The Miss North Carolina USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the

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. ...

pageant. This state is part of the RPM Productions group since 1992. In 2005, Miss North Carolina USA Chelsea Cooley won the

crown and placed in the top 10 at

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

. Cooley is the first former

Miss North Carolina Teen USA The Miss North Carolina Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of North Carolina in the Miss Teen USA pageant and is part of the RPM Productions group. North Carolina has been moderately successful ...

to win the Miss title, although not the first to have competed at

Miss Teen USA Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant that has been run since 1983 by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19 years old as of January 1st of the competition year. They must be US citizens, and cannot have been married, pregnant, or ...

. The second Miss North Carolina Teen USA to win the Miss title was Erin O'Kelley in 2007. She went on to place in the top 15 at

Miss USA 2007 Miss USA 2007 was the 56th Miss USA pageant, held at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California on March 23, 2007, after two weeks of events and preliminary competition. The winner of the pageant was Rachel Smith of Tenness ...

. Similar to the

Miss Utah USA The Miss Utah USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Utah for the Miss USA pageant. From 2001 to 2007, it was produced by Red Curtain Productions. Casting Crowns Productions directed the pageant from 2 ...

titleholders, both Cooley and Kelley placed at Miss USA, eclipsing their teen performances. In 2009, Kristen Dalton became the second woman from North Carolina to be crowned Miss USA. In 2019,

Cheslie Kryst Cheslie Corrinne Kryst ( ; April 28, 1991 – January 30, 2022) was an American television correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. She was also an attorney and a correspondent for the TV show ''Extra'' from October 2019 until her ...

became the third woman from the state to win Miss USA. In both occasions, they placed top 10 on their respective

pageants. The most recent placement was Jordyn McKey placing Top 20 in 2023. North Carolina is currently third tied with

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

in number of former teens have competed in this pageant: eight, after

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

and

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 ...

, including three competed at

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 ...

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

and

, respectively. In addition, two others have also competed at

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 ...

. In 2019 (billed as 2020 pageant), Madeline Delp was the first woman in a wheelchair to win the top 10 finalists in a statewide Miss USA pageant. McKenzie Hansley of Charlotte was crowned Miss North Carolina USA 2024 on June 15, 2024, at North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center in

North Charleston North Charleston is a city in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. As ...

. She will represent North Carolina at

Miss USA 2024 Miss USA 2024 was the 73rd Miss USA pageant, held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California, United States, on August 4, 2024. Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii crowned Alma Cooper of Michigan as her successor at the end of the event. Sh ...

Gallery of titleholders

File:Miss USA Cheslie Kryst and Judge Louis Sola at Miss North Carolina Pageant (cropped).jpg,

, Miss North Carolina USA 2019 and

Miss USA 2019 Miss USA 2019 was the 68th Miss USA pageant, held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on May 2, 2019. The 2019 competition served as the second consecutive time that the pageant has been held concurrently with the Miss Teen USA competi ...

File:Katie Coble headshot.png, Katie Coble, Miss North Carolina USA 2017 and Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2007 File:Sydney Perry - Miss North Carolina USA 2012.png, Sydney Perry, Miss North Carolina USA 2012 File:Kristen Dalton (Miss USA).jpg, Kristen Dalton, Miss North Carolina USA 2009 and

Miss USA 2009 Miss USA 2009 was the 58th Miss USA pageant, held at the Planet Hollywood Theatre for the Performing Arts in Paradise, Nevada, on April 19, 2009. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Kristen Dalton (Miss USA), Kristen Dalton of Mi ...

File:Andrea Duke.png, Andrea Duke, Miss North Carolina USA 2008 File:Erin O'Kelley 1.jpg, Erin O'Kelley, Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2001 and Miss North Carolina USA 2007 File:Chelsea Cooley 2.jpg, Chelsea Cooley, Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2000, Miss North Carolina USA 2005 and

Miss USA 2005 Miss USA 2005 was the 54th Miss USA pageant, held in Baltimore, Maryland on April 11, 2005. It was won by Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina. Fifty-one state titleholders competed for the title of Miss USA in the Hippodrome Theatre on April 11, ...

Results summary

Placements

*Miss USAs: Chelsea Cooley (2005), Kristen Dalton (2009),

(2019) *1st runners-up:

Caelynn Miller-Keyes Caelynn Marie Bell ( Miller-Keyes; born June 15, 1995) is an American television personality, model and beauty pageant titleholder. Miller-Keyes received national recognition after appearing as a contestant on season 23 of '' The Bachelor''. W ...

(2018), Morgan Romano (2022) *2nd runners-up: Constance Ann Dorn (1975), Lynn Jenkins (1994), Ashley Puleo (2004) *3rd runners-up: Lyndia Ann Tarlton (1960) *4th runners-up: Marcia Burton (1974) * Top 6/8: Pat Arnold (1991), Madison Bryant (2021) * Top 10/11/12: Deborah Ann Falls (1972), Dianne Jamerson (1979), Cookie Noak (1984), Rhonda Nobles (1986), Tess Elliott (1992), Ashley Love-Mills (2013) * Top 15/20: Shirley Bagwell (1956), Erin O'Kelley (2007), Jordyn McKey (2023), Kenzie Hansley (2024) North Carolina holds a record of 22 placements at

Awards

*Miss Photogenic: Pat Arnold (1991) *Miss Congeniality: Vera Morris (1998), Monica Palumbo (2001)

Winners

;Color key

Notes

External links

References

{{Miss USA state

North Carolina culture Women in North Carolina Recurring events established in 1952 1952 establishments in North Carolina Annual events in North Carolina