Asya Danielle Branch (born May 5, 1998) is an American

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the Physical attractiveness, physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of Per ...

titleholder who was

Miss USA 2020 Miss USA 2020 was the 69th Miss USA pageant. It was held at the Exhibition Centre and the Soundstage at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 9, 2020. Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and Allie LaForce served as hosts, while Cheslie Kryst and Chris ...

and represented her country at

Miss Universe 2020 Miss Universe 2020 was the 69th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States on May 16, 2021. At the end of the event, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned Andrea Meza of Mex ...

where she placed Top 21.

Early life and education

Branch was born on May 5, 1998, in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

parents. She is the sixth child of eight siblings. Branch grew up in

Booneville, Mississippi Booneville is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi and is the county seat of Prentiss County. It is located in the hilly North Mississippi region, and ecologically is part of the Southeastern Plains region. The city of Booneville is nicknamed ...

where she attended Booneville High School. After graduating from high school, Branch moved to

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County. Founded i ...

to attend the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

. She graduated from the School of Journalism and New Media with a degree in

Integrated Marketing Communications Marketing Communications (MC, marcom(s), marcomm(s) or just simply communications) refers to the use of different marketing channels and tools in combination.Tomse, & Snoj, 2014 Marketing communication channels focus on how businesses communicate ...

with an emphasis in

Public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

and a minor in General Business. In May 2021, Branch represented United States at

, held in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is no ...

. Out of 74 representatives, Branch placed in the Top 21. Branch grew up as the child of an incarcerated parent, and now advocates for

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crim ...

. In 2018, while she was

Miss Mississippi Miss Mississippi is a scholarship pageant and a preliminary of Miss America. The contest began in 1934, has been held in Vicksburg since 1958, and provides more money than any other scholarship pageant in the Miss America Organization. Four M ...

, she was part of a criminal justice reform roundtable at the White House with

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

and

Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a pri ...

. She also performed the national anthem at a rally for Donald Trump that same year.

Pageantry

Miss Mississippi USA The Miss Mississippi USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Mississippi in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant was directed by Premier Pageants from 2001 to 2010, before becoming part of Greenwood Product ...

, Branch was awarded the opportunity to represent Mississippi at

, becoming the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

woman to be crowned Miss Mississippi USA. Originally scheduled for the spring of 2020, the Miss USA 2020 competition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and later held on November 9, 2020, at

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, 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 Uni ...

. She competed in finals and reaching the semifinals in the state for the first time since 2010, where she was crowned by outgoing titleholder Cheslie Kryst. Following her win, Branch became the first woman from

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

to be crowned

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, ...

. She represented the United States at the

pageant. Previously, Branch was crowned Miss Mississippi 2018 and went on to compete in

Miss America 2019 The Miss America 2019 pageant/competition was the 92nd Miss America pageant, though the Miss America Organization celebrated its 98th anniversary in 2018. This discrepancy is due to national pageants not being held from 1928–1932 or in 1934 beca ...

where she was unplaced. During

, she placed second-runner up in the Quality of Life awards at the pageant. On November 29, 2021, she ended her reign and crowned her successor Elle Smith of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

Miss USA 2021 Miss USA 2021 was the 70th Miss USA pageant, held on November 29, 2021, at the Paradise Cove Theater of River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The competition was hosted by Zuri Hall and Patrick Ta, while Nicole Adamo served as a loung ...

at the Paradise Cove Theater of River Spirit Casino Resort in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Branch, Asya Living people 1998 births American beauty pageant winners Miss USA winners Miss Universe 2020 contestants Miss World 2022 delegates People from Detroit People from Booneville, Mississippi African-American beauty pageant winners