Theresa Marie Vail (born October 1, 1990) is
Miss Kansas
The Miss Kansas competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the US state of Kansas in the Miss America pageant. Kansas has won the Miss America crown on three occasions.
Alexis Smith was crowned Miss Kansas 2024 on June 8, 2 ...
2013. She subsequently placed in the top ten of the
Miss America 2014
Miss America 2014 was the 87th Miss America pageant, held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 15, 2013.
Mallory Hagan of New York crowned Nina Davuluri of New York as her successor at the end of the event.
Overvie ...
pageant, where she became the first contestant to openly display tattoos (during the swimsuit competition) and won the "America's Choice" award. Vail later hosted programs for the
Outdoor Channel
Outdoor Channel is an American pay television, pay television channel focused on the outdoors, offering programming that includes hunting, fishing, western lifestyle, off-road motorsports and adventure. It was launched on April Fool's Day (April ...
.
Background
Vail graduated in 2009 from
Leavenworth High School
Leavenworth High School is a public high school located in Leavenworth, Kansas, operated by Leavenworth USD 453 school district. The school was established in 1865, making it one of the first high schools in Kansas. The school colors are blue an ...
,
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...
.
She began her education at
Kansas State University
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...
in 2009, before taking a leave of absence when she became Miss Kansas in 2013.
After finishing her year as Miss Kansas, and briefly hosting programs for the Outdoor Channel
Outdoor Channel is an American pay television, pay television channel focused on the outdoors, offering programming that includes hunting, fishing, western lifestyle, off-road motorsports and adventure. It was launched on April Fool's Day (April ...
, Vail returned to Kansas State where she completed her B.A. in Psychology in 2016, a second B.S. in chemistry, and a master's degree in Psychology in 2018. She planned to begin medical school at the University of Kansas School of Medicine
The University of Kansas School of Medicine is a public medical school located on the University of Kansas Medical Center campuses in Kansas City, Kansas, and also Salina, Kansas, and Wichita, Kansas. The Kansas City campus is co-located with ...
in the summer of 2018.
Vail is a mechanic
A mechanic is a skilled tradesperson who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially engines. Formerly, the term meant any member of the handicraft trades, but by the early 20th century, it had come to mean one who works w ...
and section leader in the Kansas Army National Guard
The Kansas Army National Guard is a component of the Army National Guard and the Kansas National Guard. Kansas Army National Guard units are trained and equipped as part of the United States Army. The same ranks and insignia are used and Natio ...
Medical Detachment.
Pageants
Vail competed in the Miss Leavenworth County Pageant in 2012, one of the local competitions a titleholder must win in order to move on to Miss Kansas.PHOTO Miss Kansas Theresa Vail’s tattoo from Miss America swimsuit prelims
/ref> As she considered archery to be her skill, she had assumed that this is what she would do for the talent portion of the competition. A few days before preparing to compete, however, she found out that "projectile objects were forbidden" and that she had to choose a new talent or drop out of the competition.[ Vail began to search "YouTube for opera songs to perform" because she felt that she "couldn't sing anything contemporary"][ and might as well go big or go home. From this search, she chose to sing the aria " Nessun dorma." Vail states that she had "never sung ]opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
in my life ..I had an appreciation for it ..and I sang soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
in choir back in high school, but I hadn't sung since then and certainly never opera."[
After winning Miss Leavenworth County, she went on to compete and win the Miss Kansas title on June 8, 2013.]
She next competed (as Miss Kansas) in the Miss America 2014
Miss America 2014 was the 87th Miss America pageant, held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 15, 2013.
Mallory Hagan of New York crowned Nina Davuluri of New York as her successor at the end of the event.
Overvie ...
contest with the platform "Empowering Women: Overcoming Stereotypes and Breaking Barriers."[ This was inspired by the way that ]outdoor sports
Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...
with her father helped her to overcome being bullied as a child: "I was bullied when I was a kid. It got so bad that I nearly took my own life... My dad n Army dentist stationed in Germanystarted taking me hunting with him and it saved my life."[ Vail stated that her primary goal at the Miss America pageant was to set an example, stating in a Twitter message: "Win or not tonight, I have accomplished what I set out to do. I have empowered women. I have opened eyes."] She further commented that one of her goals was to break stereotypes.[
The Miss America Pageant began with her win of the "America's Choice," award, which automatically positioned her as one of the 15 semifinalists.][Vote for Miss Kansas 2013 Theresa Vail]
- 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 ...
Organization Vail then passed the swimsuit competition, in which she became the first Miss America contestant to openly display tattoos, one being the ''Serenity Prayer
The Serenity Prayer is an prayer, invocation by the petitioner for wisdom to understand the difference between circumstances ("things") that can and cannot be changed, asking courage to take action in the case of the former, and serenity to accep ...
'' along the right side of her torso.[Miss Kansas interview: Theresa Vail is more than just her tattoos (video)]
" - ''The Star-Ledger
''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition.
In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...
'', September 12, 2013[Miss America 2013: The Inside Story](_blank)
- ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
, September 15, 2013
She then placed into the Top 10, after passing the evening gown portion of the contest. Vail was eliminated from the pageant, however, after the talent portion in which she performed the aria "Nessun Dorma", and did not make it into the Top 5. Both Kansas Journalist Diana Reese (in ''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 ...
)'' and Lisa Gutierrez (in ''The Wichita Eagle
''The Wichita Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Originating in the early 1870s, shortly after the city's founding, it is owned by The McClatchy Company and is the largest newspaper in Wichita and the surr ...
'' ) focused on Vail's lack of formal training as an opera singer, rather than her tattoos, as the reason why she was not chosen for the top five.
Though she did not win the Miss America crown, Vail said that she enjoyed the experience. In an interview the day after the Miss America contest, she stated that she had become good friends with the winner, Miss New York
The Miss New York scholarship competition selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss America scholarship competition.
In the fall of 2018, the Miss America Organization terminated the Miss New York organization's license ...
, Nina Davuluri
Nina Davuluri (born April 20, 1989) is an American public speaker, advocate, and beauty queen who hosts the reality show ''Made in America'' on Zee TV America from Manhattan.
As Miss America 2014, she became the first Indian American contesta ...
, and felt "very confident in her ability to do the job." Despite this fact, there was a backlash of xenophobic
Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...
and racist
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
comments in social media
Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
against Davuluri shortly after she was crowned Miss America 2014
Miss America 2014 was the 87th Miss America pageant, held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 15, 2013.
Mallory Hagan of New York crowned Nina Davuluri of New York as her successor at the end of the event.
Overvie ...
that invoked images of, and comparisons with, Vail. Vail denounced this response on her blog and in interviews.
Vail continued to serve as Miss Kansas until she was succeeded by Amanda Sasek in 2014.[Miss Kansas Theresa Vail: One year later]
- KWCH-DT
KWCH-DT (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Hutchinson, Kansas, United States, serving the Wichita area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Gray Media alongside CW affiliate KSCW-DT (channel 33) and maintains studios on 3 ...
, June 5, 2014
Outdoor Channel
Vail began to host ''Limitless with Theresa Vail'' for the Outdoor Channel
Outdoor Channel is an American pay television, pay television channel focused on the outdoors, offering programming that includes hunting, fishing, western lifestyle, off-road motorsports and adventure. It was launched on April Fool's Day (April ...
in July 2015.
On May 26, 2015, while filming an episode for the show near Holy Cross, Alaska
Holy Cross (; ) is a city in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 178, down from 227 in 2000.
Geography
Holy Cross is located at (62.198048, -159.773418).
According to the United States Cen ...
, an incident occurred when Vail was with master guide Michael Wade Renfro, and assistant guide Joseph Andrew Miller of ''Renfro's Alaska Adventures''. According to the Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
, "The hunting party spotted the bear and sow, and at Miller's direction, Vail fired at the bear. At his command she chambered another round, fired a second shot and hit the sow. Both bears died. According to prosecutors, Miller contacted Renfro, and a collective decision was made to obtain a second grizzly bear tag. Renfro, according to the criminal complaint, packed the second tag in a bag, flew over the group and dropped it out of a Piper PA-18 airplane. Miller attached the invalid tag to the second bear. Vail signed the second bear tag and backdated it to May 26.... Renfro and Miller as guides are required to contact authorities to report illegally taken game, according to the complaint. The film crew reported June 3 to Alaska Wildlife Troopers what had happened." The three were subsequently charged with misdemeanors.[Troopers: Outdoor Channel star helped cover up illegal Alaska bear kill]
''Alaska Dispatch News
The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska. The newspaper is headquartered in Anchorage ...
'', Chris Klint, December 7, 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015. At a change of plea hearing on 1/6/16 in Aniak, Alaska
Aniak () is a city in the Bethel Census Area, Alaska, Bethel Census Area in the United States, U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2010 United States census, 2010 census the population was 501, down from 572 in 2000.
Geography
(61.578821, -159.5502 ...
, Vail pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against her Alaskan guides....[Reality T.V. host pleads guilty to killing brown bear without proper permit]
''Alaska Dispatch News
The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and news website (adn.com) in the state of Alaska. The newspaper is headquartered in Anchorage ...
'', Lisa Demer, January 6, 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
Vail subsequently left ''Limitless with Theresa Vail'' and began to host another program for the Outdoor Channel, ''NRA All Access,'' in early 2016, which she continued until starting medical school.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vail, Theresa
1990 births
Living people
American hunters
American radio personalities
American sportswomen
American television hosts
American women's rights activists
Kansas State University alumni
Miss America 2014 delegates
People from Manhattan, Kansas
United States Army non-commissioned officers
Female United States Army personnel
American women television hosts
21st-century American sportswomen