Heather Renee French Henry (born December 29, 1974) is a Miss America title holder, fashion designer, and veterans advocate. She is married to former Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry.

Biography

Raised in Augusta,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, Heather French Henry graduated from the

University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning The University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, commonly referred to as DAAP, is a college of the University of Cincinnati. Located in the university's main campus in Cincinnati, Ohio, DAAP is consistently ranked ...

. She competed in pageants through her teens, including the Miss Ohio pageant. She competed in the Miss Kentucky Pageant four times before winning the title on her fifth attempt in 1999. She won the 2000 Miss America pageant in September 1999, the first Kentuckian to do so. Her platform for her reign was raising awareness of

homeless veterans Homeless veterans are persons who have served in the armed forces who are homeless or living without access to secure and appropriate accommodation. Background Many of these veterans suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, an anxiety disorde ...

; her father was a wounded veteran of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. She received numerous awards for her work with veterans, including Kentuckian of the Year by ''

Kentucky Monthly ''Kentucky Monthly'' is a general interest regional magazine about the U.S. state of Kentucky and Kentuckians. Founded in 1998 by Stephen M. Vest, publisher, Michael Embry, editor, (who retired in 2006) and business manager Kay Vest, it featured ...

''. On October 27, 2000, she married Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry, 21 years her senior, in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

. The wedding led to controversy over state resources being expended as part of the wedding and planning. The Henrys repaid the state $3,200 for services related to their wedding rendered to them by state employees. The couple have two daughters, Harper Renee (born 2001) and Taylor Augusta (born 2003). In October 2003, French Henry struck and subsequently killed Karola Stede, 44, a native of

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 ...

and mother of four who was crossing against the traffic light in a Louisville intersection. French said that the accident deeply affected her, and she subsequently recounted her story in venues such as ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

''. In November 2007, she was named to Kentucky Governor-elect Steve Beshear's transition team. On July 1, 2014, Beshear appointed Henry Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs. French Henry was the 2019 Democratic nominee for

Secretary of State of Kentucky The secretary of state of Kentucky is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is now an elected office, but was an appointed office prior to 1891. The current secretary of state is Republican Michael Adams, who was ...

. She lost the general election to Michael Adams.

References

External links

Heather French Foundation for Veterans Website

Heather French Henry's Official Website

Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Bio
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Henry, Heather French 1974 births Living people Beauty pageants in Kentucky Kentucky Democrats Miss America 2000 delegates Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners Miss America winners Miss Kentucky winners People from Louisville, Kentucky People from Maysville, Kentucky Spouses of Kentucky politicians Women in Kentucky politics 20th-century American people Beauty queen-politicians

Biography

See also

References

External links