Miss California

Beauty pageant competition

The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America competition.

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" counter pageant organized by local feminist activists led by Ann Simonton and Nikki Craft.^[1][2][3][4] It has been held in Visalia, California since 2023.^[5][6]

Kimberly Vernon of Santa Clara was crowned Miss California 2024 on June 15, 2024 at the Visalia Convention Center Visalia, California. She will compete for the title of Miss America 2025.

Gallery of past titleholders

• 
  Rosemary LaPlanche,
  Miss California 1940 and 1941 in 1940
• 
  Jean Bartel,
  Miss California 1943 and Miss America 1943
• 
  Marilyn Buferd,
  Miss California 1946 and Miss America 1946 in 1953
• 
  Lee Meriwether,
  Miss California 1954 and Miss America 1955 in 2008
• 
  Sharon Terrill,
  Miss California 1968, at Arlington State College in Texas in 1965
• 
  Susan Anton,
  Miss California 1969 in 2001
• 
  Debra Maffett,
  Miss California 1982 and Miss America 1983 with Ronald Letterman
• Rita Ng,
  Miss California 2000
• 
  Jacquelynne Fontaine,
  Miss California 2006
• 
  Melissa Chaty,
  Miss California 2007
• 
  Kristy Cavinder,
  Miss California 2009
• 
  Noelle Freeman,
  Miss California 2011, at the Great Wall of China
• 
  Leah Cecil,
  Miss California 2012
• 
  Crystal Lee,
  Miss California 2013
• 
  Bree Morse,
  Miss California 2015
• 
  Jessa Carmack,
  Miss California 2016

Results summary

The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss California titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.

Placements

• Miss Americas: Fay Lanphier (1925), Rosemary LaPlanche (1941), Jean Bartel (1943), Marilyn Buferd (1946), Lee Meriwether (1955), Debra Maffett (1983)
• 1st runners-up: Adrienne Dore (1925), Phyllis Dobson (1936), Claire James (1938), Rosemary LaPlanche (1940), Phyllis Mathis (1945), Suzanne Reamo (1961), Charlene Dallas (1967), Lucianne Buchanan (1975), Kristy Cavinder (2010), Crystal Lee (2014)
• 2nd runners-up: Fay Lanphier (1924), Blanche MacDonald (1933), Jeanne Shores (1953), Susan Anton (1970), Janet Carr (1976), Rita Ng (2001)
• 3rd runners-up: Lillian Knight (1924), Phyllis Randall (1937) (tie), Marguerite Skliris (1939), Lorna Anderson (1958), Sandra Jennings (1959), Susan Bronson (1960), Linda Mouron (1977), Marlise Ricardos (1989), Tiffany Stoker (1996)
• 4th runners-up: Lucille Lambert (1942), Laura Emery (1947), Jone Pedersen (1949), Rebekah Ann Keller (1998), Nicole Lamarche (2004), Veena Goel (2005), Noelle Freeman (2012)
• Top 7: Jackie Geist (2009)
• Top 8: Melissa Chaty (2008)
• Top 10: Patricia Johns (1954), Joan Beckett (1957), Susan Henryson (1962), Wendy Douglas (1964), Susan Shipley (1974), Connie Lee Haugen (1978), Jacquelynne Fontaine (2007), Arianna Afsar (2011), Jessa Carmack (2017)
• Top 12: Virginia Donham (1935), Shirley Ballard (1944)
• Top 13: Polly Ellis (1945)
• Top 15: Ruby Smith (1927), Bertha Weizel (1927), Eileen Kim (2020)
• Top 16: Joanne Durant (1951)
• Top 20: Stephanie Baldwin (2002)

Awards

Preliminary awards

• Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Rosemary LaPlanche (1940 and 1941), Jean Bartel (1943), Marilyn Buferd (1946), Jone Pedersen (1950), Joanne Durant (1951), Jeanne Shores (1953), Patricia Johns (1954), Lee Meriwether (1955), Joan Beckett (1957), Sandra Jennings (1959), Sherri Raap (1965), Charlene Dallas (1967), Carolyn Stoner (1972), Lucianne Buchanan (1975), Janet Carr (1976), Debra Maffett (1983), Lisa Michelle Duncan (1994), Tiffany Stoker (1996), Rebekah Ann Keller (1998), Nicole Lamarche (2004)
• Preliminary Talent: Phyllis Dobson (1936), Phyllis Randall (1937), Marguerite Skliris (1939), Jean Bartel (1943), Polly Ellis (1945), Susan Henryson (1962), Charlene Dallas (1967), Debra Maffett (1983), Rita Ng (2001), Veena Goel (2005), Dustin-Leigh Konzelman (2006), Jacquelynne Fontaine (2007), Kristy Cavinder (2010)

Non-finalist awards

• Non-finalist talent: Sandra Lynne Becker (1966), Sharon Terrill (1969), Karin Kascher (1971), Christine Acton (1979), Lisa Kahre (1987), Maria Ostapiej (1991), Jennifer Hanson (1995), Danielle Coney (1999), MaryAnne Sapio (2000), Dustin-Leigh Konzelman (2006), Catherine Liang (2023)

Other awards

• Miss Congeniality: Susan Henryson (1962)
• Final Night Swimsuit: Nicole Lamarche (2004)
• Miss America Scholar: Rita Ng (2001)
• STEM Scholarship Award Winners: Crystal Lee (2014)
• Waterford Business Scholarship: Danielle Coney (1999)
• Women in Business Finalists: Catherine Liang (2023)

Winners

•   Declared as winner
•   Ended as a runner-up
•   Ended as a finalist or semi-finalist

References

1. Clemens, Samuel (2020). Pat: A Biography of Hollywood's Blonde Starlet. Sequoia Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0578682822.
2. "Police Arrest 11 Demonstrators in Protest of Pageant", Associated Press in Oxnard Press-Courier, June 17, 1986.
3. 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.
4. Kirsten Anderberg, "Radical body politics for women", KirstenAnderberg.com 2004
5. Hoagland, Doug (2007-07-01). "Pageant crowns San Diego woman". Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
6. "Miss California History". Miss California. Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
7. Valenzuela, Larry (June 25, 2021). "Sixth shot is sweet spot for winner of 2021 Miss California competition Friday in Fresno". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
8. Pope, Troy (April 6, 2020). "Miss California 2020 postponed". YourCentralValley.com. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
9. Galaviz, Anthony (June 29, 2019). "Fourth time a charm for new Miss California. 'I wasn't here to just win the crown,' she says". The Fresno Bee.
10. "Miss America 2020 Pageant: Top 15 Contestants Revealed LIVE". Heavy.com. December 19, 2019.
11. Esparza Loera, Juan (June 30, 2018). "Miss California 2018 MacKenzie Freed heading to a revamped Miss America". Vida en el Valle.
12. Panoo, Ashleigh (July 1, 2017). "Miss California crowns its champ, and the winner is …". The Fresno Bee.
13. "North Bay's Jessa Carmack is crowned Miss California 2016 in Fresno". fresnobee. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
14. Wiegle, Lauren (September 11, 2016). "Miss America 2017 Pageant: Top 10 Contestants Revealed LIVE". Heavy.com.
15. Cheng, Cynthia. "Miss California's Outstanding Teen 2011 is Jessa Carmack". Silicon Valley Voice. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
16. Santos, Nicole (June 27, 2015). "Miss Orange Coast wins Miss California crown". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, CA: McClatchy. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
17. Fernandez, Lisa (September 16, 2013). "Crystal Lee, Miss America Runner-Up, a Stanford Grad, Techie". NBC].
18. Oldenberg, Ann (September 17, 2013). "Miss America crowns 2014 winner". USA TODAY.
19. Obeegadoo, Nikhita (September 23, 2013). "Crystal Lee '13 is first runner-up in Miss America 2014". The Stanford Daily.
20. "Next in Line for Greatness". Pageantry Magazine. August 20, 2008.
21. "52 Fun Facts About This Year's Miss America Hopefuls". Cosmopolitan.com. 11 September 2016.
22. Boyarsky, Alexia (January 10, 2012). "UCLA students juggle their academic workload with pageant competitions". DailyBruin.com.
23. "Pride of the Plains". Pageantry Magazine.
24. Abel, Fred. "A Thunderous Teen Success". Pageantry Magazine.
25. "American Idol Audition of the Day: Arianna Afsar". The Hollywood Gossip. 2009-02-03.
26. "Casting for Chicago's 'Hamilton' announced". Chicago Sun-Times. July 13, 2016.
27. "UCLA alumna Ari Afsar lands role in Chicago production of 'Hamilton'". Daily Bruin. September 16, 2016.
28. Associated Press (2007-07-01). "Miss North Coast Melissa Chaty wins 2007 Miss California crown". The Lompoc Record. Retrieved 2007-07-01.^{[dead link]}
29. "BYU Student Is Crowned Miss California for 1995". Deseret News. July 10, 1995.
30. Roberts, Roxanne (September 17, 1995). "Miss Oklahoma Wins, So Does Pageant Tradition". The Washington Post.
31. "Miss California "Woman of Year"". Cumberland Times News. June 29, 1992. p. 2.
32. Deitering, Debra Maddox, "The Miss America Pageant's Influence on the Self-Construction of its 1985 Contestants" (2001-12-1). Master of Arts Thesis. University of Nebraska at Omaha.
33. "Miss California 1984". YouTube.^{[dead YouTube link]}
34. Toscano, Louis (September 12, 1982). "Debra Sue Maffett: Miss America 1983". United Press International.
35. "Beauty Wins Miss California Crown, Then Gives It Up". The Los Angeles Times. June 27, 1966. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
36. Gilfillian, Trudi (September 16, 2013). "1955's Miss America Lee Meriwether's crown was first to be televised". Press of Atlantic City.
37. "Miss Delaware to Give Atlantic City Beauties Run for U. S. Honors". Wilmington, Delaware: The Morning News. September 4, 1941.
38. "Miss America Timeline: 1901–1950". PBS. Archived from the original on 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
39. Schnitzspahn, Karen (September 8, 1997). "There She Was – Miss Long Branch". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com. ...talent contest that was established in 1935.
40. "Extra Attraction". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. August 22, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
41. "Reporter, Dazzled by Beauty of Six Pageant Entrants - Sees Hard Job Ahead for Judges". The Indianapolis Times. Indianapolis, Indiana. September 5, 1922. p. 1.
42. "Delegates". The Leavenworth Times. Leavenworth, Kansas. September 8, 1922. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
43. "1921 Candidates". Miss America.

External links

• Official website