Jennifer Murphy (born March 19, 1979) is an American personality and former
beauty pageant
A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...
contestant.
Career
Pageants
Murphy won the
Miss Oregon USA title in late 2003, having previously competed in the
Miss Oregon system for
Miss America. She represented Oregon at the
Miss USA 2004 pageant held in April 2004 in the Kodak Theatre in
Hollywood, Los Angeles
Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
. Murphy placed in the top ten in the pageant, which was won by
Shandi Finnessey of
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
.
Murphy has remained involved in pageants, hosting the Miss Oregon USA 2006 pageant, and judging the Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2006 pageant. She has also been a judge for the Miss Washington pageant, the Miss Oregon pageant 2009 and the Miss Malibu 2010 pageants.
Television projects
Murphy appeared on the
fourth season of ''
The Apprentice''. Murphy was "fired" in the sixth week, along with three others. Murphy first spoke to
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
about the possibility of appearing on his show when she was competing at the Miss USA pageant. The pageant is part of the
Miss Universe Organization, which was previously owned by Trump.
In October 2016, Murphy told ''
Grazia'' that Trump had offered her job interviews a day after she had left ''The Apprentice''. As she was leaving after an interview, a newly married Trump kissed her on the lips, which took her by surprise. Murphy said she ultimately declined his job offer, and that she would still vote for Trump in the 2016 US presidential election.
After appearing on ''The Apprentice'' in New York, she relocated to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, and pursued a career in entertainment. Murphy appeared in her first feature film ''
Killer Movie'', playing the role of Mrs. Falls, and appeared in an episode of ''
CSI'', playing the role of "Dream Girl".
Controversy
In April 2016, Murphy uploaded a video on her YouTube channel performing her song "I want to be NEENJA!" at a private party promoting her line of
Murphy beds. In July 2016, Murphy removed the YouTube video and released an apology on
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
after the video was shared on social media criticizing Murphy for her impersonation of an accent and lyrics featuring Asian stereotypes. Despite the removal of the video and apology, the song and references to the song can still be found in other videos uploaded to her YouTube channel. The video was re-uploaded on January 23, 2021.
Personal life
Murphy married Bill Dorfman, a dentist from ABC's reality show ''
Extreme Makeover'', on July 7, 2006. They were married at the
Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles. She filed for divorce on July 9, 2007.
Filmography
References
External links
An Interview with Jennifer Murphy, the "Apprentice" and a Whole Lot More Yellow Pages, Accessed 5 April 2006
Mail Tribune, Accessed 5 April 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Jennifer
Living people
American marketing people
Women in marketing
Miss USA 2004 delegates
People from Medford, Oregon
Southern Oregon University alumni
Philanthropists from Oregon
The Apprentice (American TV series) candidates
Participants in American reality television series
1979 births