Miss Missouri USA

For the state pageant affiliated with Miss America, see Miss Missouri.

Miss Missouri USA
Formation1952
TypeBeauty pageant
HeadquartersShawnee, Kansas, U.S.
Location
MembershipMiss USA
Official language
English
Key people
John M. Vannatta
Jason Vannatta
Jennifer Vannatta-Fisher, State Pageant Director
WebsiteOfficial website

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.

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.

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
  • Top 15 semi-finalist at Miss Missouri USA 2004
  • Assumed the state title after 1st runner-up Danielle Crafton (when she already crowned a title unrelated to Miss USA system) declined the title when Shandi Finnessey won Miss USA title
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
  • Later Mrs. Arizona America 2004 under her married name, Britt Boyse;[1] Current director of Arizona pageants in Miss and Teen divisions.
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
  1. ^ Age at the time of crowning

References

  1. ^ "2004 Mrs America". Archived from the original on June 24, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ "U.S. Beauty List". Independent. 22 June 1952. Retrieved 20 June 2023.