Allison Leigh Alderson DeMarcus (born January 18, 1977) is an American actress, television host, and beauty pageant titleholder who has competed in the

Miss Teen USA Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant that has been run since 1983 by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19 years old as of January 1st of the competition year. They must be US citizens, and cannot have been married, pregnant, or ...

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. ...

and

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 ...

pageants. Alderson is married to

Jay DeMarcus Jay DeMarcus (born Stanley Wayne DeMarcus Jr.; on April 26, 1971) is an American musician, vocalist, record producer and songwriter. He is a member of the country music band Rascal Flatts. Early life DeMarcus was born in Columbus, Ohio. He grad ...

, the bassist of country music band

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American Country music, country music band formed in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background voc ...

Biography

Alderson grew up in

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

, and is a graduate of the University School of Jackson. She graduated ''cum laude'' with a degree in business administration from

Rhodes College Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA), it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Associa ...

in 1999, where she served as president of the

Chi Omega Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is an American women's collegiate fraternity. It was established in 1895 at the University of Arkansas. Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chapters. Since its founding in 18 ...

sorority. She won the Wall Street Journal Award for Excellence in Finance because she was the top finance student in her graduating class. As part of the Bryce Harlow Institute of Business and Government Affairs, she also studied at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. Alderson's sister Amy held the Miss District of Columbia USA 1999 title, at the same time that Alderson was Miss Tennessee. Alderson's sister is married to country artist James Otto. Alderson was Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1994, Miss Tennessee 1999 and Miss Tennessee USA 2002. Alderson currently works on the CMT show ''Hot 20 Countdown'' and is the regular host of the Miss Tennessee pageant, which is held in her hometown, Jackson. She has been a red-carpet-show host for the

CMT Music Awards The CMT Music Awards is a fan-voted awards show for country music videos and television performances. The ceremony launched in 1967 as Music City News Awards; it is the oldest award show currently airing under Paramount Global. The ceremony ...

, a roving reporter and correspondent for the Miss America pageant, and a correspondent for ''CMT Insider''. She served as "style judge" for CMT's ''Karaoke Dokey'' and hosted ''Extreme Makeover: Quickbooks Edition''. Off camera, Alderson is on the boards of directors of

Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, also known as Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care children's teaching hospital and entity of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenne ...

, the Women's Fund of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Middle Tennessee, and the Miss Tennessee Scholarship Pageant. She also volunteers for Chi Omega, the Nashville Symphony League, the Nashville Humane Association, the Nashville Ballet, Second Harvest Food Bank, the Nashville Alliance and the Oasis Center. Alderson is currently the founder and CEO of the Miss Volunteer America pageant.

Personal life

On May 15, 2004, Alderson married

, bassist and pianist in the band

. Alderson met DeMarcus when she acted in the music video for the band's song "

These Days These Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''These Days'' (Bon Jovi album), and the title song (see below) ** These Days Tour, a 1995–1996 tour by Bon Jovi in support of the above album * ''These Days'' (Crystal Gayle album), 1980 * ''These ...

". The couple has two children. Additionally, country music singer-songwriter James Otto is Alderson's brother-in-law through his marriage to her sister Amy.

References

External links

CMT ShowsInstitute on Business and Government Affairs (IBGA) official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alderson, Allison 1977 births Living people Georgetown University alumni Miss America 2000 delegates 1994 beauty pageant contestants 20th-century Miss Teen USA delegates Miss Tennessee winners Miss Tennessee USA winners Miss USA 2002 delegates People from Jackson, Tennessee 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American beauty pageant contestants