The famed pageant has had a tumultuous few months after Miss USA Noelia Voigt and Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava both relinquished their titles in May. It was the first time a titleholder had relinquished her crown in the organization’s 72-year history, bringing Miss USA back into the headlines less than two years after she faced cheating allegations and multiple leadership changes.
But what’s the story behind the pageant that introduced Halle Berry and Olivia Culpo to the world, and who is allowed to compete?
We have the answers to all your questions before the show on August 4th.
What is Miss USA?
Noelia Voigt has been crowned Miss USA 2023. Courtesy of Miss USA
Miss USA, it all started because of a swimsuit.
When Yolande Betbeze, winner of Miss America 1951, refused to pose in a swimsuit, Catalina, a swimsuit company sponsoring the pageant, created its own pageant. A year later, Jackie Loughery became the first Miss USA. The same year also saw the first Miss Universe pageant.
The Miss USA pageant consists of three stages: swimsuit, evening gown, and interview. Unlike Miss America, which offers a scholarship as part of its prize, the Miss USA winner receives $100,000 for a year-long reign that includes numerous appearances and speaking engagements across the country. The Miss USA organization has always placed a strong emphasis on philanthropy, allowing titleholders to champion their cause or the charity of their choice during their reign.
Each winner also competes in the annual Miss Universe pageant. Nine Americans have won the Miss Universe pageant, the most titles by any country. Venezuela ranks second with seven wins.
Who owns the Miss USA pageant?
Donald Trump with Olivia Culpo after she won Miss Universe in 2012. David Becker/Getty Images
The Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, and Miss Universe pageants were operated by the Miss Universe Organization until 2020. Donald Trump owned the Miss Universe Organization from 1996 to 2015. He sold the company to Endeavor after NBC dropped the show following racist remarks he made during his 2016 presidential campaign announcement.
In 2020, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA were awarded to Crystle Stewart, who won Miss USA in 2008. The Miss Universe Organization still oversees each national pageant that sends delegates to Miss Universe and has the final say in any issues. It was the organization that suspended Stewart in October 2022 following allegations that the Miss USA pageant was rigged that year.
Although the Miss Universe Organization said it found no evidence of rigging during its investigation, Stewart and the organization parted ways in August 2023. Laylah Rose was named the next president of Miss USA.
Endeavor sold the Miss Universe Organization to Anne Jakrajutatip and her Thailand-based company, JKN Global Group, in October 2022.
Who is eligible to compete in Miss USA?
The eligibility rules for the Miss USA pageant have changed dramatically in recent years. In 2023, the pageant began allowing married women and mothers to compete, something that is still not allowed in the Miss America pageant.
This year, for the first time, all women 18 and older will be eligible to compete in Miss USA (the previous age limit was 28). Women ages 14 to 19 can compete in Miss Teen USA. Once you win a state pageant, you can only compete once for the title of Miss USA or Miss Teen USA.
Miss USA contestants are allowed to have tattoos or undergo cosmetic surgery. There is also no height requirement.
Who won Miss USA?
Miss USA 2010, Rima Fakih, was the first woman from the Middle East to win the crown. Denise Truscello/WireImage
The current Miss USA is Savannah Gankiewicz, who won the title after Noelia Voigt stepped down in May. Voigt is the first Miss Utah to win the title since 1960. Gankiewicz, her first runner-up, represented Hawaii.
Texas holds the record for the most Miss USA pageants. Ten women have won the Miss USA title, with the state holding the pageant for five years, from 1985 to 1989. Eighteen states have never won the Miss USA pageant, including Alaska, Colorado, Florida and Oregon.
The youngest Miss USA in history is Myrna Hansen, who was 17 when she won the crown in 1953. R’Bonney Gabriel is the oldest winner on record, having won the title at age 28 in 2022.
The list of Miss USA pageant winners has become more diverse in recent decades. Miss USA 1962 Macel Wilson was the first woman of color and the first Asian American to win the title, while Miss USA 1985 Laura Martinez-Herring was the first Hispanic winner. In 1990, Carole Anne-Marie Gist became the first black woman to win the pageant, and Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih Slaiby was the first Middle Eastern woman to win the crown.
Gabriel was the first Filipino-American to win the Miss USA title, while Voigt was the first Venezuelan-American to hold the title.
Why is Miss USA controversial?
UmaSofia Srivastava and Noelia Voigt both relinquished their titles this year. Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Supermodels Unlimited
Barely had the dust settled from the 2022 scandals when Miss USA found herself in the news again. On May 6, Voigt announced she was relinquishing her crown. Two days later, Srivastava followed suit.
Both women have provided few details about their resignations, citing ironclad confidentiality agreements they were required to sign to compete in 2023. But their mothers, Jackeline Voigt and Barbara Srivastava, told BI in a May interview that their daughters endured “eight months of torture and abuse” under Rose as Miss USA president and CEO. Representatives for Rose and Miss USA did not respond to requests for comment on the mothers’ statements.
The mothers said Rose’s communications with Voigt and Srivastava were “very abusive, very demeaning, very abusive” throughout their reigns and that she repeatedly banned them from making appearances or speaking engagements, even when it was related to their philanthropic work. They said Rose also removed their daughters’ access to the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA social media pages and began impersonating them in the comments.
In his official resignation letter, obtained by BI, Voigt said he was diagnosed with anxiety to manage symptoms — including “heart palpitations, full-body tremors, hair loss” — that developed “due to being constantly on edge, worrying about what Laylah is going to say to me, and choosing to harass me on a daily basis.”
“It is devastating and unacceptable that my mind and body have been so horribly affected by the treatment I have received at the hands of the current Miss USA leadership,” she added in the letter.
Following Voigt’s resignation, more than 40 Miss USA 2023 contestants issued a statement shared on Instagram demanding that she be released from the confidentiality agreement. Miss Colorado Arianna Lemus also resigned in support, and Miss Teen USA first runner-up Stephanie Skinner declined to reclaim Srivastava’s title.
“One thing I will never give up is my character, nor my integrity,” Skinner told BI at the time.
The Miss Universe Organization, which still oversees the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants, has not yet opened an investigation. The CW, which signed a three-year deal in April to air Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, said in May that it was “evaluating its relationship with both pageants.” It has not provided an update since and did not respond to multiple requests for comment from BI.
In a statement to BI, the Miss Universe Organization did not address the issues surrounding Rose and the Miss USA pageant. However, a representative said the organization “remains steadfast in its mission to empower women and promote global unity” and is “committed to addressing all concerns with the seriousness they deserve and ensuring our platform remains a model of fairness, inclusion and respect.”
When is the next Miss USA pageant?
Despite all the recent controversy, the 73rd annual Miss USA pageant will go ahead as scheduled. You can watch Miss Teen USA on The CW on August 1 at 8 p.m. ET, while the Miss USA pageant will air at the same time on August 4. Both pageants will be held this year at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
The hosts for this year’s edition have yet to be announced. Last year, the pageant was hosted by Keltie Knight and Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, with backstage commentary from former “Bachelor in Paradise” star Jordan Kimball and Miss USA 2022 Morgan Romano, who took the title after Gabriel won Miss Universe.
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