The Miss North Carolina competition selects the representative for the state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

to compete in the annual

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 competition has been held in

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

every year since 1978. Prior to that, it was held in various locales including

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, Greensboro,

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, Burlington, Wilmington, and Morehead City. Karolyn Martin of

was crowned Miss North Carolina 2022 on June 25, 2022 at High Point Theatre in

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city tha ...

. She competed for the title of

Miss America 2023 Miss America 2023 was the 95th edition of the Miss America pageant, which occurred at the Mohegan Sun on December 16, 2022. The 2023 calendar year, based on several sources, may be the final year at Mohegan Sun. Rather than being aired on mains ...

at the

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in December 2022.

75th anniversary

The Miss North Carolina pageant celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2012. For pageant week, all living former Miss North Carolina titleholders were invited back for a reunion. The "Miss North Carolina Sisterhood" sponsored a special gala the night before the pageant on June 22, 2012. This was highlighted with a special exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of History and 43 former Miss North Carolinas (the oldest being Miss North Carolina 1946, Trudy Riley Kearny) coming to the week's events, including Miss America 1962,

Maria Fletcher Maria Beale Fletcher (born June 23, 1942) is an American beauty pageant contestant who was Miss America 1962. Early life and education Fletcher was born to dancing duo Charles "Beale" and Margaret Gatley Fletcher, who were the founders of the F ...

. In addition, all of the former titleholders were invited for a special honorary luncheon at the

North Carolina Executive Mansion The North Carolina Executive Mansion (also referred to as the North Carolina Governor's Mansion) is the official residence of the governor of North Carolina and their family. Building began in the year 1883 and it was designed by architects Samu ...

, the first luncheon held there since the 1960s. This also marked the first time in 17 years that the pageant has been televised throughout the state. It was televised on the special events channel of

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Gallery of past titleholders

File:JessicaJacobs.png, File:Katherine Southard headshot.jpg,

Results summary

The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss North Carolina 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:

(

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

) * 1st runners-up: Constance Dorn (1973), Susan Lawrence (1976), Michelle Warren (1998), Kelli Bradshaw (1999) * 2nd runners-up: Ruth Covington (1937), Lu Ogburn (1952), Ann Herring (1961), Kirstin Elrod (2005) * 3rd runners-up: Clara Faye Arnold (1956) * 4th runners-up: Joey Augusta Paxton (1941), Betty Evans (1959), Jessica Jacobs (2008) * Top 10: Elaine Herndon (1958), Jennifer Smith (1992) * Top 13: Dorothy Johnson (1945) * Top 15: Margaret Wood (1939), Misty Clymer (2003), Hailey Best (2012), Alexandra Badgett (2020) * Top 16: Betty Hunneycutt (1937), Carolyn Edwards (1951)

Awards

Preliminary awards

* Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Joey Augusta Paxton (1941), Lu Ogburn (1952), Clara Faye Arnold (1956), Elaine Herndon (1958), Betty Evans (1959),

(1962), Monta Maki (1980), Elizabeth Williams (1983), Kelli Bradshaw (1999) * Preliminary Talent: Margaret Wood (1939), Joey Augusta Paxton (1941), Lu Ogburn (1952), Scarlet Morgan (1991), Lisa Bamford (1996), Michelle Warren (1998), Adrienne Core (2011)

Non-finalist awards

* Non-finalist Talent: Sarah Stedman (1968), Elise Annette Johnson (1969), Patricia Johnson (1970), Cornelia Lerner (1971), Susan Griffin (1975), Deborah Shook (1979), Janet Ward Black (1981), Lynn Williford (1982), Elizabeth Williams (1983), Scarlet Morgan (1991), Dana Stephenson (1995), Lisa Bamford (1996), Jennifer Roberts (1997), Lorna McNeil (2001), Adrienne Core (2011), Arlie Honeycutt (2013), Beth Stovall (2015), McKenzie Faggart (2017)

Other awards

* Miss Congeniality: Jeanne Swanner (1964) * Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Miracle Maker Award: Hailey Best (2012) * Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Miracle Maker Award 1st runners-up: Victoria Huggins (2018), Alexandra Badgett (2020) *

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Bronze Medalists: Hailey Best (2012), Arlie Honeycutt (2013) * Equity & Justice Scholarship Award Winners: Alexandra Badgett (2020) * Quality of Life Award 1st runners-up: Heidi Sue Williams (1993) * Quality of Life Award 2nd runners-up: Dana Reason (2004) * Quality of Life Award Finalists: Amanda Watson (2009) *Top Fundraiser 2nd runner-up: Carli Batson (2022)