Miss USA: What to Know About the Pageant, Eligibility, Controversies

It’s almost time to crown the next Miss USA.

The famous pageant has had a tumultuous few years, featuring rigging accusations, sexual harassment allegations, and two queens giving up their crowns — a first in the organization’s 73-year history. Now, Thom Brodeur, the new CEO and president of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, is hoping to launch a new era.

But what’s the story behind the pageant that introduced the world to the likes of Halle Berry and Olivia Culpo, and who is allowed to compete?

We’ve got the answers to all your questions before the show on October 24.

What is Miss USA?

Miss USA all started because of a swimsuit.

When Miss America 1951 winner Yolande Betbeze refused to pose for pictures in a swimsuit, Catalina — a swimwear company sponsoring the competition — created its own pageant. A year later, Jackie Loughery became the first-ever Miss USA. That same year was also the first Miss Universe pageant.

The Miss USA competition consists of three rounds: swimsuit, evening gown, and interview. Unlike Miss America, which offers scholarship money as part of its prize package, the winner of Miss USA is typically paid $100,000 for a yearlong reign that involves numerous appearances and speaking engagements across the country. The Miss USA organization has historically emphasized philanthropy, allowing titleholders to advocate for their cause or charity of choice during their reign.

Every winner also competes at the annual Miss Universe pageant. Nine American women have won Miss Universe, the most of any country. Venezuela is in second place with seven wins.

Who has owned the Miss USA pageant?

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 remarks he made about Mexican immigrants when announcing his 2016 presidential campaign.

In 2020, both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA were franchised to Crystle Stewart, who won Miss USA in 2008. The Miss Universe Organization still oversees every national pageant that sends delegates to Miss Universe and has the final say if there’s an issue. So it was the organization that suspended Stewart in October 2022 amid allegations the Miss USA pageant had been rigged that year.

Though 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 Miss USA president.

Endeavor also sold the Miss Universe Organization to Anne Jakrajutatip and her Thailand-based company, JKN Global Group, in October 2022.

On September 16, the Miss Universe Organization announced that Thom Brodeur was replacing Rose as the new Miss USA president and CEO. Jakrajutatip’s company, JKN Universe, is suing Rose’s company, VVV Global Ent., for its management of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.

Who is eligible to compete at Miss USA?

Eligibility rules for the Miss USA pageant have changed drastically over the past few years. In 2023, the pageant began allowing married women and mothers to compete, which is still not permitted in the Miss America pageant.

All women aged 18 and over are now eligible to compete at Miss USA (the cutoff age was 28 until 2024). Women between the ages of 14 to 19 can compete at Miss Teen USA. Once you’ve won a state pageant, you can only compete once for the Miss USA or Miss Teen USA title.

Miss USA contestants are allowed to have tattoos or undergo plastic surgery. There is also no height requirement.

Who has won Miss USA?

The current Miss USA is Alma Cooper, a US Army officer and West Point graduate from Michigan.

Texas holds the record for the most Miss USA winners. Ten women have won the crown for the Lone Star State, which had a five-year winning streak from 1985 to 1989. There are 18 states that have never won a 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, winning the title when she was 28 in 2022.

The Miss USA winner list 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 Gist became the first Black woman to win, and Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih Slaiby was the first Middle Eastern woman to take home the crown.

Gabriel was the first Filipina American to win Miss USA, while Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt was the first Venezuelan American to hold the title.

Why is Miss USA controversial?

The dust had barely settled from the scandals of 2022 when Miss USA found itself back in the headlines. In May 2024, Voigt announced she was giving up her crown. Two days later, Miss Teen USA UmaSofia Srivastava followed suit.

Both women gave few details on their resignations, citing nondisclosure agreements they had to sign to compete in 2023. But their mothers, Jackeline Voigt and Barbara Srivastava, told Business Insider at the time that their daughters had suffered through “eight months of torture and abuse” under Rose’s leadership as president and CEO of Miss USA. Rose has denied the allegations.

In her official resignation letter, Voigt said she had been diagnosed with anxiety to manage symptoms — including “heart palpitations, full body shakes, loss of hair” — that developed “due to consistently being on edge, worrying about what Laylah will pop up with and choose to harass me about daily.”

“It is devastating and unacceptable that my mind and body have been so horrifically affected by the treatment I have received at the hands of current Miss USA leadership,” she added in the letter.

After Voigt resigned, more than 40 Miss USA 2023 contestants posted a shared Instagram statement demanding that she be released from the NDA. Miss Colorado Arianna Lemus also resigned in a show of support, and Miss Teen USA first runner-up Stephanie Skinner refused to assume Srivastava’s title.

“One thing I will never give up is my character, nor my integrity,” Skinner told Business Insider at the time.

After Voigt and Srivastava’s resignations, the 2024 Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants went on as planned, and Cooper and Addie Carver were crowned the respective winners in August of that year.

JKN’s lawsuit alleges that Rose’s company, VVV Global Ent., failed to pay Cooper her $100,000 salary as Miss USA and had not given Carver her $10,000 Miss Teen USA scholarship. It notes that Rose is the sole employee of VVV.

The complaint also said the Miss Universe Organization has been unable to secure a US broadcaster to air the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants due to Rose’s “public scandals.”

Voigt told Business Insider that she “felt vindicated” by the lawsuit.

“The facade is crumbling big time,” she added.

When is the next Miss USA pageant?

The 74th annual Miss USA pageant will take place at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, on October 24, with 51 women competing for the crown.

Both the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants will be streamed on the Queen Beauty Network.