Deneen Zezell Graham Kerns is a dance teacher and pageant contestant from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. In 1983, she became the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

to win the Miss North Carolina beauty pageant; she remained the only

to have won the Miss North Carolina pageant until Alexandra Badgett was crowned in 2019.

Personal life

Graham was born in

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,131 at the 2020 US Census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's, Lowe's Home Improvement, whi ...

. Her parents, Jean and Bobby Graham, were both educators in Wilkes County public schools. She entered the 1983 Miss North Carolina pageant at 19, as Miss Elkin Valley. North Wilkesboro held a Deneen Graham Day two weeks after she received the Miss North Carolina title.

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, model, producer and dancer. She gained recognition as the first Black woman to win the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She would later Vanes ...

, winner of the Miss America 1984 title, has said that the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

threatened to burn a cross on Graham's lawn after she won the North Carolina pageant. In 1986, she graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree in dance. She traveled to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, Far East, and Alaska with the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

Entertainment Tours, and toured the United States with the first national tour of the musical ''Heartstrings''. She appeared in "Theatre of the Stars" productions of such musicals as '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'', '' South Pacific'', '' Hello, Dolly!'', ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

'', and ''

The Will Rogers Follies ''The Will Rogers Follies'' is a Musical theatre, musical with a book by Peter Stone (writer), Peter Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman. It focuses on the life and career of humorist and performer Will Rogers, ...

''. As a performer with the Miss Georgia pageant from 1988 to 1994, she served as co-choreographer and chief choreographer. She was also a member of the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

Dance Team (Cheerleaders) during the 1994 season; she served as the assistant to the dance team choreographer. She was inducted into the Wilkes County Hall of Fame in 2016. She is a member of the Dance Masters of America. Many of her students at Carol Walker Dance Academy have received the highest awards in regional and national competition. They were National Dance Champions in 2008.

Pageants

* Miss Georgia pageant performer * Miss North Carolina 1983 * Participant in Miss America 1984 pageant

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Deneen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American actresses American actresses African-American choreographers American choreographers African-American female dancers African-American female models American cheerleaders American female dancers Dancers from North Carolina Female models from North Carolina Miss America 1980s delegates Miss North Carolina winners NBA cheerleaders People from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni African-American beauty pageant winners