Nana Meriwether (born May 24, 1985) is an American former professional volleyball player and beauty pageant titleholder. She competed at

Miss USA 2012 Miss USA 2012 was the 61st Miss USA pageant, held on June 3, 2012, at The AXIS, located inside the Planet Hollywood Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada, and it was televised live on NBC. Alyssa Campanella of California crowned her successor Olivia Culp ...

, representing

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, and finished as the first runner-up. On December 19, 2012, winner Olivia Culpo won

Miss Universe 2012 Miss Universe 2012 was the 61st Miss Universe pageant, held at the PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on December 19, 2012. The contest was won by Olivia Culpo of the United States, who was crow ...

, and Meriwether assumed the title of Miss USA three weeks later. She is also the cofounder of the nonprofit organization the Meriwether Foundation, and a two-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

volleyball player at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

Life and career

Early life

Meriwether was born on May 24, 1985, in Acornhoek, Tintswalo Hospital, South Africa. Her father is Delano Meriwether, the first African-American student at Duke University School of Medicine, and her mother, Nomvimbi Meriwether, is South African and works as a lawyer. Her parents had been doing volunteer work in South Africa at the time of Meriwether's birth. She was raised in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 47,018. It is named a ...

and graduated from

Sidwell Friends School Sidwell Friends School is a private, college preparatory, Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is ' (), alludi ...

in Washington, D.C.(June 4, 2012)
Nana Meriwether, Sidwell Friends grad, is first runner-up at Miss USA
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' Meriwether played volleyball 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 ...

for one semester.(February 20, 2006)
Breaking the Barrier
''Inside – Duke University Medical Center'' She later transferred to the

, where she was named a two-time NCAA All-American volleyball player and graduated with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

.(July 8, 2012)
UCLA volleyball alumna Nana Meriwether finds a new way to compete by participating in pageants
''

Daily Bruin The ''Daily Bruin'' is the student newspaper at the University of California, Los Angeles. It began publishing in 1919, the year UCLA was founded. The ''Daily Bruin'' distributes about 6,000 copies across campus three times a week. It also publ ...

'' After graduating, Meriwether played volleyball professionally for Las Indias de Mayagüez in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, and trained for the

United States women's national volleyball team The United States women's national volleyball team participates in international volleyball competitions and friendly games, and is governed by USA Volleyball. Their last head coach was three-time Olympic gold medalist and retired dominant be ...

for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. She later completed a degree in premedical sciences at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Pageantry

State titles

Meriwether's first pageant was Miss California USA 2008, representing Malibu, but she didn't reach the semifinals. Meriwether returned to Miss California USA in 2009, representing

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, where she finished as the third runner-up to Carrie Prejean. Meriwether competed in Miss California USA 2010 and finished as first runner-up. She competed in the Miss California USA for the final time in 2011, where she finished as fourth runner-up.(June 4, 2012)
More on Miss USA Maryland Nana Meriwether
''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publish ...

'' After competing in Miss California USA for four years, Meriwether returned to her home state of

, and entered Miss Maryland USA 2012. She won the title and received the right to represent the state at

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. ...

Miss USA 2012

Meriwether represented Maryland at

, where she eventually finished as the first runner-up to

Olivia Culpo Olivia Frances Culpo (born May 8, 1992) is an American model, actress, and media personality. Culpo has won Miss Rhode Island USA, Miss USA 2012, and Miss Universe 2012. Early life and education Olivia Frances Culpo was born on May 8, 1992, ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

. On December 19, 2012, Olivia Culpo won the title of

. Due to pageant protocol, Miss USA must resign her title in order to fulfill her duties as Miss Universe. The first runner-up assumes the title of Miss USA, meaning that Meriwether became the new Miss USA 2012 three weeks later.

Other ventures

Meriwether is a cofounder of the Meriwether Foundation, which she runs along with the members of her family. The organization operates programs in health, education, nutrition, and development in rural and impoverished communities of Southern Africa. Meriwether worked as an executive assistant to

Glenda Bailey Dame Glenda Adrianne Bailey (born 16 November 1958) is a former editor-in-chief of ''Harper’s Bazaar'', a monthly fashion magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. She was in this position from May 2001 to 2020. Early life Bailey was born ...

, the editor-in-chief of ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

''. She has worked for and contributed to Carine Roitfeld's ''CR Fashion Book'', '' Vanity Fair'', and '' Vogue Australia''.

Notes

References

External links

Profile
at missuniverse.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Meriwether, Nana 1985 births African-American volleyball players American beauty pageant winners American people of South African descent American women's volleyball players Living people Miss USA 2012 delegates Miss USA winners Miss Maryland USA winners People from Johannesburg People from Potomac, Maryland Sidwell Friends School alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of Southern California alumni African-American beauty pageant winners 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women UCLA Bruins women's volleyball players Duke Blue Devils women's volleyball players