Beatrice Bella "BeBe" Shopp (born August 17, 1930), from
Hopkins,
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, was Miss America in 1948.
Post-Pageant Career
After winning
Miss America 1948, Shopp used her pageant scholarship to attend the Manhattan School of Music. She specialized in the vibraharp, and graduated with a degree in percussion in 1952. She sang with Share the Music and the Cape Ann Symphony Chorus. She was active in community affairs, and headed the board of directors for Gloucester Stage Company.
Near the end of her Miss America reign while traveling in France, Shopp was asked about women wearing two-piece bathing suits to which she replied, 'I don't approve of Bikini suits for American girls...The French girls can wear them if they want to, but I still don't approve of them on American girls.'"
Personal life
Shopp married Korean War navigator Lt. Bayard D. Waring in 1954 and later had four daughters.
As of 2000, she lives in
Rockport, Massachusetts
Rockport is a seaside New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,992 in 2020 United States census, 2020. Rockport is located approximately northeast of Boston, at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula. ...
and is known by her married name Beatrice "Bea" Waring. She was a lay minister in the Episcopal Church and a TV spokeswoman for an electric scooter company.
As of January 2025, Shopp is the earliest living former
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 ...
.
References
External links
Miss America official website
1930 births
Living people
American Episcopalians
Manhattan School of Music alumni
Miss America 1940s delegates
Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners
Miss America winners
People from Hopkins, Minnesota
People from Rockport, Massachusetts
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