Nicole Johnson (born January 9, 1974) is an American beauty queen, author, public health professional and activist. Crowned

Miss America 1999 Miss America 1999, the 72nd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 19, 1998, on ABC Network. Nicole Johnson of Virginia, who wore an insulin pump at her hip to deal with her dia ...

and

Miss Virginia The Miss Virginia competition is a scholarship pageant for women, with the titleholder representing Virginia in the Miss America pageant. The competition was founded in 1953 as a scholarship contest for young women, although women had represente ...

1998, she became the first Miss America with

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and the first contestant to publicize the use of an

insulin pump An insulin pump is a medical device used for the administration of insulin in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, also known as continuous Subcutaneous tissue, subcutaneous insulin therapy. The device configuration may vary depending on desig ...

. She now advocates for

research, treatment, and education, having been diagnosed with

type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic cells (beta cells). In healthy persons, beta cells produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone require ...

in 1993.

Education

Johnson holds a B.A. in English from the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

and an M.A. in journalism from the School of Communication & the Arts at

Regent University Regent University is a Private university, private Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. It was founded by Pat Robertson in 1977 as Christian Broadcasting Network, Christian Broadcasting Network University and chang ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. She also has a Master of

Public Health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

degree from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

gained in 2007. In 2013, Johnson received a Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of South Florida.

Pageantry

Early pageantry

Johnson first started competing in pageants in Florida and placed in the Top 10 at Miss Florida in 1995 and was third runner-up in the

Miss Florida USA The Miss Florida USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Florida in the Miss USA pageant. Up until the 2017 pageant, both Miss and Teen state pageants were held separately in different months. In recen ...

1995 pageant. After moving to

to pursue post-graduate education at Regent University she continued competing and placed in the top ten at

1997.

Miss Virginia 1998

In March 1998 she won the Miss Lynchburg Festival title and went on to win the

1998 title on June 29, 1998.

Miss America 1999

Senator Chuck Grassley meets with Miss America Nicole Johnson

In September Johnson represented Virginia in the

pageant, becoming the second woman representing that state to win the Miss America title. She sang " That's Life" in the talent competition. In 1997 she started wearing an insulin pump on her hip to control her illness, which she wore while competing at Miss Virginia and Miss America, the first Miss America contestant and winner to do so.

Diabetes activism

Johnson became a spokesperson for the

American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes, including type 1 diabetes ...

in the 1990s and had testified in legislative hearings in Washington, D.C. prior to winning the Miss Virginia title. In 2004, her communication skills and journalism background led her to become the anchor of ''

dLife Disney Branded Television is a unit of Disney General Entertainment Content which oversees development, production and acquisition of content geared towards children, teenagers and families for Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Jr. and Disney XD. ...

'', a weekly TV series about diabetes that aired on

CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...

. Johnson has also written several books over her career: three cookbooks with Mr. Food, an independent cookbook titled, ''Nicole Johnson's Diabetes Recipe Makeovers,'' an autobiography titled ''Living with Diabetes,'' and a book for young adults titled, ''Young Adult Type 1 Diabetes Realities.'' She continues to work as a diabetes advocate and patient care expert - professionally and in a volunteer capacity. Her consulting clients have included

Novo Nordisk Novo Nordisk A/S is a Danish multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in Bagsværd, with production facilities in nine countries and affiliates or offices in five. Novo Nordisk is controlled by majority shareholder Novo Holdings A/S ...

, Animas Corporation, AmMed Direct LLC and

Eli Lilly and Company Eli Lilly and Company, Trade name, doing business as Lilly, is an American multinational Medication, pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 count ...

. On a volunteer basis, she has served in leadership roles within the JDRF and the American Diabetes Association. Her academic credentials have most recently led her to public health work at the University of South Florida where she is the Executive Director of a program she created called Bringing Science Home. In 2010, Johnson founded Students With Diabetes (SWD), at the University of South Florida, to serve the needs of the young adult population with diabetes.

Personal life

Johnson was briefly engaged to investment banker Conn Jackson in 2000. Nicole Johnson and daughter

In 2003, Johnson married journalist Scott Baker. The couple met in the mid-90s at a seminar Baker held for college students interested in news careers. Together the couple had a daughter. Johnson and Baker later divorced in 2008.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

*
Official websiteMiss America official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Nicole Miss America winners Miss America 1999 delegates Miss Virginia winners 1974 births Living people University of South Florida alumni University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health alumni Regent University alumni Writers from Atlanta People from Seminole, Florida People with type 1 diabetes