Ericka Dunlap (born December 29, 1981BlackPast - Ericka Dunlap biography
/ref>) is an American

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

titleholder from

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

who was named Miss Florida 2003 and subsequently crowned

Miss America 2004 Miss America 2004, the 77th Miss America pageant, was broadcast from the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 20, 2003 on ABC Network. Results Placements Awards Preliminary awards Quality of Life award Final ...

. Dunlap was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

woman to be crowned

Miss Florida The Miss Florida competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Florida in the Miss America pageant. Florida has twice won the Miss America crown. In the fall of 2018, the Miss America Organization terminated Miss F ...

in the

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 ...

pageant's 81-year history. As of 2022, she is the only African American woman to have been crowned Miss Florida.

Personal

Dunlap is a native of

, attended

William R. Boone High School William Rennick Boone High School is a public high school in Orlando, Florida. Built in 1952, the school is one of twenty high schools in the Orange County Public Schools system, created to accommodate the growing number of students at Orlando Hi ...

, and is a graduate of the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State Universi ...

. While attending college at the University of Central Florida, she became a member of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emph ...

sorority. She and her then-husband, Brian Kleinschmidt, appeared on ''

The Amazing Race 15 ''The Amazing Race 15'' is the fifteenth season of the American reality television series ''The Amazing Race''. It featured twelve teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on Sunday, September 27, 2009, with ...

'', where they placed third overall. Dunlap gave birth to a daughter in 2020.Former Miss America shares how pageant helps pave the way for womens’ success
/ref>

Career

In 2004, she was crowned

, becoming the seventh African American woman to hold the title. Dunlap's platform was "United We Stand, Divided We Fall Behind: Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion." Dunlap appeared on ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

'', ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...

'', '' Live With Regis and Kelly'', and Fox News’ ''

The O'Reilly Factor ''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...

''. She also served as Grand Marshal of the

Talladega 500 The GEICO 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race is usually held in April or May. The 1997 event stands as the fastest NASCAR race to date ever run with an average speed of ...

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

race. She has also appeared in a number of movies, including ''

District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New ...

''. Ms. Dunlap's international appeal began with her travels to the Middle-East during her reign as Miss America to entertain and serve the American troops for Thanksgiving. Most recently, Ericka traveled to Afghanistan to once again boost morale. Currently, Ericka is a Public Relations Specialist and has formed Crown Jewel Consulting. Her charitable organization, The Crown Jewel Foundation, promotes social development skills and image awareness in young girls, and is set to re-launch in the summer of 2011 with the Princess Power Project. She continues to travel as a special guest speaker as well as developing her entrepreneurial interests in her hometown of

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

. Since the fall of 2013, Ericka has been seen as a judge at

The American Idol Experience The American Idol Experience was a theme park attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort. Inspired by the popular American television series ''American Idol'', the attraction invited park guests to audition in fro ...

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by M ...

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

. She ran for the Orlando City Commission, District 5 in 2017, but lost to incumbent Regina Hill.Hill, Stuart pull slim victories in Orlando City Council races; Gray coasts to re-election
/ref>

References

External links

* 1981 births Living people Miss America 2004 delegates Miss America winners People from Orlando, Florida The Amazing Race (American TV series) contestants William R. Boone High School alumni University of Central Florida alumni Delta Sigma Theta members Beauty queen-politicians {{US-pageant-bio-stub