Kellye Cash-Sheppard (born February 2, 1965) is an American musician and beauty pageant titleholder.

Early life

Cash was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

Pageantry

Cash was crowned

Miss Tennessee The Miss Tennessee competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Tennessee in the Miss America Scholarship Competition. Lauren Dickson of Parsons was crowned Miss Tennessee 2022 on June 25, 2022 at the Cannon Cente ...

1986 and later

Miss America 1987 Miss America 1987, the 60th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 13, 1986 on NBC, NBC Network. Although an entry representing the city of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis had been victorious i ...

, capturing preliminary honors in both the talent and swimsuit competitions.

Career

Following her reign as Miss America, Cash toured with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

's USO Show and appeared on '' Late Night with David Letterman'', ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

'', '' Good Morning America'', and others. She has performed with numerous musical artists, including

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

Lee Greenwood Melvin Lee Greenwood (born October 27, 1942) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He also plays the saxophone. Active since 1962, he has released more than 20 major-label albums and has charted more than 35 singles on the ''Billboa ...

, and Billy Joel, and appeared in regional theatrical productions. Cash was chosen for the role of country music legend

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

in ''Always...Patsy Cline''. In 2003, from April to December, Cash played the role of "Narrator" in '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' at the Mansion America Theatre in Branson, Missouri. Cash has released six albums: four Christian and two country, including ''Living by the Word,'' and ''Real Life.'' She has hosted and performed at several pageants over the years as well as other events, such as for the finals of 2007's ''Star Search''.

Politics

An advocate for conservative political candidates and issues, Cash has twice been publicly elected to the State Executive Committee of the

Tennessee Republican Party The Tennessee Republican Party (TRP or TNGOP) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in Tennessee. Since the mid-1960s, the state has become increasingly Republican. The current chairman of the Republican Party of Tennessee is Sco ...

. She performed at an event for presidential candidate Pat Buchanan, held before the

1996 Republican National Convention The 1996 Republican National Convention convened at the San Diego Convention Center (SDCC) in San Diego, California, from August 12 to August 15, 1996. The convention nominated former Senator Bob Dole from Kansas, for president and former Repres ...

Personal life

Cash is the grand-niece of singers Johnny Cash,

Tommy Cash Tommy Cash (born April 5, 1940) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. His elder brother was Johnny Cash. Biography Cash was born in Dyess, Arkansas, United States, the youngest of four sons and three daughters of Ray and Carrie (R ...

and

June Carter Cash June Carter Cash (born Valerie June Carter; June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter and dancer. A five-time Grammy award-winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prio ...

Cash married Todd Sheppard, a teacher, in 1989. The couple have three children. Her daughter, Cassidy, competed for the title of

in June 2014, placing in the top 16 finalists. Her daughter, Tatum, was crowned

Miss Virginia The Miss Virginia competition is a scholarship pageant for women, with the titleholder representing Virginia in the Miss America pageant. The competition was founded in 1953 as a scholarship contest for young women, although women had represente ...

in June 2021. She will go on to compete for the title of "Miss America" in December 2021.

References

External links

*
"Always Patsy Cline"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cash, Kellye Miss America winners Miss Tennessee winners American gospel singers American women singers Tennessee Republicans Living people Women in Tennessee politics 1965 births Miss America Preliminary Talent winners People from Memphis, Tennessee People from Milan, Tennessee 21st-century American women