Allison Leigh Alderson DeMarcus (born January 18, 1977) is an American actress, TV host and beauty queen who has competed in the

Miss Teen USA Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the Mis ...

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

and

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

pageants. Alderson is married to

Jay DeMarcus Jay DeMarcus (born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr.; on April 26, 1971) is an American bassist, vocalist, pianist, record producer and songwriter. From 1999 to 2021, he was a member of the country pop group Rascal Flatts. Early life DeMarcus was born ...

, the bassist in the band

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second co ...

Biography

Alderson grew up in

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States census. Jackso ...

, and is a graduate of the University School of Jackson. She graduated ''cum laude'' with a degree in business administration from

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges ...

in 1999, where she served as president of the

Chi Omega Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is a women's fraternity and a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the umbrella organization of 26 women's fraternities. Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chapt ...

sorority. She won the Wall Street Journal Award for Excellence in Finance because she was the top finance student in her graduating class. As part of the Bryce Harlow Institute of Business and Government Affairs, she also studied at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. Alderson's sister Amy held the

Miss District of Columbia USA The Miss District of Columbia USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the District of Columbia in the Miss USA pageant. Four District of Columbia representatives have won the Miss USA title. Of those two, Deshauna Ba ...

1999 title, at the same time that Alderson was Miss Tennessee. Alderson's sister is married to country artist

James Otto James Allen Otto (born July 29, 1973) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Otto began his career on Mercury Nashville Records in 2002, charting three minor singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts and recording his de ...

. Alderson was Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1994, Miss Tennessee 1999 and Miss Tennessee USA 2002. On May 15, 2004, Alderson married

, bassist/pianist in the band

, whom she met when she acted in the video for the band's song "These Days". The couple's first child, a daughter named Madeline Leigh DeMarcus, was born on December 17, 2010. Their son, Dylan Jay DeMarcus, was born on July 20, 2012. Alderson currently works on the CMT show ''Hot 20 Countdown'' and is the regular host of the Miss Tennessee pageant, which is held in her hometown, Jackson. She has been a red-carpet-show host for the

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The awards ceremony is held every year in Nashville, Tennessee, and broadcast live on the CMT (Country Music Television) channel. Voting take ...

, a roving reporter and correspondent for the Miss America pageant, and a correspondent for ''CMT Insider'', interviewing actors from

Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series '' Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 a ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

. She served as "style judge" for CMT's ''Karaoke Dokey'' and hosted ''Extreme Makeover: Quickbooks Edition''. Off camera, Alderson is on the boards of directors of

Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, also known as Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care children's teaching hospital and entity of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Te ...

, the Women's Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, the

Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headquar ...

of Middle Tennessee and the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant. She also volunteers for Chi Omega, the Nashville Symphony League, the Nashville Humane Association, the Nashville Ballet, Second Harvest Food Bank, the Nashville Alliance and the Oasis Center.

References

External links

CMT ShowsInstitute on Business and Government Affairs (IBGA) official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alderson, Allison 1977 births Living people Georgetown University alumni Miss America 2000 delegates 1994 beauty pageant contestants 20th-century Miss Teen USA delegates Miss Tennessee winners Miss Tennessee USA winners Miss USA 2002 delegates People from Jackson, Tennessee 20th-century American people