Miss California
The Miss California competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America pageant. Miss California has won the Miss America crown six times:
- Debra Maffett (1982)
- Lee Meriwether (1955)
- Marilyn Buferd (1946)
- Jean Bartel (1943)
- Rosemary LaPlanche (1941)
- Fay Lanphier (1925)
The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Miss California pageant was held, the competition was primarily in San Francisco and Venice, California. In 1947, it returned to Santa Cruz and was held there annually until 1985, after which it moved to San Diego in response to years of protests and a "Myth California" counterpageant organized by local feminist activists led by Ann Simonton and Nikki Craft.[1][2][3] It has been held in Fresno, California since 1994.[4][5]
Winners
Year | Name | Hometown | Age | Local Title | Miss America Talent | Placement at Miss America | Special scholarships at Miss America | Notes |
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2016 | Jessa Carmack | Santa Clara | 22 | Miss North Bay | Gymnastics Dance | Top 10 |
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2015 | Bree Morse[6] | Garden Grove | 23 | Miss Orange Coast | Tap Dance, "Land of a Thousand Dances" | Miss Orange County 2014
Miss North County 2013 Miss Garden Grove 2012 | ||
2014 | Marina Inserra | San Diego | 24 | Miss Yosemite Valley | Vocal "Bring Him Home" | Miss Monterey Bay 2013
Miss Culver City 2012 Miss San Diego 2011 Miss Northern California 2010 Miss San Diego's Outstanding Teen 2008 | ||
2013 | Crystal Lee | San Francisco | 22 | Miss Silicon Valley | Ballet en Pointe "The Dying Swan" | 1st runner-up | $5,000 STEM Scholarship | |
2012 | Leah Cecil | Garden Grove | 22 | Miss Southern California Regional | Classical Harp "Great Day" by Nancy Gustavson |
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2011 | Noelle Freeman | Carlsbad | 22 | Miss Culver City | Ballet En Pointe "The Black Swan Variation" from Swan Lake | 4th runner-up |
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2010 | Arianna Afsar | San Diego | 19 | Miss San Diego County | Vocal "I Who Have Nothing" | Top 10 |
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2009 | Kristy Cavinder | Orange | 21 | Miss Yosemite Valley | Ballet en Pointe "The Slave Maiden Variation" from Le Corsaire | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | |
2008 | Jackie Geist | Vacaville | 22 | Miss Hollywood | Ballet en Pointe "The Dying Swan" | Top 7 | Runner-up in the Miss Teenage California Scholarship Pageant | |
2007 | Melissa Chaty[7] | Ukiah | 24 | Miss North Coast | Operatic Vocal "The Jewel Song" from Faust | Top 8 | Winner of the 2003 Miss Teenage California Scholarship Pageant | |
2006 | Jacquelynne Fontaine | Moorpark | 24 | Miss Santa Barbara County | Operatic Vocal "Vissi d'arte" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
2005 | Dustin-Leigh Konzelman | Carlsbad | 23 | Miss San Diego | Fiddle "Twelfth Street Rag" | Preliminary Talent Award, Non-finalist Talent Award | Contestant on The Amazing Race 10 with partner Kandice Pelletier (Miss New York) | |
2004 | Veena Goel | Laguna Hills | 22 | Miss Southland | Jazz Dance "Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | Contestant at National Sweetheart 2003 |
2003 | Nicole Lamarche | Berkeley | 24 | Miss San Francisco | Vocal "At This Moment" | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award, Final Night Swimsuit Award | Contestant at National Sweetheart 2001 as Miss Arizona |
2002 | Jennifer Glover | Castro Valley | 23 | Miss Contra Costa County | Contemporary Vocal "A New Life" from Jekyll & Hyde | Top 10 at the 1997 Miss Teenage California Scholarship Pageant, Contestant at Miss International 1999 as Miss USA, 1st runner-up at Miss Oktoberfest 2000, Miss California USA 2001 | ||
2001 | Stephanie Baldwin | Fullerton | 23 | Miss Northern California Regional | Vocal "Time to Say Goodbye" | Top 20 | ||
2000 | Rita Ng | Tracy | 22 | Miss Los Altos | Classical Piano "Sonata Appassionata" | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award, Miss America Scholar Award | |
1999 | MaryAnne Sapio | Rohnert Park | 21 | Miss Gavilan Hills | Tap Dance "Go Daddy-O" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1998 | Danielle Coney | Santa Clara | 21 | Miss Gavilan Hills | Vocal "A Piece of Sky" from Yentl | Non-finalist Talent Award, Waterford Business Scholarship | ||
1997 | Rebekah Ann Keller | Lakewood | 22 | Miss Los Angeles County | Vocal "Someone Like You" from Jekyll & Hyde | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Miss California USA 2000 |
1996 | Lyndsay Kahler | Orange | 22 | Miss City of Orange | Vocal "Where Is It Written?" from Yentl | |||
1995 | Tiffany Stoker | Clovis | 21 | Miss Clovis | Vocal "Think of Me" | 3rd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | America's Junior Miss 1992 |
1994 | Jennifer Hanson | La Habra | 21 | Miss Garden Grove | Vocal "Since I Fell for You" | Non-finalist Talent Award | Country music singer/songwriter | |
1993 | Lisa Michelle Duncan | Tulare | 21 | Miss Tulare County | Character Ballet "Turkey in the Straw" | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1992 | Patricia Northrup | Agoura Hills | 23 | Miss Los Angeles County | Vocal Medley | Pilot for American Airlines, Judge for the Miss America 2001 | ||
1991 | Paige Adams | Hemet | 22 | Miss Los Angeles County | Vocal Medley "Some Day My Prince Will Come" | Alaska's Junior Miss 1986, Judge for the Miss America 2008 | ||
1990 | Maria Ostapiej | La Mesa | 24 | Miss San Diego North County | Classical Vocal Medley "Phantom of the Opera" & "Angel of Music" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1989 | Wendy Berry | San Pedro | 22 | Miss Centinela Valley | Classical Ballet "The Black Swan" from Swan Lake | Harvard Professor | ||
1988 | Marlise Ricardos | San Pedro | 26 | Miss Lomita | Dramatic Vocal "I Dreamed a Dream" | 3rd runner-up | ||
1987 | Simone Stephens | Cerritos | 25 | Miss El Camino | Stand-up Comedy | |||
1986 | Lisa Kahre | Salinas | 19 | Miss San Ramon Valley | Flute Solo "Carnival of Venice" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1985 | Lisa Davenport | Santa Cruz | 23 | Miss San Mateo County | Popular Vocal "Once in my Lifetime" | Assumed the title in 1982 when Debra Maffett won Miss America & became the 1st such titleholder to win a state title and compete at Miss America. | ||
1984 | Donna Cherry | Northridge | Miss West Los Angeles | Impersonations / Vocal "Quando me'n vo" | ||||
1983 | Shari Moskau | Mission Viejo | 19 | Miss Saddleback Valley | Popular Vocal "Greatest Love of All" | |||
1982 | Lisa Davenport | Santa Cruz | 20 | Assumed the title when Debra Maffett won Miss America, Miss California 1985 | ||||
Debra Maffett | Anaheim | 25 | Miss Anaheim | Popular Vocal "Come In From the Rain" | Winner | Preliminary Swimsuit Award, Preliminary Talent Award | ||
1981 | Cheryl Vancleave | Riverside | 20 | Miss Los Angeles County | Country Western Vocal Medley "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" & "You're Lookin' at Country" | Married Frank Kalil, Mother of Ryan Kalil | ||
1980 | Robin Brooks | Elverta | 23 | Miss Fullerton | Patriotic Vocal Medley "America the Beautiful" & "Battle Hymn of the Republic" | |||
1979 | Deanna Rae Fogarty | Azusa | 22 | Miss Azusa | Vocal "Cabaret" | Toured with Miss America USO Troupe, Featured performer for several Miss America pageants in the early 80s | ||
1978 | Christine Louise Acton | Chula Vista | 23 | Miss San Bernardino County | Flute / Piccolo Solo "Hungarian Peasant Suite" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1977 | Connie Lee Haugen | Redlands | 24 | Miss San Bernardino County | Vocal "Nobody Does It Like Me" from Seesaw | Top 10 | ||
1976 | Linda Michelle Mouron | Orange | 19 | Miss Orange County | Tap Dance "Puttin' On the Ritz" | 3rd runner-up | Toured with Miss America USO Troupe | |
1975 | Janet Jaye Carr | San Gabriel | 21 | Miss Pomona Valley | Vocal "They Call the Wind Maria" from Paint Your Wagon | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | |
1974 | Lucianne Buchanan | Claremont | 21 | Miss Pomona Valley | Harp "Concerto in B Flat" | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Toured with Miss America USO Troupe; Assumed the Miss California title when the original winner, Alice Tobler, resigned due to Mononucleosis. |
1973 | Susan Kaye Shipley | Hillsborough | 21 | Miss San Joaquin County | Piano "Malaguena" | Top 10 | ||
1972 | Diane Wagner | Daly City | 20 | Miss San Mateo County | Ballet "Swan Lake" | Toured with Miss America USO Troupe | ||
1971 | Carolyn Jean Stoner | Belmont | 18 | Miss San Mateo County | Gymnastic Ballet "Malaguena" | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1970 | Karin Kascher | Castro Valley | 18 | Miss Hayward | Violin "Méditation" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1969 | Susan Anton | Yucaipa | 18 | Miss Redlands | Vocal "Get Happy" & "Put On a Happy Face" | 2nd runner-up | Actress best known for her role as "Susan Williams" in the various Stop Susan Williams!-related television series and television movies, Toured with Miss America USO Troupe | |
1968 | Sharon Terrill | Torrance | 21 | Miss Torrance | Dramatic Reading "Little Word, Little White Bird" by Carl Sandburg | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1967 | Karen Pursell | Lindsay | 22 | Miss Fresno County | Vocal "Much More" from The Fantasticks | |||
1966 | Charlene Diane Dallas | Danville | 19 | Miss Contra Costa County | Piano "Toccata" by Khachaturian | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award, Preliminary Talent Award | Featured Performer at Miss America 1967 Telecast; Assumed the Miss California title when the original winner, Donna Danzer, resigned during the coronation gala for school and personal reasons. |
1965 | Sandra Lynne Becker | Covina | 18 | Miss Los Angeles County | Semi-classical Vocal "Make Believe" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
1964 | Sherri Lee Raap | Fremont | 18 | Miss Oakland | Jazz Baton Dance & Acrobatics | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1963 | Wendy Douglas | Sacramento | Miss Sacramento | Vocal "Summertime" | Top 10 | |||
1962 | Pamela Gamble | Carmel | 18 | Miss Monterey County | Classical Jazz Interpretive Dance | |||
1961 | Susan Henryson | Fresno | 19 | Miss Fresno County | Vocal "You've Got to See Momma Every Night" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | Miss Congeniality, Featured performer at Miss America 1962 |
1960 | Suzanne Reamo | La Mesa | 20 | Miss San Diego | Vocal "Love is Where You Find It" | 1st runner-up | ||
1959 | Susan Bronson | San Lorenzo | 19 | Miss Southern Alameda County | Modern Dance "An American in Spain" | 3rd runner-up | ||
1958 | Sandra Jennings | Riverside | Miss Riverside | Piano "Clair de Lune" | 3rd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Maid of Cotton 1960 | |
1957 | Lorna Anderson | Sacramento | Miss Sacramento | Accordion "Dark Eyes" | 3rd runner-up | |||
1956 | Joan Beckett | Sacramento | Miss Sacramento | Dramatic Sketch "A Dream: Faith Over Atheistic Sciences" | Top 10 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1955 | Barbara Harris | Santa Cruz | Miss Watsonville | Vocal "Over the Rainbow" | ||||
1954 | Lee Meriwether | San Francisco | 19 | Miss San Francisco | Dramatic Monologue "Riders to the Sea" | Winner | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Actress best known as Catwoman in the 1966 Batman movie |
1953 | Patricia Johns | Fresno | Miss Fresno | Dramatic Monologue "The Country Girl" | Top 10 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1952 | Jeanne Shores | Azusa | Miss Alhambra | Dramatic Monologue | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1951 | Patricia Lehman | Sacramento | Miss Sacramento | Piano | ||||
1950 | Joanne Durant | San Diego | Miss San Diego | Vocal / Poetry Recitation "Alice Blue Gown" | Top 16 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1949 | Jone Pedersen | Santa Rosa | Miss Sonoma County | Dramatic Monologue "You Will Come Back" | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
1948 | Reba Watterson | Stockton | Miss Stockton | |||||
1947 | Laura Emery | Salinas | Miss Salinas | Vocal "So Long For So Long" | 4th runner-up | |||
Marilyn Davidson | Los Angeles | Vocal / Dress Design "A Sunday Kind of Love" | Competed as Miss Los Angeles County | |||||
1946 | Marilyn Buferd | Los Angeles | 21 | Miss Wilshire District | Dramatic Monologue "Accent on Youth" | Winner | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | |
1945 | Polly Ellis | Tarzana | No Locals | Vocal "Cowboy Joe" | Top 13 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
Phyllis Mathis | San Diego | Hula | 1st runner-up | Competed as Miss San Diego | ||||
1944 | Shirley Ballard | Los Angeles | No Locals | |||||
1943 | Jean Bartel | Los Angeles | 19 | No Locals | Vocal "Night and Day" | Winner | Preliminary Swimsuit Award, Preliminary Talent Award | |
1942 | Lucille Lambert | Hollywood | Miss Hollywood | Vocal "Embraceable You" | 4th runner-up | |||
1941 | Rosemary LaPlanche | Los Angeles | 18 | Miss Los Angeles | Dance | Winner | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | |
1940 | 17 | Dance | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||||
1939 | Marguerite Skliris | San Francisco | Miss San Francisco | Dramatic Monologue "The Poison Scene" from Romeo and Juliet | 3rd runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
1938 | Claire James | Los Angeles | Miss Los Angeles | Dance | 1st runner-up | |||
1937 | Phyllis Randall | Hollywood | 20 | Miss Hollywood | Vocal / Dance | 3rd runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | Sister of Miss North Carolina 1941 Joey Augusta Paxton |
1936 | Phyllis Dobson | Hollywood | Miss Hollywood | Drama | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
1935 | Virginia Donham | San Francisco | Miss San Francisco | Vocal "Chlo-e" & "I Ain't Got Nobody" | Top 12 | |||
1933 | Blanche MacDonald | Miss Venus de Milo | 2nd runner-up | |||||
1927 | Bertha Weizel | Miss Santa Cruz | Top 15 | Assumed the title when the original winner, Billie Copeland, was disqualified for being a professional actress. Ruby Smith competed as Miss Oakland and was a semi-finalist. Naoma Farrand competed as Miss San Francisco and Louise Heathman from San Diego competed as Miss Southern California, despite the fact that Linda Burrage had been crowned the winner of that pageant and Almo Ingraham had been announced as the 1st runner-up. | ||||
1926 | Aloha Porter | Miss Venice | Eleanor Twohig competed as Miss San Francisco. | |||||
1925 | Fay Lanphier | Oakland | 19 | Miss Alameda | Winner | Also representing California were: Adrienne Dore, Miss Los Angeles, who placed as 1st runner-up; Edyth Flynn competed as Miss San Francisco and Yetta Haber competed as Miss Santa Cruz. | ||
1924 | Fay Lanphier won the title of Miss California 1924, competing as Miss Alameda. After being crowned, the local committee decided that, for Miss America purposes, she would be considered Miss Santa Cruz since that is where the competition was held. Miss Lanphier was the first contestant at Miss America to represent an entire state and placed as 2nd runner-up. Curiously, the first Miss Santa Cruz, Mary Black, won the title in 1924, but she was the official hostess for the state-wide competition and was not allowed to compete. Lillian Knight competed as Miss Los Angeles and was a Finalist. Irma Frazier competed as Miss Oakland. | |||||||
1923 | No Miss California | Violet Regal competed as Miss San Francisco and was a Finalist. Vera King competed as Miss Long Beach. | ||||||
1922 | No Miss California | Angela Grant competed as Miss Los Angeles. |
References
- ↑ "Police Arrest 11 Demonstrators in Protest of Pageant", Associated Press in Oxnard Press-Courier, June 17, 1986.
- ↑ Bacon, Amity (2005-05-22). "Miss California Pageant united the community and served as a platform for protest". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
- ↑ Kirsten Anderberg, "Radical body politics for women", KirstenAnderberg.com 2004
- ↑ Hoagland, Doug (2007-07-01). "Pageant crowns San Diego woman". Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
- ↑ "Miss California History". Miss California. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ↑ Santos, Nicole (June 27, 2015). "Miss Orange Coast wins Miss California crown". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, CA: McClatchy. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
- ↑ Associated Press (2007-07-01). "Miss North Coast Melissa Chaty wins 2007 Miss California crown". The Lompoc Record. Retrieved 2007-07-01.