Marjorie Judith Vincent is an American journalist and former beauty contestant who was crowned Miss America 1991.

Early life and education

Vincent's parents, Lucien and Florence Vincent of

Cap-Haïtien Cap-Haïtien (; ; "Haitian Cape") is a List of communes of Haiti, commune of about 400,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Departments of Haiti, department of Nord (Haitian department), Nord. Previously named ''Cap‑Fran� ...

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, migrated to the United States in the early 1960s; Marjorie was the first of their children to be born in the United States. She grew up in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

, attending Catholic school and taking ballet and piano lessons. Vincent entered

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

as a music major, switching to business in her junior year and graduating in 1988. Winnings from beauty pageants helped to pay her tuition.

Pageantry

After two unsuccessful pageant tries, at Miss North Carolina and Miss Illinois, she won Miss Illinois, allowing her to advance to

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 ...

. At the Miss America pageant, she performed the

Fantaisie-Impromptu Frédéric Chopin's ''Fantaisie-Impromptu'' () in C minor, Op. posth. 66, WN 46 is a solo piano composition. It was composed in 1834 and published posthumously in 1855 despite Chopin's instruction that none of his unpublished manuscr ...

(Op. posth. 66) by Chopin, won the crown, and became Miss America 1991 on 7 September 1990, succeeding Debbye Turner. Her win marked the first occasion in which African Americans won the Miss America title back-to-back. Vincent was the last Miss America to be serenaded by

Bert Parks Bert Parks (born Bertram Jacobson; December 30, 1914 – February 2, 1992) was an American actor, singer, and radio and television announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast from 1955 to 1979. Early life Parks was bor ...

Career

Vincent, who already had two years in law school at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

before becoming Miss America, changed her goal from international law to television journalism, becoming a news anchor at WGBC in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

, in October 1993. She later worked at WHOI in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

, and the Ohio News Network in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

. Vincent completed her

juris doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree at Florida Coastal School of Law in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2011, and worked for the Office of the Attorney General in Daytona Beach, Florida. She currently works as an assistant district attorney in Alabama.

Personal life

Vincent has a child, Cameron, who was born in 1994. She married Wesley Tripp in November 2006.

References

External links

Bio at MissAmerica.orgVideo of her talent performanceVideo of her crowning as Miss America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Marjorie 1964 births Living people American television news anchors DePaul University alumni Duke University alumni Florida Coastal School of Law alumni Miss America 1991 delegates Miss America Preliminary Talent winners Miss America winners People from Oak Park, Illinois Journalists from Illinois American women television journalists 21st-century American women