Alyssa Marie Campanella (born March 21, 1990) is an American model, blogger, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss USA 2011 Miss USA 2011 was the 60th Anniversary of the Miss USA pageant, held on the Las Vegas Strip at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Paradise, Nevada on Sunday, June 19, 2011. Rima Fakih of Michigan crowned ...

. Having previously been crowned Miss California USA 2011, Campanella was the sixth woman representing California to win the Miss USA title. As Miss USA, Campanella represented the United States at

Miss Universe 2011 Miss Universe 2011 was the 60th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Credicard Hall in São Paulo, Brazil on September 12, 2011. At the end of the event, Ximena Navarrete of Mexico crowned Leila Lopes of Angola as Miss Universe 2011. It is the ...

, where she placed in the top sixteen. A native of New Jersey, Campanella was also crowned Miss New Jersey Teen USA 2007 and placed as the first runner-up at

Miss Teen USA 2007 Miss Teen USA 2007, the 25th Miss Teen USA pageant, was held on August 24, 2007 in Pasadena, California. At the conclusion of the final night of the competition Hilary Cruz of Colorado was crowned Miss Teen USA 2007 by outgoing titleholder Katie ...

. Since completing her reign as Miss USA, Campanella has launched her travel blog The A List, where she writes about trips and vacations to various destinations.

Early life and education

Campanella was born in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Manalapan Township, New Jersey Manalapan Township (, ) is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The township is centrally located within the Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the t ...

. She is of mixed

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

, and Lithuanian descent; her father's family originates in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, while her maternal grandfather emigrated from

Espergærde Espergærde is a town situated in North Zealand near Øresund in Denmark and is statistically considered part of the larger urban area Espergærde-Snekkersten- Elsinore, some 5 to 8 km south of the centre of Elsinore and in reality separated fr ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

to the United States in the 1950s. Campanella attended

Freehold Township High School Freehold Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Freehold Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, and is part of the Freehold Regional High School District. The school serves students ...

Freehold Township, New Jersey Freehold Township is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is both a regional commercial hub for Central New Jersey (home to the Freehold Raceway and Freehold Raceway Mall) and a bedroom community of New ...

, graduating in 2008. At age 17, she took classes at the

New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts The New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts (NYCDA) is a private acting college in New York City. Originally conceived for the purpose of training actors for film and television acting, in 2009 the conservatory gained accreditation to offer Assoc ...

, and also later attended the

Institute of Culinary Education The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) is a private for-profit culinary college in New York City. ICE is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC), and offers career training diploma programs in the cu ...

, both in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Pageantry

Miss Teen USA

In October 2006, Campanella was crowned

Miss New Jersey Teen USA The Miss New Jersey Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss Teen USA pageant. New Jersey has had a moderated success at Miss Teen USA, with ten placements. In the first twenty ...

2007 and represented her state at

, broadcast live from

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

on August 24, 2007, placing first runner up to eventual winner,

Hilary Cruz Hilary Carol Cruz (born December 4, 1988) is an American actress, model and beauty queen who won Miss Teen USA 2007. Biography Cruz graduated from Centaurus High School in 2007 and was going to attend the University of Northern Colorado but chos ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. She is currently the highest placing New Jersey teen state titleholder in the

Miss Teen USA Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the Mis ...

competition. She is the most successful contestant from New Jersey - having placed 1st runner up at Miss Teen USA and later winning

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, ...

(even though she represented

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Miss USA

Campanella competed in the

Miss New Jersey USA The Miss New Jersey USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state, state of New Jersey in the Miss USA pageant. It is produced by D&D Productions. New Jersey has yet to win the Miss USA title, although from ...

pageant twice, placing first runner-up in 2009, losing to Kaity Rodriguez and in the top fifteen in 2010. On November 21, 2010, she competed in the

Miss California USA Miss California USA is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. The pageant is directed by Crown Diva Productions. California's most ...

pageant and won the title and was crowned by outgoing titleholder Nicole Johnson. She was the first

state delegate to represent

since

Shauna Gambill Shauna Gambill (born 22 September 1976) is a beauty queen from Acton, California who has held the Miss Teen USA title and competed in the Miss USA and Miss World pageants. Gambill first won the Miss California Teen USA title in late 1993. In A ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. She was heavily favored by oddsmakers to win the title of

. On June 19, 2011, she won the Miss USA title in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. She is the second redhead (although she is naturally blonde) and the first

first runner up to win the

title, as well as the first winner from the West Coast since

Shannon Marketic Shannon LaRhea Marketic (born January 14, 1971), is an American actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was Miss California USA and Miss USA 1992. Biography Pageants Marketic was crowned Miss Arizona Teen USA 1989 but held the title for on ...

won in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

also representing California and the first from the Western region since

Brook Lee Brook Antoinette Mahealani Lee (born January 8, 1971) is an American former beauty queen who was crowned Miss Hawaii USA 1997, Miss USA 1997, and Miss Universe 1997. Lee is the first native Hawaiian to win the title of Miss Universe. Early lif ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

who won representing Hawaii. After winning Miss USA, Campanella crowned

Miss Teen USA 2006 Miss Teen USA 2006, the 24th Miss Teen USA pageant, was televised live from Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, California on August 15, 2006. The pageant was won by Katie Blair of Montana. For the third time, the pageant was hosted ...

titleholder

Katie Blair Katherine Amanda Blair (born December 29, 1987) is an American actress, model and beauty queen who won Miss Teen USA 2006, becoming the first person from the state of Montana to win a major pageant title. In 2011, she was crowned Miss California ...

as her Miss California USA successor; pageant protocol states that the two titles cannot be held conterminously as her new Miss USA duties would have interfered with her duties as Miss California USA. Her sister titleholders were Danielle Doty of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and Leila Lopes of

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. In July 2011, Campanella attended the

Miss Teen USA 2011 Miss Teen USA 2011 was the 29th Miss Teen USA pageant. It was held at the Grand Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, Nassau, The Bahamas on July 16, 2011. Miss Teen USA 2010, Kamie Crawford, crowned her successor, Danielle Doty of Texas, as Miss ...

competition in the Bahamas. She also traveled to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to attend the premiere of Captain America: The First Avenger. In October 2011, Campanella traveled to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on behalf of the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

for their Star Spangled Banner Salute Gala. She also traveled to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

to promote breast cancer awareness month with

Susan G. Komen Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States. Komen focuses on patient navigation and advo ...

for the Cure. In November 2011, Campanella traveled to the

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

to attend the Battle 4 Atlantis Basketball competition with several state titleholders about to compete at

Miss USA 2012 Miss USA 2012 was the 61st Miss USA pageant, held on June 3, 2012, at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was televised live on NBC. Alyssa Campanella of California crowned her successor Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island at the end of the event. This ...

. In December 2011, Campanella traveled to

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

before traveling to

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

and

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

for the Five Star Diamond Awards. She traveled back to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to attend the First Annual American Giving Awards on NBC. She then traveled to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

to make an appearance at

Tribute to the Troops ''WWE Tribute to the Troops'' is an American annual professional wrestling event held by WWE and Armed Forces Entertainment. Since 2003, the show airs as a television special during the month of December (specifically during the holiday season), ...

In January 2012, Campanella traveled to

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

to attend the

2012 pageant. She also attended the

Miss Nevada USA The Miss Nevada USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Nevada in the Miss USA pageant. While Nevada did well in the early years of the Miss USA pageant, they only placed once from 1987 to 2000. This str ...

2012 pageant in

later that month, where she was a special guest at the grand opening of 1Oak at

The Mirage The Mirage is a casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Hard Rock International. The 65-acre property includes a casino and 3,044 rooms. Mirage R ...

. In March 2012, Campanella traveled to Germany with her sister titleholders for a week-long

/Armed Forces Entertainment tour on March 9–14, 2012. In May 2012, Campanella traveled to

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

to cohost the Runway for Hope fashion show with

Mario Lopez Mario Lopez (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on ''Saved by the Bell'', ''Sa ...

before traveling to

to pass on her crown. On June 3, 2012, Campanella crowned

Olivia Culpo Olivia Frances Culpo (born May 8, 1992) is an American model, fashion influencer, social media personality, and actress. After winning the Miss Rhode Island USA competition, she went on to be crowned Miss USA, and then Miss Universe in 2012. ...

as her successor in Las Vegas, who ultimately went on to win the title of

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

. During her reign she traveled numerous trips across the United States and made many appearances throughout

. She also traveled to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

Miss Universe

As Miss USA 2011, she went on to compete at

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Brazil, from August 19–September 12, 2011 and placed in the top 16.

Other work

Campanella began modeling at age 16 in

and has appeared in ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...

'', '' Allure'', ''

InStyle ''InStyle'' was an American monthly women's fashion magazine founded in 1994. It was published in the United States by Dotdash Meredith. In February 2022, it was announced that InStyle would cease print publications and move to a digital-only ...

'', ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'', and ''

Women's Health Women's health differs from that of men in many unique ways. Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not mer ...

'' magazines. She has modeled in campaigns for

Sherri Hill Sherri Hill (born 1949 in Minco, Oklahoma) is an American fashion designer and businesswoman whose specialty is formal evening wear. Early years Sherri Hill was born Sherri Branum, one of five siblings of James and Roberta Branum and was b ...

, Aloxxi International, and Conair. Campanella has modeled in

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is a series of international fashion weeks sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, a brand of Daimler AG. Designers featured during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks include notable designers such as Rosenthal Tee, Mary Katrantzou and David ...

in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Campanella appeared in

Old Navy Old Navy is an American clothing and accessories retailing company owned by multinational corporation Gap Inc. It has corporate operations in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The largest of the Old Navy stores are its ...

's "Bold is the New Black"

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

in 2012. Campanella stars as a "Hotbot" in a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

2013 commercial to introduce

Kia Motors Kia Corporation, commonly known as Kia (, ; formerly known as Kyungsung Precision Industry and Kia Motors Corporation), is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second lar ...

' new 2014 Forte Compact Sedan. In January 2012, she was one of eight celebrities participating in the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

reality series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

'' Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off''. She was eliminated in the second week of the competition. In 2013, she posed partially nude, with three other Miss USA winners for a

PETA Peta or PETA may refer to: Acronym * Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943 * People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization * People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...

anti-fur campaign to "put an end" to the use of fur coats as award prizes in pageantries. She now runs a style and travel blog called "The A List."

Personal life

Campanella began dating Canadian actor

Torrance Coombs Torrance Coombs (born June 14, 1983) is a Canadian-American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Culpepper in ''The Tudors'' (2007–2010) and as Sebastian "Bash" de Poitiers, the illegitimate son of King Henry II of France ...

in 2010. On June 12, 2015, it was announced that she and Coombs had gotten engaged a month earlier. On April 2, 2016, they were married in

Santa Ynez, California Santa Ynez (; Spanish for "St. Agnes") is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California. The town of Santa Ynez is one of the communities of the Santa Ynez Valley. It features the Santa Ynez Airport ...

. In April 2019, the couple announced they had separated earlier that year and amicably divorced. In November 2019, Campanella relocated to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, where she has been living since she began dating her now-husband, a pilot. In December 2021, she announced on her blog that the two had gotten married, having eloped after postponing their wedding due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In early November 2022, the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Campanella, Alyssa 1990 births Living people American beauty pageant winners American expatriates in Hong Kong American people of Danish descent American people of Italian descent American people of Lithuanian descent Beauty pageant contestants from California Beauty pageant contestants from New Jersey Female models from New Jersey Freehold Township High School alumni 2007 beauty pageant contestants 21st-century Miss Teen USA delegates Miss Universe 2011 contestants Miss USA 2011 delegates Miss USA winners Participants in American reality television series People from Manalapan Township, New Jersey