After graduating from Pelham High School in 1998,[4] Downs attended the University of Virginia on a volleyball scholarship.[5] While at the University of Virginia, she was an Echols Scholar[4] and a member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society.[6] After her freshman year of college at the University of Virginia, Downs chose to focus on her studies and aspiration to go to medical school and ultimately transferred to Samford University.[5][7] Her transfer resulted in her losing her scholarship, so she began competing in local pageants to earn scholarship money.[8] She graduated magna cum laude in 2002 from Samford University with a degree in history and a double-minor in biology and chemistry.[5][9] She was also a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship in 2002.[4]
Miss America 2005 Deidre Downs (left) and congressman Chet Edwards (right) in his Washington office to discuss childhood cancer
Downs competed in her high school's pageants and won her senior year.[5]
After her first year of college at the University of Virginia, Downs chose to focus on her studies and aspiration to go to medical school and ultimately transferred to Samford University.[5][8] This transfer resulted in her losing a volleyball scholarship, so she began competing in local pageants to earn scholarship money.[8]
She first entered the Miss Alabama pageant scene in 2000 and was named third runner-up at the 2001 and 2002 pageants[11] and first runner-up at Miss Alabama 2003 pageant.[1]
Miss Alabama 2004
She was named Miss Leeds Area 2004, making her eligible to compete at the 2005 Miss Alabama pageant.
Downs won the competition in June 2004,[1] when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Alabama titleholder, Catherine Crosby.[12] This was her 5th time competing in the Miss Alabama pageant.[5][8]
In the preliminary competition, Downs was announced as the sole winner of the Quality of Life Award.[14] For the talent portion of the competition, she sang Linda Eder's "I'm Afraid This Must be Love."[15]
After competing in casual wear, swimsuit, evening gown, and participating in a "pop quiz", only two state titleholders remained, Downs and Miss Louisiana 2004, Jennifer Dupont.[16] She then beat out Dupont after a head-to-head talent competition[16] for the 2005 title and was crowned by Miss America 2004, Ericka Dunlap, on September 18, 2004.[13][17][18][19] Along with the title of Miss America, Downs also won a $50,000 scholarship. Downs was the third Miss Alabama titleholder to win the Miss America title.[15]
Downs later stated that she received nearly $110,000 in scholarship money[4][5] during the five years she competed in the Miss Alabama and Miss America organizations. Downs is the only titleholder to reign for part of three calendar years.[citation needed] The pageant, traditionally held in September, was delayed four months to allow the Miss America Organization to secure a TV deal. Her successor, Jennifer Berry of Oklahoma, was crowned Miss America 2006 on January 21, 2006.
After Downs married her college sweetheart, Andrew Gunn, in March 2008, she changed her name to Deidre Downs Gunn.[20][21] They had a son in 2010.[4][20] The couple later divorced.
Downs remarried in 2018 in a private ceremony at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham, Alabama.[15][22] Her wife, Abbott Jones, is an attorney and writer.[22][23] Downs is the first former Miss America national titleholder to enter a same-sex marriage.[24]
^Allen, Bob (September 21, 2004). "Miss America Member of CBF Church". Ethics Daily. ...Downs, who before this year finished as first runner up for Miss Alabama in 2003 and third runner up in 2001 and 2002.
^"Birmingham's Deidre Downs crowned Miss Alabama 2004". Associated Press. 2004-06-13.
