The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

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 ...

competition. The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Miss California pageant was held, the competition was primarily in San Francisco and Venice, California. In 1947, it returned to Santa Cruz and was held there annually until 1985, after which it moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

in response to years of protests and a "Myth California" counter pageant organized by local

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

activists led by Ann Simonton and Nikki Craft. It has been held in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

since 1994. Catherine Liang of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

was crowned Miss California on June 25, 2022 at the Paul Shaghoian Memorial Concert Hall

. She competed for the title of

2023 at the

Mohegan Sun Mohegan Sun is an American casino, owned and operated by the Mohegan Tribe on of their reservation, along the banks of the Thames River in Uncasville, Connecticut. It has of gambling space. It is in the foothills of southeastern Connecticut ...

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

where she was a Women in Business Finalist and Non-finalist Talent Winner.

Gallery of past titleholders

File:Rosemary LaPlanche Miss California 1940.jpg, File:Jean Bartel as Miss America 1943.jpg, File:Marilynbuferd.jpg, File:Lee Meriwether 2008.png, File:Sharon Terrill of Arlington, Texas, cheerleader at Arlington State College (10002354).jpg, File:Susan Anton cropped.jpg, File:MissAmerica1983.jpg, File:Rita Ng.jpg, File:Jacquelynne Fontaine.jpg, File:Melissa Chaty cropped.jpg, File:Kristen Cavinder cropped.jpg, File:Noelle Freeman at Great Wall of China.jpg, File:Leah Cecil Miss California 2012.jpg, File:Miss California 2013 Crystal Lee.jpg, File:2015 Miss California.jpg, File:Miss California 2016 .jpg,

Results summary

The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss California titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.

Placements

* Miss Americas: Fay Lanphier (1925), Rosemary LaPlanche (1941), Jean Bartel (1943), Marilyn Buferd (1946),

Lee Meriwether Lee Ann Meriwether (born May 27, 1935) is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss America 1955 pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows, notably as Betty Jones, the title character's secretary and daught ...

(1955), Debra Maffett (1983) * 1st runners-up: Adrienne Dore (1925), Phyllis Dobson (1936), Claire James (1938), Rosemary LaPlanche (1940), Phyllis Mathis (1945), Suzanne Reamo (1961), Charlene Dallas (1967), Lucianne Buchanan (1975), Kristy Cavinder (2010), Crystal Lee (2014) * 2nd runners-up: Fay Lanphier (1924), Blanche MacDonald (1933), Jeanne Shores (1953), Susan Anton (1970), Janet Carr (1976), Rita Ng (2001) * 3rd runners-up: Lillian Knight (1924), Phyllis Randall (1937) (tie), Marguerite Skliris (1939), Lorna Anderson (1958), Sandra Jennings (1959), Susan Bronson (1960), Linda Mouron (1977), Marlise Ricardos (1989), Tiffany Stoker (1996) * 4th runners-up: Lucille Lambert (1942), Laura Emery (1947), Jone Pedersen (1949), Rebekah Ann Keller (1998),

Nicole Lamarche Nicole Lamarche is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC) and a beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss California 2003. Competing in the Miss San Francisco Pageant in 2003, she won the title and went on to win Miss Calif ...

(2004),

Veena Goel Veena Goel Crownholm (born September 23, 1981) is an American writer, motivational speaker, internet personality, blogger, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder from Laguna Hills, California. She was crowned Miss California 2004, placed fourt ...

(2005), Noelle Freeman (2012) * Top 7: Jackie Geist (2009) * Top 8: Melissa Chaty (2008) * Top 10: Patricia Johns (1954), Joan Beckett (1957), Susan Henryson (1962), Wendy Douglas (1964), Susan Shipley (1974), Connie Lee Haugen (1978), Jacquelynne Fontaine (2007),

Arianna Afsar Arianna Ayesha "Ari" Afsar (born October 22, 1991) is an American singer, composer, beauty queen and activist best known for her starring role in Hamilton, as the songwriter of the musical ''Jeannette'', and as a top contestant on American Idol. ...

(2011), Jessa Carmack (2017) * Top 12: Virginia Donham (1935), Shirley Ballard (1944) * Top 13: Polly Ellis (1945) * Top 15: Ruby Smith (1927), Bertha Weizel (1927), Eileen Kim (2020) * Top 16: Joanne Durant (1951) * Top 20:

Stephanie Baldwin Stephanie Inez Baldwin (born 1978) is a beauty queen from Fullerton, California. She held the title of Miss California 2001 and placed in the top 20 at Miss America 2002. She earned over $25,000 in scholarships. Biography Baldwin graduated fr ...

(2002)

Awards

Preliminary awards

* Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Rosemary LaPlanche (1940 and 1941), Jean Bartel (1943), Marilyn Buferd (1946), Jone Pedersen (1950), Joanne Durant (1951), Jeanne Shores (1953), Patricia Johns (1954),

(1955), Joan Beckett (1957), Sandra Jennings (1959), Sherri Raap (1965), Charlene Dallas (1967), Carolyn Stoner (1972), Lucianne Buchanan (1975), Janet Carr (1976), Debra Maffett (1983),

Lisa Michelle Duncan Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), ...

(1994), Tiffany Stoker (1996), Rebekah Ann Keller (1998),

(2004) * Preliminary Talent: Phyllis Dobson (1936), Phyllis Randall (1937), Marguerite Skliris (1939), Jean Bartel (1943), Polly Ellis (1945), Susan Henryson (1962), Charlene Dallas (1967), Debra Maffett (1983), Rita Ng (2001),

(2005), Dustin-Leigh Konzelman (2006), Jacquelynne Fontaine (2007), Kristy Cavinder (2010)

Non-finalist awards

* Non-finalist talent: Sandra Lynne Becker (1966), Sharon Terrill (1969), Karin Kascher (1971), Christine Acton (1979), Lisa Kahre (1987), Maria Ostapiej (1991),

Jennifer Hanson Jennifer Kathleen Hanson (born August 10, 1973) is an American country music artist, songwriter and record producer. She made her artist debut in 2002 with the release of her single “ Beautiful Goodbye”. The song went on to become a top 20 hi ...

(1995), Danielle Coney (1999), MaryAnne Sapio (2000), Dustin-Leigh Konzelman (2006), Catherine Liang (2023)

Other awards

* Miss Congeniality: Susan Henryson (1962) * Final Night Swimsuit:

(2004) * Miss America Scholar: Rita Ng (2001) * STEM Scholarship Award Winners: Crystal Lee (2014) * Waterford Business Scholarship: Danielle Coney (1999) * Women in Business Finalists: Catherine Liang (2023)

Winners

References

External links

* {{Miss America state

California culture Women in California Recurring events established in 1924 1924 establishments in California