Tanya Denise Wilson (born June 13, 1950) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss USA 1972 Miss USA 1972 was the 21st Miss USA pageant, held at Cerromar Beach Hotel in Dorado, Puerto Rico, on May 20, 1972. Tanya Wilson of Hawaii was crowned by outgoing titleholder Michele McDonald of Pennsylvania. This was the second time Hawai ...

. Wilson had previously been crowned Miss Hawaii USA 1972, and placed in the top twelve at Miss Universe 1972, where she represented the United States. Born in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is th ...

, Wilson began her pageantry career competing for

Miss Nevada The Miss Nevada competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Nevada in the Miss America competition, and the name of the title held by that winner. The first Nevadan to compete at Miss America was Carol Lampe in 1 ...

in 1969 and 1970, placing as a runner-up. Wilson later moved to

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

with her mother and began attending the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. She was later crowned Miss Hawaii USA 1972, earning the right to represent Hawaii at

Dorado, Puerto Rico Dorado () is a town and municipality in the northern coast of Puerto Rico, west of San Juan and is located in the northern region of the island, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, north of Toa Alta, east of Vega Alta, and west of Toa Baja. Dorado ...

. She went on to win the title, becoming the second woman from Hawaii to win Miss USA. As Miss USA, Wilson represented the United States at Miss Universe 1972 in Dorado, where she placed in the top twelve. She finished her reign as Miss USA after crowning Amanda Jones of Illinois as Miss USA 1973. At the time of her Miss Hawaii USA win, Wilson was a senior at the University of Hawaii studying

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

, and was set to graduate the weekend after Miss USA. She had planned to become engaged to her boyfriend after her graduation, but was forced to defer the engagement after winning the title. She and her fiancé intended to marry in June 1973 after passing on her title.

References

External links

Miss USA official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Tanya 1950 births American beauty pageant winners Living people Miss Universe 1972 contestants Miss USA winners People from Honolulu People from Reno, Nevada University of Hawaiʻi alumni