1990

Ten years after being fired, Bert Parks is welcomed back for the 70th anniversary of the Miss America Pageant.

Sadly, Bert misses several cue cards and fails to introduce a dozen former winners standing behind him onstage. As the show closes, the aging legend sings There She Is to a Miss America (Marjorie Vincent) for the last time.

1990

For the first time, Russia sent a Miss USSR (Evia Stalbovska of Latvia) to compete in the Miss Universe Pageant.

1990

The decade begins with several racial milestones: Carol Gist, Miss Michigan-USA, becomes the first African-American woman to win the Miss USA title.

Black women hold both the Miss USA and Miss America titles in the same title year (Carole Gist, Miss USA 1990, and Debbye Turner, Miss America 1990).

African American women (Debbye Turner and Marjorie Vincent) win back-to-back Miss America titles (1990, 1991).

1991

Talk show hosts Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford are signed as co-hosts of the Miss America Pageant, making Gifford the first full-fledged woman co-host.

1991

The first authorized guide to the Miss America Program is published, Miss America: In Pursuit of the Crown. For the first time, an author collects and commits to public record the memories of over 30 winners ranging from Miss America 1933 to the current titleholder.

1991

After appearing as a celebrity guest at the Miss Black America Pageant, world heavy weight boxing champion Mike Tyson is arrested for raping a contestant, Desiree Washington, during pageant week. After the national winner and other contestants claim he groped them, the pageant’s director labels the boxer a "serial buttocks fondler " and sues for damages. The case creates a media frenzy and Tyson is later convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. 

1991

Dr. Deborah Williams becomes the first African-American woman to win a national pageant for married women. She is a practicing psychologist and mother of one, from Texas.

1991

Carolyn Sapp, Miss America 1992, achieves national recognition for her campaign against domestic violence after reporters reveal that she was physically assaulted by her former fiancé, an NFL player. She makes the cover of People and stars in a film about her life, Miss America: Behind the Crown.

1992

As Hurricane Andrew threatens to hit Biloxi, Mississippi, site of the Miss Teen USA Pageant, producers decide to hold the contest early. To maintain suspense, they tape the crownings of two winners, Miss Iowa and Miss Oklahoma, and keep the name of the actual winner a secret. Later that night, the pre-taped pageant airs and Miss Iowa, Jamie Solinger, is revealed as the new Miss Teen USA.

1992

The Miss Teen of America Pageant is founded. Macy Jarrett, of Kansas, wins the first title.

1992

Leanza Cornett wins the Miss America title and achieves national recognition for her platform, AIDS Education and Prevention.

1993

For the second time in pageant history, black women hold the Miss USA and Miss America titles simultaneously: Kenya Moore, Miss USA 1993, and Kimberly Aiken, Miss America 1994 (selected in September 1993).

1993

In a pageant first, Sandra Earnest, the mother of ten children, wins a pageant for married women, Mrs. International.

1993

Charlotte Lopez, Miss Teen Vermont, wins the hearts of judges and viewers as she shares the heartbreaking story of her 13 years as a foster child. After she is crowned Miss Teen USA, Prime Time airs a feature on her life, and she writes a book about her experiences, Lost in the System.

1994

After performing a ballet to music she could not hear and interviewing with Regis Philbin on live national television, Heather Whitestone becomes the first woman with a physical handicap to win the famous title. An inspiration to Americans, the profoundly deaf Miss America is the first national titleholder interviewed on a Barbara Walters' special. 

To stay or not to stay?  To deal with perennial demands that the swimsuit competition be eliminated, the Miss America Pageant puts the matter to a public vote. Viewers call in to vote on whether or not the Miss America swimsuit competition will be kept or canned. By a 3-1 margin, callers vote for the swimsuits to stay with 73 voting in favor of keeping the traditional category.

1995

Chelsi Smith, Miss USA, becomes the first bi-racial American to be named Miss Universe during the first Miss Universe Pageant held in Africa.

1995

Just months after the infamous Oklahoma bombing, Oklahomans win both the Miss America and Mrs. America titles. 

1997

Business tycoon Donald Trump purchases the Miss Universe system which consists of the "triple crown"--the Miss Teen USA, Miss USA, and Miss Universe pageants.

1997

Miss America contestants are allowed to wear two-piece swimsuits for the first time since 1947. The winner, Kate Shindle, Miss Illinois, makes a statement of wholesome altheticism wearing a two-piece suit with modest, bicyclist-style swim-shorts. Her advocacy of needle exchange programs as part of her AIDS Education and Prevention platform, is viewed as progressive by some, extremist by others.

1998

In a surprising upset in a competition often dominated by pageant powerhouse states, Miss Massachusetts-USA, Shawnea Jebbia, walks off with the Miss USA title.

1988

Virginia's Nicole Johnson, a diabetic who wears an insulin pump on her hip, becomes the first woman with a long term physical illness to win the Miss America title. She champions diabetes awareness as her platform and inspired millions of Americans with diabetes, who, like herself, work to lead healthy, successful lives despite the illness.

1999

The nation of Botswana sends its first ever delegate, a statuesque, elegant beauty named Mpule Kwelagobe, to the Miss Universe Pageant. In a stunning upset, the African beauty beats the powerhouse nations of the United States and Venezuela to walk away with the coveted international title and over a quarter million dollars in cash and prizes.

1999

In another stunning upset, the tiny state of Delaware boasts the Miss Teen USA title, after its adorable representative, Ashley Coleman, charms the judges with her fresh, unaffected teen style.

Opening  I  1920s  I  1930s  I  1940s  I  1950s  I  1960s  I  1970s  I  1980s  I  1990s  I  2000s

Copyright, ©Pageant Center, 1998-2007. All rights reserved.

This material is fully protected by United States copyright law.