The Miss Tennessee USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Tennessee in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant is directed by Greenwood Productions under the ownership of Miss Tennessee USA 1989, Kimberly Payne Greenwood, since 1992.[1] Since 1999, the pageant has been held at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee.[a][2][3]
| Formation | 1952 |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters | Collierville |
| Location | |
Membership | Miss USA |
Official language | English |
Key people | Kim Greenwood, State Pageant Director |
| Website | Official website |
Lynnette Cole, Miss Tennessee USA 2000, and Rachel Smith, Miss Tennessee USA 2007, are the only titleholders to win the Miss USA title and both previously won the Miss Tennessee Teen USA title. Six Miss Tennessee USA titleholders have formerly competed at Miss Tennessee Teen USA, and six have competed at Miss America. One of these is Allison Alderson, a "triple crown" winner who has held the Miss Tennessee Teen USA, Miss Tennessee, and Miss Tennessee USA titles, competing at all three major pageants.
Christell Foote was crowned Miss Tennessee USA 2024 on March 9, 2024 at the Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. She will represent Tennessee for the title of Miss USA 2024.
Gallery of titleholders
-
Sandra Force, Miss Tennessee USA 1968 -
Karen Compton, Miss Tennessee USA 1986 -
Allison Alderson, Miss Tennessee USA 2002 (pictured in 2008) -
Stephanie Culberson, Miss Tennessee USA 2004 -
Rachel Smith, Miss Tennessee USA 2007 and Miss USA 2007 -
Allee-Sutton Hethcoat, Miss Tennessee USA 2017
Results summary
- Miss USAs: Lynnette Cole (2000), Rachel Smith (2007)
- 1st runners-up: Morgan Tandy High (1999), Ashley Durham (2011)
- 2nd runners-up: Gail White (1962), Desiree Daniels (1984), Becca Lee (1996), Towanna Stone (1997)
- 3rd runners-up: Jean Harper (1952), Donna Marie Ford (1970)
- 4th runners-up: Beth Hood (2003), Stephanie Culberson (2004)
- Top 10/12: Sharon Kay Steakley (1981), Sherly Deanice "Nise" Levy (1982), Stephanie Jane Potts (1988), Charita Moses (1990), Camila "Cammy" Gregory (1993), Leah Hulan (1994), Lisa Tollett (2001), Hailey Laine Brown (2008), Kristen Motil (2009), Tucker Perry (2010), Allee-Sutton Hethcoat (2017), Alexandra Harper (2018), Emily Suttle (2022)
- Top 15/16/20: Stella Wilson (1956), Martha Boales (1958), Bobbie Lynn Morrow (1963), Mary Margaret Smith (1966), Nancy Brackhahn (1967), Sandra Force (1968), Lauren Grissom (2006), Jessica Hibler (2012), Kristy Landers Niedenfuer (2014), Elizabeth Pistole (2021)
Tennessee holds a record of 35 placements at Miss USA.
Awards
- Miss Photogenic: Suzanna Timberlake (1978)
- Best State Costume: Pat Kerr (1964), Elizabeth Pistole (2021)
- Miss Congeniality: Bonnie Perkins (1965), Martha Browning (1985)
- Style Award: Becca Lee (1996)
- Best in Swimsuit: Lynnette Cole (2000)
Winners
- Color key
- Declared as Winner
- Ended as runner-up
- Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
| Year | Name | Hometown | Age[b] | Local title | Placement at Miss USA | Special awards at Miss USA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Christell Foote | Rocky Top | 23 | Miss Rocky Top | TBA | TBA | |
| 2023 | Regan Ringler | Nashville | 25 | Miss Downtown Nashville | |||
| 2022 | Emily Suttle | Franklin | 25 | Miss Franklin | Top 12 |
| |
| 2021 | Elizabeth Graham Pistole | Franklin | 20 | Miss Historic Franklin | Top 16 | Best State Costume |
|
| 2020 | Justice Enlow | Nashville | 26 | Miss Belle Meade | Longest reigning Miss Tennessee USA at 1 year, 5 months and 1 day | ||
| 2019 | Savana Hodge | Nashville | 25 | Miss Davidson County | |||
| 2018 | Alexandra Harper[4] | Brentwood | 25 | Miss Williamson County | Top 10 | Daughter of Sharon Kay Steakley, Miss Tennessee USA 1981 | |
| 2017 | Allee-Sutton Hethcoat | Franklin | 25 | Miss Williamson County | Top 10 | ||
| 2016 | Hope Stephens | Livingston | 20 | Miss Upper Cumberland | Previously 1st runner-up at Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2014 | ||
| 2015 | Kiara Young[5] | Nashville | 23 | Miss Greater Nashville | |||
| 2014 | Kristy Landers Niedenfuer[6] | Nashville | 22 | Miss Nashville | Top 20 |
| |
| 2013 | Brenna Mader | Nashville | 25 | Miss Davidson County |
| ||
| 2012 | Jessica Hibler[8] | Brentwood | 22 | Miss Middle Tennessee State University | Top 16 | ||
| 2011 | Ashley Durham | Adamsville | 20 | Miss East Memphis | 1st runner-up | Previously Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2006 | |
| 2010 | Tucker Perry | Franklin | 20 | Miss Tennessee Valley | Top 10 | Daughter of Kathi Tucker, Miss Washington USA 1983 | |
| 2009 | Kristen Motil[9] | Franklin | 24 | Miss Williamson County | Top 10 | ||
| 2008 | Hailey Laine Brown | Franklin | 25 | Miss South Fulton | Top 10 | Previously 4th runner-up at Miss Tennessee 2003 | |
| 2007 | Rachel Smith[10] | Clarksville | 21 | Miss Clarksville | Miss USA 2007 |
| |
| 2006 | Lauren Grissom | Shelbyville | 21 | Miss Shelbyville | Top 15 |
| |
| 2005 | Amy Colley | Jonesborough | 21 | Later 2nd runner-up at Miss Tennessee 2008 | |||
| 2004 | Stephanie Culberson | Knoxville | 24 | 4th runner-up | Previously Miss Tennessee 2001, 2nd runner-up at Miss America 2002 | ||
| 2003 | Beth Hood | Cleveland | 24 | 4th runner-up | Previously Miss Tennessee 2000 | ||
| 2002 | Allison Alderson[2] | Nashville | 25 | Triple crown winner
Sister of Miss District of Columbia USA 1999, Amy Alderson | |||
| 2001 | Lisa Tollett | Crossville | 24 | Top 10 | Previously engaged with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Elliott Sadler | ||
| 2000 | Lynnette Cole | Columbia | 21 | Miss USA 2000 | Best in Swimsuit |
| |
| 1999 | Morgan Tandy High | Nashville | 25 | 1st runner-up | |||
| 1998 | Amy Neely | Lafayette | Honorable Mention | ||||
| 1997 | Towanna Stone | Morristown | 24 | 2nd runner-up | First Black woman to win Miss Tennessee USA | ||
| 1996 | Becca Lee | Memphis | 24 | 2nd runner-up | Finesse Style Award | ||
| 1995 | Lee Ann Huey | Obion | |||||
| 1994 | Leah Hulan | Murfreesboro | 25 | Top 12 | Previously Miss Tennessee 1992 | ||
| 1993 | Camila "Cammy" Gregory | Paris | 25 | Top 12 | The Kentucky native died on January 3, 2003, of a sudden brain aneurysm in Jackson, Tennessee | ||
| 1992 | Natalie Bray | ||||||
| 1991 | Angela Johnson | ||||||
| 1990 | Charita Moses | Memphis | 23 | Top 12 | |||
| 1989 | Kimberly Payne | Nashville | 21 |
| |||
| 1988 | Stephanie Jane Potts | Memphis | 23 | Semi-finalist | |||
| 1987 | Molly Brown | Loretto |
| ||||
| 1986 | Karen Compton | Lawrenceburg | |||||
| 1985 | Martha Browning | Chattanooga | 24 | Miss Congeniality | First deaf Miss USA contestant.[12] | ||
| 1984 | Desiree Daniels | Chattanooga | 24 | 2nd runner-up |
| ||
| 1983 | Ladonna Friday | Jonesborough | |||||
| 1982 | Sherly Deanice "Nise" Levy | Nashville | 21 | Semi-finalist |
| ||
| 1981 | Sharon Kay Steakley | Nashville | 24 | Semi-finalist | Mother of Alexandra Harper, Miss Tennessee USA 2018 | ||
| 1980 | Diane Hunt | Etowah | |||||
| 1979 | Sandy Nuismer | Nashville | |||||
| 1978 | Suzanna Timberlake | Chattanooga | Miss Photogenic | Semifinalist in Miss World USA 1980 | |||
| 1977 | Rene Smith | Cookeville | |||||
| 1976 | Jana Kerr | Savannah | |||||
| 1975 | Shelly Smith | Memphis | Previously Miss Memphis State 1975 | ||||
| 1974 | Brin Hendrix | Counce | |||||
| 1973 | Tommye Hooker | Memphis | |||||
| 1972 | Linda Thompson | Memphis | 21 |
| |||
| 1971 | Sue Collins | Strawberry Plains | |||||
| 1970 | Donna Marie Ford | Trenton | 23 | 3rd runner-up | |||
| 1969 | Suzie Richardson | Jackson | |||||
| 1968 | Sandra Force | Memphis | 23 | Semi-finalist | |||
| 1967 | Nancy Brackhahn | Nashville | 21 | Semi-finalist | |||
| 1966 | Mary Margaret Smith | Nashville | 20 | Semi-finalist | |||
| 1965 | Bonnie Perkins | Nashville | 23 | Miss Congeniality | |||
| 1964 | Pat Kerr | Nashville | 19 | Best State Costume | |||
| 1963 | Bobbie Morrow | Memphis | 26 | Semi-finalist | |||
| 1962 | Gail White | Chattanooga | 21 | 2nd runner-up | |||
| 1961 | Anita Atkins | Nashville | 25 | ||||
| 1960 | Christine McSwain | Memphis | 21 | ||||
| 1959 | Marcia Daniels | Memphis | 20 | ||||
| 1958 | Martha Boales | Memphis | 23 | Semi-finalist | 1st runner-up in the 1959 Miss Dixie Pageant | ||
| 1957 | Patricia Prather | Memphis | 18 | ||||
| 1956 | Stella Wilson | Memphis | 22 | Semi-finalist | |||
| 1955 | Barbara Gurley | Memphis | 24 | ||||
| 1954 | Barbara Holly | Nashville | 21 | ||||
| 1953 | No representative | ||||||
| 1952 | Jean Harper | Memphis | 18 | 3rd runner-up | Previously Miss Tennessee 1951 |
Notes
- ^ Except 2021, where it was held alternatively in Tunica, Mississippi due to off-campus event restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee.
- ^ Age at the time of crowning
References
- ^ a b "Producers". Miss Tennessee USA/Teen USA Pageants. Retrieved July 10, 2010.
- ^ a b Butterfield, Fox (2001-10-15). "Next Door to Army Base, Pageant Proudly Goes On". New York Times.
- ^ Dexter, Jamie (2008-10-01). "Clarksville to host pageants". The Leaf Chronicle.
- ^ Brechtelsbauer, Erica (14 October 2017). "Alexandra Harper, Miss Williamson Co., wins Miss Tennessee USA". The Leaf Chronicle. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "Miss Greater Nashville Kiara Young Crowned Miss Tennessee USA". The Chattanoogan. October 5, 2014.
- ^ June, Nicole (October 6, 2013). "Kristy Landers Niedenfuer Crowned Miss Tennessee USA 2014". Clarksville Now.
- ^ Schmoldt, Eric (June 15, 2007). "CNFR: More than just a cowgirl". The Star Tribune. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
- ^ "Jessica Hibler Crowned Miss Tennessee USA 2012". Clarksville Online. October 9, 2011.
- ^ Dexter, Jamie (2008-10-05). "Dream comes true for one contestant". The Leaf Chronicle.
- ^ Veiga, Alex (2007-03-24). "Dream comes true for one contestant". Washington Post.
- ^ Bierly, Mandi (2009-02-27). "Jake Owen: The EW Pop Culture Personality Test". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-02-28.
- ^ "New Language". The Times-News. 1985-04-27.