Mai Therese Shanley (born February 17, 1963) is an American model and beauty pageant titleholder who won
Miss New Mexico 1983,
Miss New Mexico USA 1984 and
Miss USA 1984. She is also currently the only & first woman from New Mexico to win the Miss USA pageant.
Biography
Her mother is ethnically
Chinese and is from
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, while her father is
Irish and was born in Ireland.
Shanley's first pageant experience came when she represented
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
in the
Miss America
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...
pageant in 1983. She did not place in that pageant.
Later, Shanley became the second Eurasian delegate to win
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. ...
. She was 21 at the time she was crowned the 33rd winner at the pageant held in
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...
, on May 17, 1984. She also edged out two former Miss America state titleholders in the top five, Kelly Anderson (
Miss West Virginia 1982) and Desiree Denise Daniels (
Miss Tennessee 1982), who placed second and third, respectively.
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
(18 May 1984)
Mai Shanley
''Kentucky New Era''[(19 May 1984)]
Miss USA Still Pinching Herself
''Lakeland Ledger''
Shanley went on to compete at the
Miss Universe Pageant in
Miami, FL in July 1984, where she was a semi-finalist.
[(22 May 1984)]
Miss USA in New York
''The Telegraph'' She married pilot Mark Fitzgerald and has two daughters.
References
External links
*
1963 births
American people of Irish descent
American beauty pageant winners of Chinese descent
Living people
Miss America 1980s delegates
Miss Universe 1984 contestants
Miss USA winners
People from Alamogordo, New Mexico
American models of Taiwanese descent
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