Miss Louisiana USA

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

The Miss Louisiana USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Louisiana in the Miss USA pageant.

Miss Louisiana USA

Formation	1952
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	Aiken
Location	South Carolina
Membership	Miss USA
Official language	English
Key people	Janice McDonald Paula Miles
Website	Official website

Miss Louisiana USA is produced by RPM Productions since 1990, which also produces the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA state pageants for Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. RPM Productions' headquarters is in Aiken, South Carolina.

Sydney Taylor of Livingston was crowned Miss Louisiana USA 2024 on March 30, 2024, at Jefferson Performing Arts Center in Metairie. She will represent Louisiana at Miss USA 2024.

History

Louisiana is one of only seven states to have three or more Miss USA winners (in 1958, 1961, and 1996).

Four Miss Louisiana USA titleholders previously held the Miss Louisiana Teen USA title, including Ali Landry, who became the third woman from Louisiana to be crowned Miss USA.

Jennifer Dupont, Miss Louisiana USA 2000, is one of only seven women who have competed in the Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and Miss America pageants.

Louisiana's future success at Miss USA would be evident in the state's first contestant, Jeanne Vaughn Thompson, Miss Louisiana USA 1952 and 1953. She is the only woman to ever compete twice in the history of Miss USA, and to outright win a Miss USA state title twice.

Thompson was also the only two-time state titleholder in Miss USA history, a record she held for 44 years until Shanna Lyn Searles became the second and only other double state titleholder. Searles won the Miss California USA title outright in 1996 after inheriting the state's 1992 title due to the original winner, Shannon Marketic, being crowned Miss USA 1992.

Thompson's overall pageant success includes winning the Miss Louisiana state title and competing at Miss America in 1951, winning the first two Miss Louisiana USA state titles and competing in the first and second Miss USA pageants, becoming the first-ever 1st runner-up in 1952 and a semi-finalist and Miss Congeniality (Amity) winner in 1953. Her two consecutive participations in Miss USA and subsequent final placements prompted organizers to create a rule allowing a person to compete for the title only once.

Miss Louisiana USA contestants accomplished another feat first, winning both the Miss Congeniality (Amity) and Miss Photogenic awards ever given to a Miss USA state delegate. Thompson was the winner of the Miss Congeniality award given to the first Miss USA state contestant in 1953.

The second Miss Congeniality award given also went to another contestant from Louisiana, Judy Fletcher in 1960. That year, during the era when both Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants were held at the same time, Fletcher tied with a Miss Universe contestant from Myanmar (known at the time as Burma) for the award.

Sharon Brown, who represented Louisiana in 1961, won the first Miss Photogenic award given to a Miss USA state delegate. She also won the Miss USA title, the first Miss Photogenic winner to obtain that feat.

Louisiana is one of only two states (California the other) to have won both the Miss USA title and the Miss Photogenic award in the same year on two separate occasions (Brown in 1961 and Landry in 1996).

Gallery of titleholders

•  
  Arlene Howell, Miss Louisiana USA 1958 & Miss USA 1958
•  
  Sharon Brown, Miss Louisiana USA 1961 & Miss USA 1961
•  
  Ali Landry, Miss Louisiana USA 1996 & Miss USA 1996
•  
  Elizabeth McNulty, Miss Louisiana USA 2007
•  
  Michelle Berthelot, Miss Louisiana USA 2008
•  
  Sara Brooks, Miss Louisiana USA 2010

Results summary

Placements

• Miss USAs: Eurlyne Howell (1958), Sharon Brown (1961), Ali Landry (1996)
• 1st runners-up: Jeanne Thompson (1952)
• 2nd runners-up: Lisa Lynn Moss (1981)
• 3rd runners-up: Kathy Hebert (1968), Pamela Forrest (1983), Sarie Joubert (1985), Elizabeth Primm (1989), Brittany Guidry (2014)
• 4th runners-up: Robyn Sanders (1976)
• Top 6: Shirelle Hebert (1994), Elizabeth Coxe (1995)
• Top 10/11/12: Bonnie Martin (1972), Storm Hensley (1973), Karen Hoff (1974), Christy Saylor (1992), Debbie Delhomme (1998), Anne-Katherine Lene (2002), Kristen Girault (2013), Candice Bennatt (2015)
• Top 15/16/20: Jeanne Thompson (1953), Mary Lobianco (1959), Judy Fletcher (1960), Elizabeth McNulty (2007), Erin Edmiston (2012), Victoria Paul (2019), Mariah Clayton (2020), Tanya Crowe (2021)

Louisiana holds a record of 29 placements at Miss USA.

Awards

• Miss Photogenic: Sharon Brown (1961), Kathy Hebert (1968), Elizabeth Primm (1989), Ali Landry (1996)
• Miss Congeniality: Jeanne Thompson (1953), Judy Fletcher (1960)
• Best State Costume: 2nd Place: Elizabeth Primm (1989)

Winners

Color key

•   Declared as Winner
•   Ended as runner-up or finalist
•   Ended as one of the semifinalists

Year	Name	Hometown	Age^1	Local title	Placement at Miss USA	Special awards at Miss USA	Notes
2024	Sydney Taylor	Livingston	23	Miss Lafayette	TBA		Previously Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2020 4th Runner-Up at Miss Teen USA 2020
2023	Sylvia Masters	Houma	27	Miss Sportsman's Paradise
2022	Katelyn "KT" Scannell	Denham Springs	22	Miss Lafayette
2021	Tanya Crowe	Amite City	28	Miss New Orleans	Top 16		Professional cheerleader for the New Orleans Saintsations
2020	Mariah Clayton^[1]	Zachary	23	Miss Greater Baton Rouge	Top 16
2019	Victoria Paul^[2]^[3]	Alexandria	26	Miss Lafayette	Top 15		Later a contestant on season 24 of The Bachelor and season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise
2018	Lauren Vizza^[4]	Shreveport	27	Miss Shreveport			Previously Miss Louisiana 2012^[5]
2017	Bethany Trahan	Lake Charles	21	Miss Calcasieu
2016	Maaliyah Papillion	Lake Charles	21	Miss Lake Charles
2015	Candice Bennatt	New Orleans	26	Miss Ville Platte	Top 11		Previously Miss New Mexico 2012. Former Houston Texans Cheerleader.
2014	Brittany Guidry	Houma	21	Miss Florida Parishes	3rd Runner-up		Previously Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2009 and 4th runner-up at Miss Teen USA 2009; one of few women to place in the top 5 at both Miss Teen USA and Miss USA Cousin of Michelle Berthelot, Miss Louisiana USA 2008
2013	Kristen Girault^[citation needed]	Metairie |	21	Miss Florida Parish	Top 10		New Orleans Saints cheerleader
2012	Erin Edmiston	Lafayette	22	Miss Camellia City	Top 16
2011	Page Pennock	Shreveport	21
2010	Sara Brooks	New Orleans	22
2009	Lacey Minchew	Baton Rouge	24				Previously Miss Teen America 2002, representing Georgia. Originally from Marietta.
2008	Michelle Berthelot	Hammond	26				Cousin of Brittany Guidry, Miss Louisiana USA 2014
2007	Elizabeth McNulty	Lafayette	25		Top 15
2006	Christina Cuenca	Chalmette	26
2005	Candice Stewart	Metairie	21				Previously Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2002. Contestant on Big Brother 15.
2004	Melissa McConnell	Ruston	27
2003	Brittney Rogers	Shreveport	20				Contestant on The Amazing Race 8. Winner of Fear Factor Miss USA episode
2002	Anne-Katherine Lene	Abbeville			Top 12
2001	Heather Hayden	Amite
2000	Jennifer Dupont	Plaquemine					Previously Miss Louisiana Teen USA 1998, Miss Louisiana 2004 and 1st runner up at Miss America 2005
1999	Melissa Bongiovanni	Baton Rouge
1998	Debbie Delhomme	Lafayette	Top 10
1997	Nikole Viola	Walker
1996	Ali Landry	Breaux Bridge	26		Miss USA 1996	Miss Photogenic	Previously Miss Louisiana Teen USA 1990 (Top 12 at Miss Teen USA 1990), Top 6 finalist at Miss Universe 1996
1995	Elizabeth Coxe	Springfield	24		Top 6
1994	Shirelle Hebert	Arabi			Top 6
1993	Jennifer Mitchell	Leesville
1992	Christy Saylor	Baton Rouge			Top 11
1991	Melinda Murphy	West Monroe
1990	Jeanne Burns	Baton Rouge					Currently evening news anchor for NBC affiliate WVLA in Baton Rouge.
1989	Elizabeth Primm	Houma			3rd Runner-up	Miss Photogenic, 2nd Place Best Costume	Miss USA at Miss Asia Pacific 1989, did not place; Star Search 1990 Spokesmodel contestant.
1988	Rhonda Vinson	Shreveport
1987	Carol Carter	Shreveport					Previously Miss Louisiana 1985
1986	Cecelia Brady	Olla					Now Cecelia Gonzalez of San Diego, California. Her father was Louisiana State Representative Thomas "Bud" Brady.
1985	Sarie Joubert	Shreveport			3rd Runner-up		1st runner up at Miss International 1985 as Miss USA.
1984	Rusanne Jourdan	Baton Rouge
1983	Pamela Forrest	Baton Rouge			3rd Runner-up		Mrs. America 1987 and Mrs. World 1988
1982	Lisa Michael	Baton Rouge
1981	Lisa Lynn Moss	Shreveport			2nd Runner-up		Later Miss World USA 1981 and Top 5 finalist at Miss World 1981
1980	Kelly Bonin	Baton Rouge
1979	Lisa Anderson	Gretna	19
1978	Tauny Hanes	Baton Rouge
1977	Patti Rosenbalm	Bossier City
1976	Robyn Sanders	Winnfield			4th Runner-up
1975	Rhonda Shear	New Orleans					Television program host and actor, best known for her role as host of the USA Network's weekend movie show, USA Up All Night
1974	Karen Hoff	Bossier City			Top 12
1973	Storm Hensley	Bossier City			Top 12		Was a sergeant in the Air Force stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City
1972	Bonnie Martin	Ashland	21		Top 12
1971	Diana Risenstein	Bossier City
1970	Nadine Robertson	Bossier City
1969	Patricia Dupre	Washington
1968	Kathy Hebert	Franklin			3rd Runner-up	Miss Photogenic
1967	Dianne Mader	Houma	21
1966	Tanya Becnel	Ama
1965	Terri Sommers	Shreveport	19
1964	Linda Graves	Shreveport
1963	Peggy Romero	Kaplan
1962	Diana Jane Smith	Oak Ridge					Semifinalist in Miss World USA 1962
1961	Sharon Brown	Minden			Miss USA 1961	Miss Photogenic	4th runner up at Miss Universe 1961
1960	Judy Fletcher	Alexandria			Top 15	Miss Congeniality
1959	Mary Margaret Lobianco				Top 15
1958	Eurlyne Howell	Bossier City			Miss USA 1958		3rd runner up at Miss Universe 1958
1957	Earlyn Regouffre	New Orleans
1956	Cecile Morris	Baton Rouge	19
1955	Merlin Garcia	Gretna	19
1954	Sadie Vinson	New Orleans					Finalist in the 1955 Miss Dixie Pageant
1953	Jeanne Thompson	Baton Rouge			Top 20	Miss Congeniality	Only woman ever to compete in Miss USA pageant twice. Previously Miss Louisiana 1951. Also competed in the 1952 Maid of Cotton Pageant
1952			1st Runner-up

¹ Age at the time of the Miss USA pageant

References

1. Foster, Kent (October 20, 2019). "Zachary native, Southern University alumna crowned Miss Louisiana USA 2020". WVUE-DT. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
2. King, Faith (April 10, 2019). "Miss Louisiana heads off to compete in Miss USA 2019 pageant". KALB-TV. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
3. Weigle, Lauren (May 3, 2019). "Miss USA 2019 Contestants: Winner & Top Finalists Revealed Live". Heavy.com. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
4. McCarty, Erin (October 22, 2017). "Shreveport's Lauren Vizza Wins Miss Louisiana USA". News Radio 710 KEEL.
5. Etheridge, Elaine (June 25, 2012). "The New Miss Louisiana is From Shreveport". News Radio 710 KEEL.

External links

• Official website