Gretchen Lynn Polhemus-Jensen (born May 12, 1965) is an American actress, journalist, tv host and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1989 and second runner-up to .

Early life

Prior to competing in

Miss Texas USA The Miss Texas USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Texas in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. This pageant is part of the Miss USA Organization, owned by Texas nativ ...

, Jensen was working as a cattle broker and realtor in her home state.

Miss Texas USA

Jensen competed as Miss Bedford USA in the 14th edition of the

pageant in 1987 and received the ''Photogenic'' award, ultimately placing second runner-up to eventual winner, Courtney Gibbs. The following year, she competed again as Miss Fort Worth USA and won the title, earning the right to represent

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in .

Miss USA 1989

As the official representative of her

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

to the 1989

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. ...

pageant, held in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, Jensen captured the crown of

, becoming its 38th titleholder, and the last of five consecutive winners from

during the 1980s. At the 1989

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

pageant, she placed fifth in semifinal interview, fourth in swimsuit and eighth in

evening gown An evening gown, evening dress or gown is a long dress usually worn at formal occasions. The drop ranges from Ballerina skirt, ballerina (mid-calf to just above the ankles), Tea length, tea (above the ankles), to Skirt length, full-length. S ...

, advancing to the competition's Top 5 finalists, and ultimately finishing second runner-up to eventual winner,

Angela Visser Angela Visser (born 18 October 1966) is a Dutch actress, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 1989. She is the first and so far the only Dutch woman to win the title of the Miss Universe 1989, Miss Universe. Visser, who had previ ...

of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Life after Miss USA

In 1993, Jensen appeared in the made-for-TV-movie ''Bonanza: The Return'' with Ben Johnson and Michael Landon Jr.; she has also worked as a sports

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and for a CBS affiliate as a news correspondent. She was also a judge at the 2003

pageant, resides in Salt Lake City's metropolitan area and is now a divorced mother of five. Her daughter, Baylee is Miss Utah USA 2017. She was formerly a co-host of KTVX-TV's "Good Things Utah".

References

External links

Official Miss USA website - Past titleholders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polhemus, Gretchen 1965 births Living people Miss Universe 1989 contestants Miss USA 1989 delegates Miss USA winners 20th-century American people