Kaliegh Garris (born August 21, 2000) is an American TV host, model and beauty queen who was crowned

Miss Teen USA 2019 Miss Teen USA 2019 was the 37th Miss Teen USA pageant. It was held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, on April 28, 2019, and was hosted by Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez and Tim Tialdo. Hailey Colborn of Kansas crowned her successor Kalieg ...

. Garris had previously been crowned Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2019; she is the second entrant from Connecticut to have been crowned Miss Teen USA, following Logan West who was crowned

Miss Teen USA 2012 Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant that has been run since 1983 by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19 years old as of January 1st of the competition year. They must be US citizens, and cannot have been married, pregnant, or ...

. With her win, 2019 became the first year that all five major pageants were won by mixed and black women; other titleholders were

Toni-Ann Singh Toni-Ann Singh (born February 1, 1996) is a Jamaican beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss World 2019 and is the fourth woman from Jamaica to win Miss World. She is also the longest-reigning Miss World in the history of the pageant. She was pr ...

of Jamaica (as

Miss World 2019 Miss World 2019 was the 69th edition of the Miss World pageant, held at the Exhibition Centre London in London, England, on 14 December 2019. At the end of the event, Vanessa Ponce of Mexico crowned Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica as Miss World 20 ...

Zozibini Tunzi Zozibini "Zozi" Tunzi (born 18 September 1993) is a South African model, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2019. Tunzi had previously been crowned Miss South Africa 2019. She is the third woman from South Af ...

of South Africa (as

Miss Universe 2019 Miss Universe 2019 was the 68th Miss Universe pageant, held at Stage 1 of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, United States on 8 December 2019. At the end of the event, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa was crowned as Miss Universe 2019 by ...

Nia Franklin Nia Imani Franklin (born July 27, 1993) is an American composer and beauty pageant titleholder. In June 2018, she was crowned Miss New York 2018. On September 9, 2018, she was crowned Miss America 2019 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, by the outgoin ...

(as

Miss America 2019 Miss America 2019, the 92nd Miss America pageant, though the Miss America Organization celebrated its 98th anniversary in 2018. This discrepancy is due to national pageants not being held from 1928 to 1932 or in 1934 because of financial problems ...

), and

Cheslie Kryst Cheslie Corrinne Kryst ( ; April 28, 1991 – January 30, 2022) was an American television correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. She was also an attorney and a correspondent for the TV show ''Extra'' from October 2019 until her ...

(as

Miss USA 2019 Miss USA 2019 was the 68th Miss USA pageant, held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on May 2, 2019. The 2019 competition served as the second consecutive time that the pageant has been held concurrently with the Miss Teen USA competi ...

Life and career

Early life

Garris was born on August 21, 2000, in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

. She is

biracial The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

; her father is

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, while her mother is

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

. Prior to being crowned Miss Teen USA, Garris was a dual enrolled student at

Joseph A. Foran High School Joseph A. Foran High School is a public high school located in Milford, Connecticut. The school serves about 1,000 students in grades 9–12 in the Milford Public Schools system. History Opened in 1973, the school was named for former Superinte ...

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...

, and the

ACES Educational Center for the Arts ACES Educational Center for the Arts (ECA), is an American public arts magnet high school, located at 55 Audubon Street in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The school is primarily located in the former Congregation Mishkan Israel synag ...

in New Haven, where she studied theatre. Throughout her life, Garris has participated in competitive dance, being trained in

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pointe Pointe technique ( ) is part of classical ballet involving a technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet when wearing pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en po ...

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

, and tap. She founded the organization We Are People 1st, which assists people with disabilities, and was founded due to Garris's elder sister struggling with multiple disabilities; Garris has been recognized by the

Connecticut Department of Developmental Services Connecticut ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital is Hartford, and ...

for her work. After graduating from high school, Garris attended

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply "Southern") is a public research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it ...

studying communications, while volunteering at

Yale New Haven Hospital Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) is a 1,541-bed hospital located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the second-largest hospital in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It is the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Med ...

. Garris transferred to

Arkansas State University Arkansas State University (A-State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States. It is the flagship campus of the Arkansas State University System and the second-largest university in the st ...

in 2022, completing her collegiate career through their online honors program. In 2024, Garris graduate summa cum laude, with a Bachelors of Arts in Communication Studies.

Pageantry

Garris began her pageantry career as a teenager, competing in the National American Miss circuit and the Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen competition. She transitioned to the

Miss Universe Organization 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 Stre ...

in 2019, competing in Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2019 and winning the title on her first try. As Miss Connecticut Teen USA, Garris was awarded the right to compete for

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. She competed in the finals on April 28, 2019, at the

Grand Sierra Resort Grand Sierra Resort (formerly MGM Grand Reno, Bally's Reno and Reno Hilton) is a hotel and casino located approximately three miles east of Downtown Reno, Nevada. The hotel has 1,990 guest rooms and suites, 27 floors, 12 restaurants, including Ch ...

, and was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder

Hailey Colborn Hailey Colborn (born October 10, 2000) is an American writer, blogger, formally beauty queen who was crowned Miss Teen USA 2018. She is the second entrant from Kansas to win the title after Keylee Sue Sanders won Miss Teen USA 1995. Life and ca ...

, besting first runner-up Caitlyn Vogel of

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. Following her win, Garris became the second titleholder from Connecticut to win Miss Teen USA, succeeding Logan West who was crowned

. Following her win, she received national attention for wearing her natural

afro-textured hair Kinky hair is a human hair texture prevalent in the Indigenous peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa and Melanesia. Each strand of this hair type grows in a repeating pattern of small contiguous kinks which can be classified as tight twists and sharp fol ...

during the competition. Garris's reign was originally scheduled to end on spring 2020, but due to the circumstances over the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, she became the longest reigning Miss Teen USA titleholder and surpassed

Allison Brown Allison Elaine Brown (born August 23, 1968) is an American actress and beauty queen who was Miss Teen USA 1986. Brown also competed in the Miss USA pageant. Biography Brown grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma, and attended Edmond Memorial High School. S ...

's previous record of 546 days on October 26, 2020. She ended her reign on November 7, 2020, after crowning Kiilani Arruda as

Miss Teen USA 2020 Miss Teen USA 2020 was the 38th Miss Teen USA pageant. Originally scheduled to be held in spring 2020, the competition was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later rescheduled for November 7, 2020, at the Exhibition Cent ...

, at

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, once owned by American singer Elvis Presley. Presley is buried there, as are his parents Vernon and Gladys, paternal grandmother Minnie Mae, grandson Benjamin, and daugh ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garris, Kaliegh 2000 births African-American beauty pageant winners African-American female models American beauty pageant winners Female models from Connecticut Living people Miss Teen USA winners People from Milford, Connecticut People from New Haven, Connecticut Southern Connecticut State University alumni 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century American beauty pageant contestants