Ruth Zakarian (born February 6, 1966) is an American actress and beauty queen who was the winner of the first ever Miss Teen USA 1983 pageant in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

. She also competed at Miss USA 1984 but did not place.

Miss Teen USA

An Armenian American, Zakarian was born in

Amsterdam, New York Amsterdam () is a city in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,219. The city is named after Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam is bordered on the northern and ea ...

and represented the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

at the Miss Teen USA pageant. Before then, she was a

babysitter Babysitting is temporarily caring for a child. Babysitting can be a paid job for all ages; however, it is best known as a temporary activity for early teenagers who are not yet eligible for employment in the general economy. It provides auto ...

for Jessica Collins, Miss New York Teen USA 1988 and first runner-up to Miss Teen USA 1988. In her interview during the pageant, Collins called attention to this fact with Zakarian in attendance.

After Miss Teen USA

Zakarian later worked as an actress under the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

of Devon Pierce. Her most notable role was as "Diane Westin" on the soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...

''. She also appeared on '' Santa Barbara'' as Isabella Castillo. Zakarian now resides in Las Vegas. She has one daughter, Fiaba Zakarian who studied Psychology and Economics at Loyola Marymount University.

References

External links

* Living people American soap opera actresses American television actresses American people of Armenian descent Miss Teen USA winners People from Amsterdam, New York Actresses from New York (state) 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-pageant-bio-stub