Miss USA 2007
Miss USA 2007 was the 56th Miss USA pageant, held at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 23, 2007, after two weeks of events and preliminary competition.[1] The winner of the pageant was Rachel Smith of Tennessee.[2]
| Miss USA 2007 | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 23, 2007 |
| Presenters | |
| Venue | Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, California |
| Broadcaster | |
| Entrants | 51 |
| Placements | 15 |
| Winner | Rachel Smith Tennessee |
| Congeniality | Stephanie Trudeau Montana |
| Photogenic | Rebecca Moore Alabama |
← 2006 2008 → | |
The pageant was broadcast live on NBC from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California one month earlier than the 2006 pageant.[3] This was the second time that the pageant was held at this venue; it was previously held there in 2004, when Shandi Finnessey of Missouri was crowned Miss USA 2004.[4] The host hotel was the Wilshire Grand.[5]
Delegates arrived in Los Angeles on March 8, 2007, and were involved in two weeks of rehearsals and events prior to the final show.[6] The preliminary competition were held on March 19, 2007, where all 51 contestants competed in swimsuit and evening gown, with the personal interview competition being held in private the previous day.[7] This was the first time in recent years that the presentation show was held in the hotel ballroom, rather than at the location of the final competition.
During the final show on March 23, the fifteen delegates with the highest average score from the preliminary competition were announced. The top fifteen competed in the swimsuit competition, and the top ten competed in evening gown. The composite score was shown after each round of competition for the first time since 2002.
At the conclusion of the final night of competition, outgoing titleholder Tara Conner crowned Rachel Smith of Tennessee as the new Miss USA.[1] Smith was the third consecutive former Miss Teen USA delegate to win the title and the second woman from Tennessee. Coincidentally, both Smith and Conner had competed together at Miss Teen USA 2002.[8]
Results
Placements
| Final Results | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss USA 2007 | |
| 1st Runner-Up |
|
| 2nd Runner-Up |
|
| 3rd Runner-Up | |
| 4th Runner-Up |
|
| Top 10 |
|
| Top 15 |
|
Special awards
| Award | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss Congeniality | |
| Miss Photogenic |
Final competition
|
|
- Nevada's evening gown score was not shown, but must be greater than 8.437.
Historical significance
- Tennessee wins competition for the second time.
- Rhode Island earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time and surpasses its previous highest placement from 1973.
- Kansas earns the 2nd runner-up position for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1993.
- California earns the 3rd runner-up position for the sixth time. The last time it placed this was in 1981.
- Nevada earns the 4th runner-up position for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1962. Also it was reached its highest placement since 1977.
- States that placed in semifinals the previous year were California, Nevada, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
- Texas placed for the seventh consecutive year.
- California placed for the third consecutive year.
- Nevada, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee made their second consecutive placement.
- Michigan, North Carolina and Utah last placed in 2005.
- Missouri last placed in 2004.
- Hawaii last placed in 2003.
- Kansas and Louisiana last placed in 2002.
- Virginia last placed in 1999.
- Wisconsin last placed in 1979.
- Illinois and Kentucky breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 2005.
- Florida breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 2004.
Selection of contestants
One delegate from each state was chosen in state pageants held from June to December 2006.[9] The first state pageant was Texas, held on June 25, 2006, and the final pageants were Kansas and Hawaii, held on December 17, 2006.
Two contestants were replaced by their first runners-up:
- Helen Salas was awarded the Miss Nevada USA 2007 title on December 21, 2006, when the original winner, Katie Rees, was dethroned after the publication of racy photographs.[10][11] Salas was originally the first runner-up to Ms. Rees in the Miss Nevada USA 2007 pageant which had taken place on October 8, 2006.[12]
- Erin Abrahamson was awarded the Miss New Jersey USA 2007 title on January 15, 2007, when the original winner, Ashley Harder, resigned due to pregnancy.[13] Pageant rules prohibit titleholders from competing while pregnant.[14] Abrahamson was originally the first runner-up to Harder in the New Jersey pageant.
For the first time in the history of the pageant, eleven former Miss Teen USA delegates competed in the pageant. Initially only nine held titles, but the number increased to eleven after two titleholders resigned and former Teen USA delegates succeeded them.
Delegates
The Miss USA 2007 delegates are:
- Alabama - Rebecca Moore
- Alaska - Blair Chenoweth
- Arizona - Courtney Barnas[15]
- Arkansas - Kelly George[16]
- California - Meagan Tandy
- Colorado - Keena Bonella[17]
- Connecticut - Melanie Mudry
- Delaware - Nicole Bosso[18]
- District of Columbia - Mercedes Lindsay
- Florida - Jenna Edwards
- Georgia - Brittany Swann
- Hawaii - Chanel Wise
- Idaho - Amanda Rammell[5]
- Illinois - Mia Heaston
- Indiana - Jami Stallings[19]
- Iowa - Dani Reeves
- Kansas - Cara Gorges[20]
- Kentucky - Michelle Banzer
- Louisiana - Elizabeth McNulty
- Maine - Erin Good
- Maryland - Michaé Holloman
- Massachusetts - Despina Delios
- Michigan - Kelly Best
- Minnesota - Alla Ilushka
- Mississippi - Jalin Wood
- Missouri - Amber Seyer
- Montana - Stephanie Trudeau
- Nebraska - Geneice Wilcher
- Nevada - Helen Salas
- New Hampshire - Laura Silva
- New Jersey - Erin Abrahamson
- New Mexico - Casey Messer
- New York - Gloria Almonte
- North Carolina - Erin O'Kelley
- North Dakota - Rachel Mathson[21]
- Ohio - Anna Melomud[22]
- Oklahoma - Caitlin Simmons
- Oregon - Sharitha McKenzie[6]
- Pennsylvania - Samantha Johnson
- Rhode Island - Danielle Lacourse[23]
- South Carolina - Ashley Zais
- South Dakota - Suzie Heffernan
- Tennessee - Rachel Smith
- Texas - Magen Ellis
- Utah - Heather Anderson
- Vermont - Jessica Comolli
- Virginia - Lauren Barnette
- Washington - LeiLani Jones
- West Virginia - Kasey Montgomery
- Wisconsin - Caitlin Morrall
- Wyoming - Robyn Johnson
Judges
- Jonathan Antin - Bravo's Blow Out star
- Dr. Jerry Buss - Los Angeles Lakers owner, real estate tycoon
- Giuliana Rancic - E! News Co–Host
- Vanessa Minnillo - Miss Teen USA 1998 from South Carolina
- Kimora Lee Simmons - President and Creative Director of Baby Phat
- Jerry Springer - host of NBC show America's Got Talent and host of his own talk show The Jerry Springer Show
- Vince Young - Tennessee Titans quarterback
- Corinne Nicolas - President of Trump Model Management
Hosts
- Nancy O'Dell - Access Hollywood Correspondent
- Tim Vincent - Access Hollywood Correspondent
See also
References
- ^ a b "Fallen Miss USA to hand over pageant crown". Reuters. 2007-03-23.
- ^ Veiga, Alex (2007-03-23). "21-year-old journalism graduate from Tennessee crowned Miss USA". Associated Press.
- ^ Castro, Tony (2007-03-23). "Miss USA Event's Kodak Moment: 51 entrants share hopes, hard work and beauty secrets". Los Angeles Daily News. p. N1.
- ^ "Miss USA pageant scheduled in Hollywood". Xinhua News Agency. 2007-03-23.
- ^ a b Martinez, Michael (2007-03-24). "Idahoan plays up good girls". Deseret Morning News. p. A01.
- ^ a b "U. Oregon student gets ready for Miss USA pageant". UWIRE. 2007-03-07.
- ^ Associated Press (2007-03-21). "Miss USA's tearful reign draws to an end". The Star-Ledger. p. 25.
- ^ "Miss Teen USA 2002 crown goes to Wisconsin native". Associated Press. 2002-08-29.
- ^ Veiga, Alex (2007-03-23). "Beauty queens vie for title at 56th annual Miss USA Pageant". Associated Press.
- ^ Goldman, Adam (2006-12-21). "Miss Nevada USA Loses Shirt Then Title". Associated Press.
- ^ Sedensky, Matt (2006-12-23). "Former Miss Nevada apologizes for racy photos, asks for 2nd chance". Associated Press.
- ^ "Sexy pictures lose Miss Nevada her crown". Agence France-Press. 2006-12-22.
- ^ Associated Press (2007-01-16). "Miss N.J. USA steps down over pregnancy - Troubled contest tabs Essex Fells runner-up". The Star-Ledger. p. 16.
- ^ Gross, Dan (2006-01-15). "Preggers Beauty Resigns". Philadelphia Daily News. Archived from the original on 2007-05-14. Retrieved 2006-01-15.
- ^ Falkenhagen, Andrea (2007-03-20). "Miss USA contestant of East Valley variety: Mesa woman, ASU student has shot at big time". The Tribune.
- ^ "Airman competes for Miss USA crown". Department of Defense U.S. Air Force Releases. 2007-03-23.
- ^ Husted, Bill (2007-02-22). "Miss Colorado USA taking high road to national pageant". Denver Post. p. B2.
- ^ "Junior Nicole Bosso Chosen Miss Delaware USA". US Fed News. 2006-12-05.
- ^ Davis, Rich (2007-03-02). "Evansville native counting down to Miss USA pageant". The Evansville Courier. p. D1.
- ^ "Clearwater woman crowned Miss Kansas USA". Associated Press. 2006-12-18.
- ^ Frank, Tracy (2007-02-23). "North Dakota Miss USA gearing up for pageant". Associated Press.
- ^ Heaton, Michael (2007-03-20). "Beauty's a science geek Richmond Heights contestant wants future in medicine". The Plain Dealer. p. E1.
- ^ "R.I. woman Miss USA runner-up". The Providence Journal. 2007-03-24. p. A-5.
External links
- Miss USA official website