Deborah Irene Bryant (born January 29, 1946) is an American beauty pageant titleholder from

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the largest city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and the List of cities in Kansas#Highest population listing, second-most populous city in the state of Kansas. It is one of four principal city, principal cities in ...

who was

Miss Kansas The Miss Kansas competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the US state of Kansas in the Miss America pageant. Kansas has won the Miss America crown on three occasions. Alexis Smith was crowned Miss Kansas 2024 on June 8, 2 ...

1965 and

Miss America 1966 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 ...

High school

Deborah Bryant attended General H. H. Arnold High School in

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, in the class of 1963.

Pageantry

Bryant was 19 years old when she won the preliminary swimsuit competition and, the next day, was announced as the winner of the crown. During her year of service, she spoke in support of "Project Concern" which provided medical support to undeveloped countries. She was the first

to win the

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 ...

crown. When she won

title, her father was serving in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

as a civil engineer with the Air Force. The 1966

Pageant was the first pageant to be televised in

color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...

Education

After graduating in the top ten of her high school graduating class, Bryant went on to attend Columbia College on a full academic scholarship, during which time she represented Kansas in

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

on September 11, 1965, in the Miss America scholarship pageant. Following her year of service as Miss America, Bryant continued her education as an English major (B.A.) at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, graduating Cum Laude

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

Philanthropy

Bryant remains active in community service for numerous charitable projects. She was a member of the Mesa Desert Club, which provides scholarships to qualified needy high school graduates, and was also a past member of the Phoenix Junior League.

Personal life

Bryant previously married Roderick Wilson in 1967. She gave birth to a daughter in 1972. Bryant currently resides in Arizona with her husband, Brent Berge whom she married in 1975. Berge has two children from a previous relationship. Together they had two more children and have four grandchildren.

Recognitions and honors

Bryant was named Kansan of the Year in 1965 by the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas.

References

Living people Miss America 1960s delegates Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners Miss America winners People from Overland Park, Kansas University of Kansas alumni Columbia College (Missouri) alumni 1946 births 20th-century American beauty pageant contestants {{Kansas-stub