Marilyn Elaine Van Derbur (born June 16, 1937) is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

motivational speaker A motivational speaker (or inspirational speaker) is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep ta ...

, and

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 ...

titleholder. In July 1957, she was crowned Miss Colorado 1957. On September 7, 1957, she was crowned Miss America 1958 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, by the outgoing Miss America 1957, Marian McKnight.

Biography

Early life and education

Marilyn Van Derbur was born on June 16, 1937, in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

., the youngest of four daughters to a family in the Denver mortuary business. (The lighted cross on Mount Lindo southwest of Denver was built so Van Derbur's grandmother could see her husband's final resting place from her home in Park Hill.) She attended East High School, graduating in 1955, and the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

, where she earned a degree in English literature with

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

honors in 1960.

Pageantry

During her sophomore year of college, Van Derbur was nominated to represent

Pi Beta Phi Pi Beta Phi (), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867, as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret c ...

in the Miss University of Colorado pageant. After being crowned Miss University of Colorado in May 1957, she competed in and was crowned Miss Colorado in July 1957. On September 7, 1957, she was crowned Miss America 1958 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Career

After graduation, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where she was the television spokeswoman for

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

's ''

The Bell Telephone Hour ''The Bell Telephone Hour'', also known as ''The Telephone Hour'', is a concert series broadcast on NBC Radio Network from April 29, 1940 to June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone as the name implies, it showcased the best in classical and ...

'' and hosted 10 episodes of '' Candid Camera''. She was the television hostess for the Miss America Pageant for five years. Van Derbur worked as a public speaker throughout her career. She established the Marilyn Van Derbur Motivational Institute in 1975, where she produced a series of 30-minute motivational films shown at business meetings and conventions. When Van Derbur was 53, she revealed that she had experienced child incestuous abuse from age 5 to 18, perpetrated by her father. Her story was featured on the cover of ''People'' magazine in June 1991. She and her husband provided initial funding for an adult incest survivor program at The Kempe Center, and she founded the Survivors United Network.

Marriage and children

Following a brief marriage in 1961 to former University of Colorado football player Gary Nady, Van Derbur married her high school boyfriend Lawrence "Larry" Atler in 1964. The couple has a daughter, Jennifer.

Legacy

In 2021, Van Derbur announced she would be auctioning her Miss America crown and bracelet to benefit Denver Public Schools.

Published works

*''Miss America By Day'' (Oak Hill Ridge Press, 2003)

Discography

* ''Miss America Marilyn Van Derbur At The Hammond Organ'' (1958)

Recognition

* 1955: Seventeen's Miss Young America * 1957: Miss Colorado * 1958:

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

* 1996: inductee,

Colorado Women's Hall of Fame The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame is a non-profit, volunteer organization that recognizes women who have contributed to the history of the U.S. state of Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the ...

* 2019: inductee, Colorado Authors Hall of Fame

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Derbur, Marilyn University of Colorado alumni Miss America 1950s delegates Miss America winners People from Denver Living people 1937 births American motivational speakers American women motivational speakers American motivational writers Women motivational writers American people of Dutch descent East High School (Denver, Colorado) alumni