richard Guy and Rex Holt (GuyRex) were the national directors of Miss World in the United States and organized the Miss World America pageant in 1992, 1993, and 1994. They discontinued the pageant in 1995 but handpicked a representative from 1995 to 1997. In 1998, Hirsh Wilck succeeded GuyRex and became the license holder and sent contestants from 1998 to 2000.

In 2001, the Miss World organization asked Pageantry Magazine to choose a contestant for Miss World 2001 since they did not have a license holder during this year. In 2002, Jean Renard and Miss World Holdings Inc became license holders and handpicked the representative. They dropped the license afterwards due to legal issues with Rebekah Revels, whom they had handpicked to compete in 2002. In 2003, Bruce Vermeulen and Geoff Kearney founded the US Miss World organization. They chose the 2003 representative by mail-in entry and telephone interviews and in 2004 held the US Miss World pageant. In 2005, Barbizon Modeling became the license holders and organized the US Miss World pageant in San Francisco, California.

From 2007 to 2011, Elite Models were the license holders for Miss World in the United States and they handpicked the representative from their list of models.[2] During this time, it was common to know who was going to represent the United States in Miss World a week or two before the international pageant began. Among their designee was Alexandria Mills who in 2010 became one of the few Miss World winners to have won the international pageant without winning a national pageant. In 2012–2013, Lisa-Marie Kohrs, former 2009 U.S. Representative were the national director and she handpicked from the contestants who had the charity background.[3] It is unknown who was in charge of selecting the contestants in 1951, 1952, and 2006. In 2013,

In 2014, in an effort from Julia Morley who wanted all national directors to hold a national pageant to select the representative of their country as opposed to only designate, Christopher Wilmer, the organizer of the Miss United States pageant, was appointed as the national director of Miss World in the United States. As a result, the winner of Miss United States 2014, Elizabeth Safrit, was selected to compete at Miss World because she met the age requirements of the international pageant. In 2015, Wilmer reinstated the Miss World America pageant in order to properly reflect Miss World's age and contest requirements. Miss World America was held in 2015 and 2016.

In 2017, Lynne Scott Safrit and her daughter Elizabeth Safrit, became co-national directors of Miss World in the United States and created 'America's Miss World' and Miss Teen World America.[4]

In 2018, Michael Blakey became the national director of Miss World in the United States with assistance from Liz Fuller. The pageant went back to being named 'Miss World America'.[5][better source needed] In December 2021, Miss World America 2018 (and then Miss Earth USA 2021), Marisa Butler, and Miss World America 2020, Alissa Andereg, along with several other former state titleholders, interviewed with Jezebel describing their time with the Miss World America organization as 'disrespectful' and 'predatory.'[6][7][8]

In 2023, Michael Blakey lost the license to Miss World and Ekta and Sanjay Saini, the parents of Miss World America 2021, Shree Saini, became the new national directors of Miss World America.

Results summary

Placements in Miss World

United States holds a record of 50 placements at Miss World, being placed first overall.

Awards

Titleholders

This is a list of women who have represented the United States at the Miss World pageant:

Color key
  •   Declared as Winner
  •   Ended as Runner-up
  •   Ended as one of the Finalists, Semi-finalists or Quarter-finalists
Year Name Age[a] State Represented Hometown Placement at Miss World Notes
1951 Annette Gibson 20  Kentucky Louisville
1952 Tally Richards† 24  New York New York City
1953 Mary Kemp Griffin† 23  South Carolina Florence 4th Runner-up Miss South Carolina 1952, Top 10 at Miss America 1953; Miss Myrtle Beach USA 1953, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1953.
1954 Karin Hultman 22  New York Rochester 1st Runner-up Miss New York USA 1954, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1954 (Originally 2nd Runner-up, later elevated after original 1st runner-up was disqualified).
1955 Margaret Anne Haywood† 19  Arkansas Jonesboro 1st Runner-up Miss Arkansas USA 1955, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1955.
1956 Betty Lane Cherry 20  South Carolina Orangeburg 1st Runner-up Miss South Carolina USA 1956, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1956.
1957 Charlotte Sheffield† 20  Utah Salt Lake City Miss Utah USA 1957, Miss USA 1957 (Originally 1st Runner-up, later took over after original winner was disqualified).
1958 Nancy Anne Corcoran 23  New York New York City
1959 Loretta Powell† 24  Connecticut Bridgeport
1960 Annette Driggers† 15  New York Freeport Did not compete Driggers was disqualified because she was underaged.
Judith Achter 18  Missouri St. Louis 4th Runner-up Originally 1st Runner-up, later took over after original winner was disqualified.
1961 Jo Ann Odum 19  West Virginia Huntington Top 7
1962 Amedee Chabot 17  California Los Angeles Top 8
1963 Michele Metrinko 18  New York New York City Top 14 Miss District of Columbia USA 1963, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1963.
1964 Jeanne Quinn 20  New York East Meadow Top 16 Miss New York USA 1963, Top 15 at Miss USA 1963; 1st Runner-up at Miss American Beauty 1964.
1965 Dianna Lynn Batts 19  District of Columbia Falls Church, VA 1st Runner-up Miss District of Columbia USA 1965, 4th Runner-up at Miss USA 1965.
1966 Denice Blair 19  Utah Layton Top 7 Miss Utah USA 1966, Top 15 at Miss USA 1966.
1967 Pamela Pall 20  California Norwalk Top 15
1968 Johnine Avery 22  Washington Los Angeles, CA 1st Runner-up at Miss World USA 1967.
1969 Gail Renshaw 22  Virginia Arlington 1st Runner-up Later resigned to get married.
Connie Haggard 18  Texas Dallas Did not compete Originally 1st Runner-up, later took over after original winner resigned.
1970 Sandra Wolsfeld 24  Illinois Wheaton Top 15 Miss Illinois USA 1968.
1971 Brucene Smith 20  Texas Port Lavaca Top 7 Miss International USA 1974, Miss International 1974.
1972 Lynda Carter 21  Arizona Tempe Top 15
1973 Marjorie Wallace 19  Indiana Indianapolis Miss World 1973 Later was dethroned from Miss World 1973 title, but never officially replaced by the runners-up.
Lexie Brockway 19  Washington Richland Did not compete Originally 1st Runner-up, later took over after original winner won Miss World title.
1974 Terry Ann Browning 20  Florida Ormond Beach 4th Runner-up
1975 Annelise Ilschenko 17  Ohio Middleburg Heights
1976 Kimberlee Foley 21  Michigan Southfield
1977 Cindy Miller 20  Virginia Chesapeake 4th Runner-up
1978 Debra Freeze 20  North Carolina Mooresville Top 15
1979 Carter Wilson 23  Virginia Harrisonburg Top 15
1980 Brooke Alexander 17  Hawaii Kailua Top 7
1981 Holli Dennis 21  Indiana Fort Wayne Did not compete Dennis planned to get married after Miss USA 1981 contest; Miss Indiana USA 1981, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1981.
Lisa Moss 23  Louisiana Shreveport Top 7 Elevated to replace Dennis; Miss Louisiana USA 1981, 2nd Runner-up at Miss USA 1981.
1982 LuAnn Caughey 22  Texas Abilene Top 7 Miss Texas USA 1982, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1982.
1983 Lisa Allred 21  Texas Fort Worth Top 7 Miss Texas USA 1983, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1983.
1984 Kelly Anderson 23  West Virginia Clarksburg Top 7 Miss West Virginia 1982; Miss West Virginia USA 1984, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1984.
1985 Brenda Denton 21  New Mexico Hobbs 2nd Runner-up Miss World Americas; Miss New Mexico USA 1985, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1985.
1986 Halle Berry 19  Ohio Oakwood Top 7 Miss Ohio USA 1986, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1986.
1987 Clotilde "Cloe" Cabrera 22  Florida Tampa Miss Personality; Miss Florida USA 1987, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1987.
1988 Diana Magaña 22  California Rancho Palos Verdes Top 10 Miss California USA 1988, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1988.
1989 Jill Scheffert 20  Oklahoma Oklahoma City Top 5 Miss Oklahoma USA 1989, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1989.
1990 Gina Tolleson 20  South Carolina Spartanburg Miss World 1990 Miss World Americas; Miss South Carolina USA 1990, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1990.
1991 Charlotte Ray 24  New Jersey Camden Top 10 Miss New Jersey USA 1991, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1991.
1992 Sharon Belden 26  Florida Coral Gables Top 10 Miss Florida USA 1992.
1993 Maribeth Brown 23  Massachusetts Holliston Top 10
1994 Kristie Harmon 20  Georgia Conyers Miss Georgia Teen USA 1992.
1995 Jill Ankuda 19  Texas El Paso
1996 Kelly Webber 20  Texas El Paso
1997 Sallie Toussaint 23  New York New York City Top 10 Miss World Americas; Miss Connecticut USA 2000.
1998 Shauna Gambill 22  California Los Angeles Top 10 Miss California Teen USA 1994, Miss Teen USA 1994; Miss California USA 1998, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1998.
1999 Natasha Allas 25  California Los Angeles Top 10 Miss California Teen USA 1992, Top 6 at Miss Teen USA 1992.
2000 Angelique Breaux 22  California Vista Top 10 Miss California USA 1999, 2nd Runner-up at Miss USA 1999; 1st Runner-up at Miss World USA 1999.
2001 Carrie Ann Stroup 19  North Carolina Cashiers At first the organizer had chosen Stroup for Miss World 2001, but then she was replaced by Smith due to a contractual disagreement. After much confusion, Stroup was confirmed as the U.S. representative.
Starla Smith 20  Alabama Dothan Did not compete Replaced Stroup, but a couple months later Miss World organization didn't approve her; Miss Alabama Teen USA 1999.
2002 Rebekah Revels 24  North Carolina St. Pauls Top 10 Miss World Talent; Miss North Carolina 2002 (dethroned).
2003 Kimberly Harlan 19  Georgia Marietta Miss Georgia Teen USA 2002, 4th Runner-up at Miss Teen USA 2002.
2004 Nancy Randall 24  Illinois Chicago 2nd Runner-up Miss World Beach Beauty and Top 20 in Miss World Top Model; 1st Runner-up at Miss Earth United States 2006.
2005 Lisette Diaz 22  California San Diego
2006 Brooke Elizabeth Angus 24  Vermont Essex Top 20 in Miss World Dress Designer and Top 24 in Miss World Sports; Miss Vermont USA 2002.
2007 Abigail McCary 25  Minnesota Minneapolis Top 16 Miss World Sports.
2008 Lane Lindell 18  Florida Tampa Miss World Dress Designer, Top 25 in Miss World Beach Beauty and Top 32 in Miss World Top Model.
2009 Brittany Mason 23  Indiana Anderson Did not compete Mason didn't compete for unknown reasons; Miss Indiana USA 2008, Top 10 in Miss USA 2008.
Lisa-Marie Kohrs 22  California Malibu Top 20 in Miss World Beach Beauty.
2010 Alexandria Mills 18  Kentucky Shepherdsville Miss World 2010 Miss World Americas, 1st Runner-up in Miss World Beach Beauty and 2nd Runner-up in Miss World Top Model.
2011 Erin Cummins 19  Washington Arlington Top 36 in Miss World Beach Beauty.
2012 Jessica Dykstra 24  Florida Miami Did not compete Dykstra didn't compete due to Elite Model Management lost the Miss World franchise.
Claudine Book 20  California Malibu Top 15 2nd Runner-up in Beauty with a Purpose, Top 25 in Miss World Talent and Top 56 in Miss World Top Model.
2013 Olivia Jordan 24  Oklahoma Tulsa Top 20 1st Runner-up in Miss World Top Model; Miss Oklahoma USA 2015, Miss USA 2015, 2nd Runner-up at Miss Universe 2015.
2014 Elizabeth Safrit 22  North Carolina Kannapolis 2nd Runner-up Miss World Americas, Miss World Multimedia, Top 5 in Miss World Talent and Top 32 in Miss World Sports.
2015 Victoria Mendoza 19  Arizona Phoenix Top 25 in Beauty with a Purpose, Top 25 in Miss World People's Choice, Top 30 in Miss World Talent and Top 32 in Miss World Sports.
2016 Audra Mari 22  North Dakota Fargo Top 11 Miss World Americas, Top 24 in Beauty with a Purpose, Top 24 in Miss World Sports and Top 50 in Miss World People's Choice; Miss North Dakota Teen USA 2011, 1st Runner-up at Miss Teen USA 2011; Miss North Dakota USA 2014, 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 2014.
2017 Clarissa Bowers 19  Florida Umatilla Top 40
2018 Marisa Butler 24  Maine Standish Top 30 Miss World Sports and Top 18 in Miss World Talent; Miss Maine USA 2016; Miss Earth USA 2021, 1st Runner-up at Miss Earth 2021.
2019 Emmy Rose Cuvelier 23  South Dakota Collins, IA Top 40 Top 27 in Miss World Talent and Top 32 in Miss World Sports.
2020 Alissa Anderegg 26  New York New York City No competition held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 Shree Saini 25  Washington Moses Lake 1st Runner-up Miss World Americas, Beauty with a Purpose and Top 27 in Miss World Talent; Top 10 at Miss World America 2020.
2022 No competition held due to the delay of the 2021 pageant.
2023 Victoria DiSorbo 25  Tennessee Pembroke Pines, FL Miss World Dress Designer (Americas) and Top 25 in Miss World Head-to-Head Challenge, Miss Florida Teen USA 2017.
2024 No competition held due to the delay of the 2023 pageant.
2025 Athenna Crosby 26  California San Jose TBA Miss California Teen USA 2016, Top 15 at Miss Teen USA 2016; 1st Runner-up at Miss World America 2023.

Notes:

  • † Now deceased

By number of states

States Titles Years
California 10 1962, 1967, 1988, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2024
New York 8 1952, 1954, 1958, 1960,[b] 1963, 1964, 1997, 2020
Florida 6 1974, 1987, 1992, 2008, 2012,[b] 2017
Texas 1969,[b] 1971, 1982, 1983, 1995, 1996
Washington 4 1968, 1973,[b] 2011, 2021
North Carolina 1978, 2001, 2002, 2014
Indiana 3 1973, 1981,[b] 2009[b]
South Carolina 1953, 1956, 1990
Virginia 1969, 1977, 1979
Arizona 2 1972, 2015
Oklahoma 1989, 2013
Kentucky 1951, 2010
Illinois 1970, 2004
Georgia 1994, 2003
Ohio 1975, 1986
West Virginia 1961, 1984
Utah 1957, 1966
Tennessee 1 2023
South Dakota 2019
Maine 2018
North Dakota 2016
Minnesota 2007
Vermont 2006
Alabama 2001[b]
Massachusetts 1993
New Jersey 1991
New Mexico 1985
Louisiana 1981
Hawaii 1980
Michigan 1976
District of Columbia 1965
Missouri 1960
Connecticut 1959
Arkansas 1955
  1. ^ Ages when crowned the national title.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Took over or held the title for a brief period of time after the original winner resigned or before they were dethroned, and thus did not compete at Miss World.

References

  1. ^ "Athenna Crosby crowned Miss World America at beauty pageant organised by Punjab-origin couple in US". The Tribune (India). November 17, 2024.
  2. ^ Elite Models selecting who will represent the U.S. at the Miss World Pageant.
  3. ^ Kohrs was National Director for 2012-2013 and first woman to hold national franchise license
  4. ^ Staff reports (2017-03-16). "Lynne and Elizabeth Safrit to lead preliminary Miss World event". The Independent Tribune. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  5. ^ Crown, Ask The. "Interview with Producer Michael Blakey, Miss World America National Director". Ask the CROWN. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  6. ^ "Miss World America Contestants Speak Out About Being Exploited and Humiliated". Jezebel. 2021-12-15. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  7. ^ "Former Miss World America says she wouldn't 'wish crown on her worst enemy'". The Independent. 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  8. ^ Grindell, Samantha. "A former Miss World America said she wouldn't wish being the titleholder on her worst enemy". Insider. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
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