Jineane Marie Ford (born ) is an American actress, tv host and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA.

Background

Ford was raised on a farm in

Gilbert, Arizona Gilbert is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located southeast of Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, Gilbert is home to 288,128 residents. It is the fifth-most populous municipality in Arizona and is considered a suburb of Phoenix. I ...

. She raised calves, and participated in

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

barrel racing. She was a member of the Future Farmers of America and became a registered meat cutter in

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Pageants

Ford was named Fiesta Bowl Queen in 1978-79 when attending Mesa Community College before winning the Miss Arizona USA contest in 1980. She represented her state at the Miss USA pageant televised live from

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

in 1980. Ford delivered a solid performance in the preliminary round of competition, and placed eighth among the top twelve semi-finalists who advanced to compete in the final night of the pageant. She was also the co-winner of the Miss Photogenic award. Ford performed consistently during the pageant, placing among the top five in each of the interview, swimsuit and evening gown competitions: her strongest showing was in the

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 ...

competition where she ranked second. Overall, Ford finished first runner-up to Miss South Carolina USA Shawn Weatherly, which gave her the right to assume the Miss USA title should Weatherly be unable to complete her reign. In July 1980, Weatherly won the Miss Universe contest, and Ford was crowned the new Miss USA in her stead. As the two competitions are allied, the two American beauties completed their respective reigns living in the same

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

in New York, provided as part of their prize package.

Acting career

After passing on her crown to Kim Seelbrede in 1981, Ford went on to work in the entertainment industry. While looking for acting work, she worked as a butcher at a Vons supermarket in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. She obtained acting roles in several TV series and TV movies.

TV News

She then decided to return to Arizona and began a long career in local television, almost all in Phoenix except for several years in

Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. She worked at KTVK and then joined

KPNX KPNX (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Mesa, Arizona, United States, serving the Phoenix area as an affiliate of NBC. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios at the Republic Media building on Van Buren Stree ...

12 News in Phoenix in 1991 where she co-anchored 12 News Today and 12 News Midday. She remained with the station until January 2, 2007, when she left anchoring full-time at KPNX on January 2, 2007, in order to spend more time with her family and to take care of her business.

Awards

In 2016, Ford was inducted into The Arizona Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.

Personal

She is also a business owner, having purchased the oldest log lodge in Arizona, restoring it and opening it back up for business. She operates Mama Bears's Restaurant and Honey Bear Antiques and Lodge in Pinetop-Lakeside. Ford has won awards for Best New Business and Historic Preservation from the state. She has two sons, Cody and Austin, from her first marriage to Neil O. King.

Filmography

References

External links

Official Miss USA website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Jineane Miss USA winners People from Gilbert, Arizona Living people Miss USA 1980 delegates American television news anchors 1960s births American women television journalists Year of birth missing (living people)