The Miss Mississippi USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

 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.

Mississippi has not been very successful in Miss USA pageants, with only 10 placements as of 2010. They have never had a Miss USA, and their highest placement was Leah Laviano's 1st-runner up placement in 2008.

Four titleholders have competed at Miss Teen USA

Miss Teen USA

Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant run by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. The reigning titleholder is Danielle Doty of Texas....

, and as of 2007, four have competed at Miss America

Miss America

The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...

.

The pageant is directed by Miss Tennessee USA 1989: Kim Greenwood

Kim Greenwood

Kimberly "Kim" Greenwood is the executive director of the Miss Georgia USA, Miss Georgia Teen USA, Miss Mississippi USA, Miss Mississippi Teen USA, Miss Tennessee USA, and Miss Tennessee Teen USA pageants. She also held the title of Miss Tennessee USA 1989.-Miss USA 1989:She competed in the Miss...

.

Placements

• 1st runners-up: Leah Laviano
  Leah Laviano
  Leah Laviano is a beauty queen from Ellisville, Mississippi who competed in the Miss USA pageant in 2008.-Miss Mississippi USA:Laviano competed in her first Miss Universe Organization state pageant in 2005, finishing first runner-up to Raegan Raulston at Miss Mississippi Teen USA 2006...
  
   (2008)
• 3rd runners-up: Cindy Williams (1986)
• 4th runners-up: Laurie Kimbrough (1979), Dana Richmond (1988)
• Top 10: Jennifer Adcock
  Jennifer Adcock
  Jennifer Leigh Adcock is a beauty queen from Hattiesburg, Mississippi who has competed at Miss America and Miss USA.Adcock won her first pageant in 1998 when she became Mississippi’s Junior Miss and competed in the nationally televised America's Junior Miss Pageant, where she won the Overall...
  
   (2005), Breanne Ponder (2010)
• Top 11/12: Katharine Manning (1987), Stephanie Teneyck (1990)
• Top 15: Marlene Britsch (1961), Patricia Ann Turk (1964)

Awards

• Miss Photogenic: Stephanie Teneyck (1990)

Winners

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...	Keeley Patterson	Starkville Starkville, Mississippi -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 21,869 people, 9,462 households, and 4,721 families residing in the city. The population density was 851.4 people per square mile . There were 10,191 housing units at an average density of 396.7 per square mile...	20
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...	Breanne Ponder	Mount Olive Mount Olive, Mississippi Mount Olive is a town in Covington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 893 at the 2000 census. It was the hometown of former NFL quarterback Steve McNair.-Geography:Mount Olive is located at...	20	Top 10, finishing in 8th place
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...	Jessica Lauren McRaney	Terry Terry, Mississippi Terry is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 664 at the 2000 census. It is located near Interstate 55, about 15 miles southwest of Jackson, Mississippi and located in Supervisors District Five of Hinds County...	23			Previously Miss Mississippi Teen USA Miss Mississippi Teen USA The Miss Mississippi Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Mississippi in the Miss Teen USA pageant....  2004
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...	Leah Laviano Leah Laviano Leah Laviano is a beauty queen from Ellisville, Mississippi who competed in the Miss USA pageant in 2008.-Miss Mississippi USA:Laviano competed in her first Miss Universe Organization state pageant in 2005, finishing first runner-up to Raegan Raulston at Miss Mississippi Teen USA 2006...	Ellisville Ellisville, Mississippi Ellisville is a city in Jones County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,465 at the time of the 2000 census.-History:The city is named for Powhatan Ellis, a former U.S. Senator for Mississippi and descendant of Chief Powhatan, father of Pocahontas...	19	1st runner-up
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....	Jalin Wood Jalin Wood Jalin Wood is a beauty queen from Waynesboro, Mississippi, who has competed in the Miss America pageant and competed in the Miss USA pageant in 2007....	Waynesboro Waynesboro, Mississippi Waynesboro is a city in Wayne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,197 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wayne County.-Geography:Waynesboro is located at , just east of the Chickasawhay River....	25			Previously Miss Mississippi Miss Mississippi :For the state pageant affiliated with Miss USA, see Miss Mississippi USAMiss Mississippi is a scholarship pageant and a preliminary of Miss America. The contest began in 1934, has been held in Vicksburg since 1958, and provides more money than any other scholarship pageant in the Miss America...  2004
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...	Kendra King Kendra King Kendra King is a beauty queen from Monticello, Mississippi who has competed in the Miss USA pageant.She won the Miss Mississippi USA 2006 title in late 2005. This was the first time she had competed for the title, and she was crowned by outgoing titleholder Jennifer Adcock...	Monticello Monticello, Mississippi Monticello is a town in Lawrence County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,726 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lawrence County.-Geography:Monticello is located at ....	20
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...	Jennifer Adcock Jennifer Adcock Jennifer Leigh Adcock is a beauty queen from Hattiesburg, Mississippi who has competed at Miss America and Miss USA.Adcock won her first pageant in 1998 when she became Mississippi’s Junior Miss and competed in the nationally televised America's Junior Miss Pageant, where she won the Overall...	Hattiesburg Hattiesburg, Mississippi Hattiesburg is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 44,779 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Forrest County...	24	Finalist		Previously Miss Mississippi Miss Mississippi :For the state pageant affiliated with Miss USA, see Miss Mississippi USAMiss Mississippi is a scholarship pageant and a preliminary of Miss America. The contest began in 1934, has been held in Vicksburg since 1958, and provides more money than any other scholarship pageant in the Miss America...  2002, semifinalist at Miss America 2003, Mississippi's Junior Miss 1998
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...	Beth Richards	Laurel Laurel, Mississippi Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...	25
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...	Allison Bloodworth	Grenada Grenada, Mississippi Grenada is a city in Grenada County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,879 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Grenada County.-History:...	21			Previously Miss Mississippi Teen USA Miss Mississippi Teen USA The Miss Mississippi Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Mississippi in the Miss Teen USA pageant....  1999
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....	Heather Soriano	Philadelphia Philadelphia, Mississippi Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,303 at the 2000 census.- History :...	24			Previously Miss Mississippi Miss Mississippi :For the state pageant affiliated with Miss USA, see Miss Mississippi USAMiss Mississippi is a scholarship pageant and a preliminary of Miss America. The contest began in 1934, has been held in Vicksburg since 1958, and provides more money than any other scholarship pageant in the Miss America...  1999
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....	Melanie Vaughn	Olive Branch Olive Branch, Mississippi Olive Branch is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 21,054 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 31,830, making it the ninth-largest city in the state of Mississippi...
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....	Angie Carpenter	Greenwood Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...				Previously Miss Mississippi Teen USA Miss Mississippi Teen USA The Miss Mississippi Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Mississippi in the Miss Teen USA pageant....  1994, semifinalist at Miss Teen USA 1994 Miss Teen USA 1994 Miss Teen USA 1994, the 12th Miss Teen USA pageant, was televised live from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi on 16 August 1994...
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...	Kari Babski	Gloster Gloster, Mississippi Gloster is a town in Amite County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,073 at the 2000 census. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area.T. T...
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...	Angel Whatley	Jackson Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
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...	Arlene McDonald	Tupelo Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo is the largest city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. It is the seventh largest city in the state of Mississippi, smaller than Meridian, and larger than Greenville. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city's population was 34,211...				Previously Miss Mississippi Teen USA Miss Mississippi Teen USA The Miss Mississippi Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Mississippi in the Miss Teen USA pageant....  1992, semifinalist at Miss Teen USA 1992 Miss Teen USA 1992 Miss Teen USA 1992, the tenth Miss Teen USA pageant, was televised live from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum in Biloxi, Mississippi on 25 August 1992....
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....	Caroline Ramagos	Soso Soso, Mississippi Soso is a town in Jones County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 379 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Soso is located at ....
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....	Jill Tullos					Married Senator Chris McDaniel Chris McDaniel Christopher McDaniel , is an attorney, conservative commentator and a Republican politician in the Mississippi Senate who has represented the 42nd District, which encompasses part of South Mississippi, since 2008...
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...	Leslie Jetton					Gave up her title in March to become a national spokesperson for Caribe Corporations in New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population... .
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...	Sherry Bowles	Lambert Lambert, Mississippi Lambert is a town in Quitman County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,967 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Lambert is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land....
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...	Tammy Johnson
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...	Mitzi Swanson
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...	Stephanie Teneyck		20	Semi-finalist, finishing in 11th place	Miss Photogenic	2nd Runner up at Miss All Nations 1990
1989	Laura Durrett	Olive Branch
1988	Dana Richmond	Madison Madison, Mississippi Madison is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, USA. The population was 14,691 at the 2000 census. The population is currently 16,930. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is currently the highest income city in the state...	20	4th runner-up		1st Runner up at Miss International Miss International Miss International is an annual international beauty pageant held since 1960.The current Miss International is Fernanda Cornejo, from Ecuador...  1988
1987	Katharine Manning	Drew Drew, Mississippi Drew is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,434 at the 2000 census. Drew, a rural community, is in the vicinity of several plantations and the Mississippi State Penitentiary, a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison for men.-Geography:Drew is located at...	24	Semi-finalist, finishing in 7th place		Previously Miss Mississippi Miss Mississippi :For the state pageant affiliated with Miss USA, see Miss Mississippi USAMiss Mississippi is a scholarship pageant and a preliminary of Miss America. The contest began in 1934, has been held in Vicksburg since 1958, and provides more money than any other scholarship pageant in the Miss America...  1984, 2nd runner up at Miss America 1985
1986	Cindy Williams	Hattiesburg	22	3rd runner-up		Semifinalist at Miss International Miss International Miss International is an annual international beauty pageant held since 1960.The current Miss International is Fernanda Cornejo, from Ecuador...  1986
1985	Camille Gilliland	Meridian Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
1984	Carla Green	Biloxi Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
1983	Becky Case	Jackson
1982	Nancy Perkins	Marks Marks, Mississippi Marks is a city in Quitman County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 1,551. It is the county seat of Quitman County...
1981	Angela Ashmore
1980	Cheri Brown	Meridian				Previously Miss Mississippi Miss Mississippi :For the state pageant affiliated with Miss USA, see Miss Mississippi USAMiss Mississippi is a scholarship pageant and a preliminary of Miss America. The contest began in 1934, has been held in Vicksburg since 1958, and provides more money than any other scholarship pageant in the Miss America...  1978, preliminary swimsuit winner at Miss America 1979
1979	Laurie Kimbrough	Oxford Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....		4th runner-up
1978	Wanda Gatlin
1977	Leigh Tapley	Jackson
1976	Teresa Camp
1975	Leigh Cross
1974	Denise Clark
1973	Karen Clements
1972	Deborah Pawlik
1971	Janey Gillis
1970	Susan Ladner	Pass Christian
1969	Rose Ray
1968	Brenda Conerly
1967	Lassie Cooke
1966	Unknown
1965	Unknown
1964	Patricia Ann Turk			Semi-finalist
1963	Joan Kenebrilde	Hattiesburg				competed in the 1964 Miss Dixie Pageant
1962	Sandra Mazur	Jackson				competed in the 1963 Miss Dixie Pageant
1961	Marlene Britsch			Semi-finalist
1954–1960	Did Not Compete
1953	Jessie Morgan					Semi-finalist at Miss America 1951
1952	Carolyn Thomas

¹ Age at the time of the Miss USA pageant

External links

• Official Website