Kiʻilani Arruda

Kiʻilani Arruda (born 13 April 2002) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Teen USA 2020. Arruda had previously been crowned Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2020; she is the second entrant from Hawaii to have been crowned Miss Teen USA, following Kelly Hu who was crowned Miss Teen USA 1985.

Kiʻilani Arruda
Arruda in 2020
Born	(2002-04-13) April 13, 2002 (age 21) Kapaa, Hawaii, U.S.
Education	University of Puget Sound
Beauty pageant titleholder
Title	Miss Kauai Teen USA 2018 Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2020 Miss Teen USA 2020
Hair color	Black^[citation needed]
Eye color	Brown^[citation needed]
Major competition(s)	Miss Teen USA 2020 (Winner)

Early life and education

Arruda was born on 13 April 2002, in Kapaa, Hawaii.^[1][2] She is half Filipino.^[3] She has two siblings, one with autism, that led her to became an advocate for autism awareness.^[4][5][2]

Arruda attended Island School in Lihue, where she was elected student body president and maintained a GPA of 4.0, graduating in 2020.^[6] While in high school, she was a member of her school's varsity volleyball, swim, and track and field teams.^[2] Prior to becoming Miss Teen USA, she was a freshman at the University of Puget Sound, studying molecular and cellular biology on a pre-medical track, with a minor in Spanish.^[5]

Pageantry

Arruda won Miss Kauai Teen USA 2018, which allowed her to compete in Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2019, where she reached second runner-up and was selected as Miss Congeniality.^{[7][8][9][10]} She later returned to the competition the following year, and was crowned Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2020.^[11]

As Miss Hawaii Teen USA, Arruda represented Hawaii and won at Miss Teen USA 2020. Originally planned for the spring of 2020, the competition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and later held on November 7, 2020, at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.^[6][12] She was crowned by the outgoing titleholder Kaliegh Garris.^[13] Following her win, she became the second entrant from Hawaii to win the competition, following Kelly Hu who had been crowned Miss Teen USA 1985.^{[5][14][15][16]}

References

1. We wanted to wish our #teenqueen a very Happy 18th Birthday!, Miss Kauai USA, April 13, 2020, archived from the original on December 24, 2021
2. "Kiʻilani Arruda". Miss Teen USA. from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
3. Tuazon, Nikko (November 8, 2020). "Filipino-American Ki'ilani Arruda crowned Miss Teen USA 2020". PEP. from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
4. "About". Kiʻilani Arruda. from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
5. "Hawaii's Ki'ilani Arruda Wins Miss Teen USA 2020". people.com. from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
6. Shinno, Stephanie (November 3, 2020). "Ki'ilani Arruda to compete for the 38th Miss Teen USA title". The Garden Island. from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
7. "Legacy". Miss Kauai USA. Retrieved November 7, 2020.^{[permanent dead link]}
8. "Miss Hawaii Teen USA". Kiʻilani Arruda. from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
9. "Kona resident crowned Miss Hawaii Teen USA". The Garden Island. January 17, 2019. from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
10. "Spotlight shines on Kauai beauties". The Garden Island. November 27, 2018. from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
11. "Arruda wins Miss Hawai'i Teen USA 2020". The Garden Island. November 12, 2019. from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
12. Beifuss, John (November 6, 2020). "Miss USA preliminary competition: Swimsuits, evening gowns, mini-bios and more". Memphis Commercial Appeal. from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
13. "Hawaii's Ki'ilani Arruda Wins Miss Teen USA 2020". Yahoo. November 7, 2020.
14. "Hawaii's Ki'ilani Arruda crowned as Miss Teen USA 2020". KHON2. November 7, 2020. from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
15. Beifuss, John (November 8, 2020). "Hawaii's Ki'ilani Arruda crowned Miss Teen USA during pageant at Graceland". Memphis Commercial Appeal. from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
16. Gerken, Marika (November 8, 2020). "Hawaii's Ki'ilani Arruda crowned Miss Teen USA 2020". CNN. from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Kaliegh Garris Connecticut	Miss Teen USA 2020	Succeeded by Breanna Myles Florida
Preceded by Leimakamae Freitas	Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2020	Succeeded by Tia Bustamante