The Miss Illinois USA pageant is a competition that selects the representative for the state Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 in the Miss USA

Miss USA

The Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA...

 pageant.

Illinois is one of the most successful states in the competition. It is one of only four states to have won four or more Miss USA titles and one of only three states to win two Miss USA titles in consecutive years. All four winners came from the early history of the competition, with their last Miss USA being Karen Morrison

Karen Morrison

Karen Jean Morrison-Comstock is a beauty queen from St. Charles, Illinois who held the Miss USA 1974 title.-Pageants:Comstock entered the Miss Illinois USA pageant at the suggestion of her modeling agency who owned the franchise and her sister who encouraged her to participate. Paula Zahn, an...

, who held the title in 1974. The pageant's most successful years were from 1984 to 1996, when all but two delegates made the cut at Miss USA. That period was followed by many years without a placement, until Jill Gulseth

Jill Gulseth

Jill Gulseth is a beauty queen from Geneva, Illinois who has held the title Miss Illinois USA and competed at Miss USA....

 finished third runner-up in 2005, the state's highest placement since 1995.

In 1986, sisters Tricia and Laura Bach won the title consecutively, the first occasion of this in the history of the Miss Universe organization. Later on in 1994 Kathleen Farrell, sister of Miss Florida USA

Miss Florida USA

The Miss Florida USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Florida in the Miss USA pageant.While Florida has been successful in terms of runners-up, finalists and semi-finalists, the state has never won the Miss USA pageant, although Cheryl Patton became Miss USA...

 1988 won the title, making the state pageant the first to have two sisters compete in Miss USA.

Placements

• Miss USA winners: Myrna Hansen
  Myrna Hansen
  -Education:She graduated from Carl Schurz High School in Chicago, Illinois, in June 1953. Prior to competing in the1953 Miss Universe contest, Hansen planned to study animal husbandryin Colorado...
  
   (1953), Marite Ozers (1963), Amanda Jones
  Amanda Jones (Miss USA)
  Amanda Jones is a former beauty queen from Evanston, Illinois who has held the Miss USA 1973 title.Jones was crowned Miss Illinois USA 1973 and later represented Illinois in the Miss USA 1973 pageant held in New York City. She won the Miss USA title and was crowned by outgoing titleholder Tanya...
  
   (1973), Karen Morrison
  Karen Morrison
  Karen Jean Morrison-Comstock is a beauty queen from St. Charles, Illinois who held the Miss USA 1974 title.-Pageants:Comstock entered the Miss Illinois USA pageant at the suggestion of her modeling agency who owned the franchise and her sister who encouraged her to participate. Paula Zahn, an...
  
   (1974)
• Second runners-up: Laura Bach (1985), Nichole Holmes (1995)
• Third runners-up: June Pickney (1958), Debra Niego (1979), Jill Gulseth (2005)
• Fourth runners-up: Celeste Ravel (1954)
• Top 6: Lisa Morgan (1991)
• Top 10: LaVonne Misselle (1984), Tricia Bach (1986), Joan Berge (1987), Gina Zordani (1988), Kelly Holub (1989), Bernadette Przybycien (1996)
• Top 12: Kathy Schmalen (1976), Carla Myers (1990), Kathleen Farrell (1994)
• Top 15: Dianne Daniggelis (1955), Marianne Gaba
  Marianne Gaba
  Marianne Gaba is an American model, actress and beauty queen. She was Miss Illinois USA 1957 and Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its September 1959 issue.-Filmography:...
  
   (1957), Jean Donnelly (1962), Beverly Lacek (1967), Catherine Warren (2006)

Awards

• Miss Photogenic: Elizabeth Curran (1977), Nichole Holmes (1995)
• Best State Costume: Kelly Holub (1989)

Titleholders

Year	Name	Hometown	Age1	Placement at Miss USA	Special awards at Miss USA	Notes
2011 Miss USA 2011 Miss USA 2011, the 60th anniversary of the Miss USA pageant, was held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, June 19, 2011. Miss USA 2010, Rima Fakih of Michigan crowned her successor, Alyssa Campanella of California, at the end...	Angela Sparrow	Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...	26			Indiana Pacers Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are members of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association...  Pacemate
2010 Miss USA 2010 Miss USA 2010, the 59th edition of the Miss USA pageant, was held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 16, 2010. Miss USA 2009, Kristen Dalton of North Carolina, crowned her successor, Rima Fakih of Michigan as Miss USA 2010 at the...	Ashley Bradarich	Homer Glen Homer Glen, Illinois Homer Glen is a village, located southwest of Chicago, in Homer Township, Will County, Illinois. As of a 2004 special census, the village had a total population of 24,083...	23
2009 Miss USA 2009 Miss USA 2009, the 58th Miss USA pageant was held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19, 2009...	Ashley Bond	Oswego Oswego, Illinois Oswego is a village in Kendall County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 30,355. Its population has more than doubled since the 2000 census count of 13,326...	24			Chicago Bulls Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...  Luvabull'
2008 Miss USA 2008 Miss USA 2008, the 57th Miss USA beauty pageant, was held in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 11, 2008. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Crystle Stewart, Miss Texas USA, was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder, Rachel Smith of Tennessee...	Shanon Lersch	Chicago	25			Chicago Bulls Luvabull
2007 Miss USA 2007 Miss USA 2007, the 56th Miss USA pageant, was held in Hollywood, California, on March 23, 2007, after two weeks of events and preliminary competition. The winner of the pageant was Rachel Smith, of Tennessee....	Mia Heaston Mia Heaston Mia Ann Heaston is a beauty queen from Covington, Tennessee who competed in the Miss USA pageant in 2007.Heaston, was a resident of Chicago, Illinois when she won the Miss Illinois USA 2007 title in a state pageant held in Chicago on Sunday, November 19, 2006...	Chicago	25
2006 Miss USA 2006 Miss USA 2006, the 55th Miss USA pageant, was held at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on April 21, 2006. Fifty-one state titleholders competed for the title, which was won by Tara Conner of Kentucky...	Catherine Warren Catherine Warren Catherine Ann Warren is a beauty queen from Lake Forest, Illinois who has competed in the Miss USA pageant and the Miss International pageant.Warren won the Miss Illinois USA 2006 title in a state pageant held in late 2005...	Lake Forest Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is an affluent city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The city is south of Waukegan along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded around Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in...	23	Top 15		Contestant on The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman is the tenth season of ABC reality television series The Bachelor. The show was filmed in Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Pennsylvania. The premiere of this season of The Bachelor aired on April 2, 2007...
2005 Miss USA 2005 Miss USA 2005, the 54th Miss USA pageant, was held in Baltimore, Maryland in April 11, 2005. It was won by Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina.Fifty-one state titleholders competed for the title of Miss USA in the Hippodrome Theatre on April 11, 2005...	Jill Gulseth Jill Gulseth Jill Gulseth is a beauty queen from Geneva, Illinois who has held the title Miss Illinois USA and competed at Miss USA....	Geneva Geneva, Illinois Geneva is the county seat of Kane County, Illinois. It is located on the western fringe of the Chicago suburbs. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 26,652. Geneva is part of a tri-city area, along with St. Charles and Batavia...	21	3rd Runner-up
2004 Miss USA 2004 The Miss USA 2004 pageant was held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on April 12, 2004. The winner of the beauty pageant was Shandi Finnessey, who became the first winner from the state of Missouri...	Molly Graham	Montgomery Montgomery, Illinois Montgomery is a village in Kane and Kendall County, Illinois. The population was 5,471 at the 2000 census, and was 14,407 in a 2006 special census...	24
2003 Miss USA 2003 The Miss USA 2003 pageant was held in San Antonio, Texas March 24, 2003, the first time it had been held in this state since 1996 when the pageant was held in South Padre Island...	Agnieszka Zakreta	Rolling Meadows Rolling Meadows, Illinois Rolling Meadows is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 24,607 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Rolling Meadows is located at ....	24			Miss Tourism International 1999 as Miss Poland
2002 Miss USA 2002 The Miss USA 2002 pageant was held in Gary, Indiana on March 2, 2002. The event was won by Shauntay Hinton of the District of Columbia, who was crowned by outgoing queen Kandace Krueger of Texas....	Amanda Reynolds	Marion Marion, Illinois The city of Marion is the county seat of Williamson County, Illinois. The 2010 census counted 17,193 residents, making Marion the 25th most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in Illinois, and the second most populous city in Southern Illinois, outside of the Metro-East, behind...	23			Contestant at National Sweetheart National Sweetheart Miss National Sweetheart is a United States beauty pageant created in 1952 where runners-up from the Miss America state pageants are invited to Hoopeston, Illinois to compete for the title of Miss National Sweetheart....  2001
2001 Miss USA 2001 Miss USA 2001, the 50th edition of the Miss USA pageant was held at the Genesis Convention Center, Gary, Indiana on March 2, 2001. The event was won by Kandace Krueger of Texas, who was crowned by outgoing queen Lynnette Cole of Tennessee....	Rebecca Ambrosi	Chicago	24
2000 Miss USA 2000 Miss USA 2000, the forty-ninth Miss USA pageant, was held in Branson, Missouri at The Grand Palace on February 4, 2000.At the conclusion of the final competition, Lynnette Cole of Tennessee was crowned by outgoing titleholder Kimberly Pressler of New York....	Constance Stoetzer	Abingdon Abingdon, Illinois Abingdon is a city in Knox County, Illinois, 50 miles west of Peoria. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city was first settled in 1828 and was incorporated in 1857. In 1894, the patent for the common spring-loaded mousetrap was given to William Hooker of Abingdon,...	26
1999 Miss USA 1999 Miss USA 1999, the forty-eighth Miss USA pageant, was held at the Grande Palace Theatre in Branson, Missouri on February 4, 1999.At the conclusion of the final competition, Kimberly Pressler of New York, was crowned by outgoing titleholder Shawnae Jebbia of Massachusetts...	Christina Lam		19			Later Mrs. Tennessee America 2007 and 1st runner-up to Mrs. America Mrs. America Mrs. America Pageant honors married women throughout the United States of America. Each of the 51 contestants , ranging in age from the 20s to 50s, earns the right to participate in the national event by winning her state competition. These state events are under the direction of Mrs. America state...  2007 under her married name, Christina Ryan.
1998 Miss USA 1998 Miss USA 1998, the 47th Miss USA pageant, was held in Shreveport, Louisiana in March, 1998. The preliminary competition was held on 6 March 1998 and the final competition on 10 March 1998...	Mandy Lane		21
1997 Miss USA 1997 Miss USA 1997, the forty-sixth Miss USA pageant, was held at Shreveport, Louisiana in January and February, 1997. Delegates arrived in the city on January 19, the preliminary competition was held on February 2, 1997 and the final competition on February 5, 1997...	Jennifer Celenas	Chicago	21
1996 Miss USA 1996 Miss USA 1996, the forty-fifth Miss USA pageant, was held at South Padre Island, Texas culminating in the final competition and crowning on February 2, 1996....	Bernadette Przybycien		24	Semi-finalist, Finished in 10th Place
1995 Miss USA 1995 Miss USA 1995, the forty-fourth Miss USA pageant, was held at South Padre Island, Texas culminating in the final competition and crowning on February 10, 1995....	Nicole Holmes	Marion Marion, Illinois The city of Marion is the county seat of Williamson County, Illinois. The 2010 census counted 17,193 residents, making Marion the 25th most populated city outside of the Chicago Metropolitan Area, in Illinois, and the second most populous city in Southern Illinois, outside of the Metro-East, behind...	21	2nd runner-up	Miss Photogenic
1994 Miss USA 1994 Miss USA 1994, the 43rd Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the South Padre Island Convention Centre on South Padre Island, Texas on 11 February 1994...	Kathleen Farrell	Chicago	23	Top 10 Semi-finalist, Finished in 7th Place		Miss Illinois 1992 (Non-finalist Talent award at Miss America 1993), Sister of Miss Florida USA Miss Florida USA The Miss Florida USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Florida in the Miss USA pageant.While Florida has been successful in terms of runners-up, finalists and semi-finalists, the state has never won the Miss USA pageant, although Cheryl Patton became Miss USA...  1988 who was 3rd runner up at Miss USA 1988 Miss USA 1988 Miss USA 1988, the 37th Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the El Paso Civic Center in El Paso, Texas on March 1, 1988. At the conclusion of the final competition, Courtney Gibbs of Texas was crowned Miss USA, becoming the fourth consecutive winner from Texas.The pageant was hosted by Alan...
1993 Miss USA 1993 Miss USA 1993, the 42nd Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on 19 February 1993.At the conclusion of the final competition, Kenya Moore of Michigan was crowned by outgoing titleholder Shannon Marketic of California...	Susie Park	Chicago	21
1992 Miss USA 1992 Miss USA 1992, the 41st Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on 7 February 1992.At the conclusion of the final competition, Shannon Marketic of California was crowned by outgoing titleholder Kelli McCarty of Kansas...	Leilani Magnussen		21
1991 Miss USA 1991 Miss USA 1991, the 40th Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on 22 February 1991.At the conclusion of the final competition, Kelli McCarty of Kansas was crowned by outgoing titleholder Carole Gist of Michigan...	Lisa Morgan		20	Top 6 Finalist, Finished in 4th Place
1990 Miss USA 1990 Miss USA 1990, the 39th Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Century II Convention Center in Wichita, Kansas on March 2, 1990.At the conclusion of the final competition, Carole Gist of Michigan was crowned by outgoing titleholder Gretchen Polhemus of Texas...	Carla Myers		24	Top 12 Semi-finalist, Finishing in 10th Place
1989	Kelly Holub	Buffalo Grove Buffalo Grove, Illinois Buffalo Grove is an affluent village located in the northern suburbs of Chicago, and in Cook and Lake counties in Illinois, United States. The town was named for Buffalo Creek, which was itself named for bison bones found in the area....	21	Semi-finalist	Best State Costume award
1988	Gina Zordani	Palos Heights Palos Heights, Illinois Palos Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 11,260 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 12,561 in 2005.-Geography:Palos Heights is located at ....	23	Semi-finalist
1987	Joan Berge	Arlington Heights Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a village in Cook and Lake counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it lies about 25 miles northwest of the city's downtown. The population was 75,101 at the 2010 census....	21	Semi-finalist
1986	Tricia Bach	Elmhurst Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage and Cook Counties, Illinois. The population is 46,013 as of the 2008 US Census population estimate.-History:...	22	Semi-finalist		Miss Teen All American 1983, sister of Miss Illinois USA 1985
1985	Laura Bach	Elmhurst	23	2nd Runner-up		1st runner up at Miss Oktoberfest 1986, sister of Miss Illinois USA 1986
1984	LaVonne Misselle	Chicago	19	Semi-finalist
1983	Vanessa Romine	Rockford Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
1982	Carla Danielson	Chicago
1981	Leslie Renfrow	Chicago				4th runner up at Miss Oktoberfest 1980
1980	Karen Groat	Princeton	18
1979	Debra Ann Niego	Oak Lawn Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 55,245 at the 2000 census.Oak Lawn is a suburb of the city of Chicago, located southwest of the city...		3rd Runner-up		Miss Oktoberfest 1979
1978	Suzanne Piche	Lombard Lombard, Illinois Lombard, "The Lilac Village", is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County, Illinois. The population was 42,322 at the 2000 census. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population in 2004 to be 42,975.-History:...
1977	Elizabeth Curran	Park Ridge Park Ridge, Illinois -Climate:-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 37,775 people, 14,219 households, and 10,465 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,374.6 people per square mile . There were 14,646 housing units at an average density of 2,083.8 per square mile...			Miss Photogenic
1976	Kathy Schmalen	Oak Lawn Oak Lawn, Illinois Oak Lawn is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 55,245 at the 2000 census.Oak Lawn is a suburb of the city of Chicago, located southwest of the city...		Semi-finalist
1975	Connie Reif	Wheeling Wheeling, Illinois Wheeling is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. The population was 34,496 at the 2000 census, and 38,555 at the 2006 special village census.-Geography:Wheeling is located at ....
1974	Karen Morrison Karen Morrison Karen Jean Morrison-Comstock is a beauty queen from St. Charles, Illinois who held the Miss USA 1974 title.-Pageants:Comstock entered the Miss Illinois USA pageant at the suggestion of her modeling agency who owned the franchise and her sister who encouraged her to participate. Paula Zahn, an...	St. Charles St. Charles, Illinois St. Charles is a Chicago suburb in Kane and DuPage counties of Illinois, United States, and is roughly west of Chicago on Illinois Route 64. According to a 2004 census estimate, the city has a total population of 32,134. The official city slogan is Pride of the Fox, after the Fox River that runs...		Winner		semifinalist at Miss Universe 1974
1973	Amanda Jones Amanda Jones (Miss USA) Amanda Jones is a former beauty queen from Evanston, Illinois who has held the Miss USA 1973 title.Jones was crowned Miss Illinois USA 1973 and later represented Illinois in the Miss USA 1973 pageant held in New York City. She won the Miss USA title and was crowned by outgoing titleholder Tanya...	Evanston Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...		Winner		1st runner up at Miss Universe 1973
1972	Jani Hall
1971	Paulette Breen
1970	Carol Pepoon
1969	Christine Jalloway
1968	Sandra Wolsfeld					Miss World United States 1970, semifinalist in Miss World 1970 Miss World 1970 Miss World 1970, the 20th annual Miss World contest, was held on November 20, 1970 at Royal Albert Hall, London, United Kingdom. 58 contestants competed for the Miss World. Jennifer Hosten from Grenada won the crown of Miss World 1970...
1967	Beverly Lacek			Semi-finalist
1966	Cheryl Setser	Woodstock	18
1965	Diane Gortz
1964	Karen Wiesbrook
1963	Marite Ozers	Kirkland Kirkland, Illinois Kirkland is a village in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,744 at the 2010 census, up from 1,166 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Kirkland is located at ....		Winner		semifinalist at Miss Universe 1963, represented Chicago, IL in Miss World USA 1962, did not place.
1962	Jean Donnelly Jean Donnelly -Life:Jean Donnelly studied poetry at the creative writing program at George Mason University, where she co-founded the journal So To Speak: A Feminist Journal of Language & Art....			Semi-finalist
1961	Dianne Duffey
1960	Pat Thompson
1959	Arlene Kaye
1958	June Pickney			3rd Runner-up
1957	Marianne Gaba Marianne Gaba Marianne Gaba is an American model, actress and beauty queen. She was Miss Illinois USA 1957 and Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its September 1959 issue.-Filmography:...	Chicago		Semi-finalist		Playboy Playboy Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...  playmate September 1959
1956	Mickey Blair
1955	Dianne Daniggelis			Semi-finalist		Winner of the 1955 National Press Photographers Pageant
1954	Celeste Ravel			4th Runner-up
1953	Myrna Hansen Myrna Hansen -Education:She graduated from Carl Schurz High School in Chicago, Illinois, in June 1953. Prior to competing in the1953 Miss Universe contest, Hansen planned to study animal husbandryin Colorado...	Chicago		Winner		1st runner up at Miss Universe 1953; previously was a finalist in the National Press Photographers pageant in 1953
1952	Sherri Matulis

¹ Age at the time of the Miss USA pageant

External links

• Miss Illinois USA website