Kaliegh Garris (born August 21, 2000) is an American model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss Teen USA 2019 Miss Teen USA 2019 was the 37th Miss Teen USA pageant. It was held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada on April 28, 2019, and was hosted by Miss USA 2014 Nia Sanchez and Tim Tialdo. The 2019 competition served as the second consecutive t ...

. Garris had previously been crowned Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2019; she is the second entrant from Connecticut to have been crowned Miss Teen USA, following

Logan West Logan West (born June 20, 1994) is an American beauty queen who competed and won Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2012, and was later crowned Miss Teen USA 2012. West was the first contestant from the state of Connecticut to win the title. Pageantry Lo ...

who was crowned

Miss Teen USA 2012 Miss Teen USA 2012 was the 30th Miss Teen USA pageant. The pageant was held on July 28, 2012 at the Grand Ballroom of the Atlantis Paradise Island in Nassau, The Bahamas. Danielle Doty of Texas crowned Logan West from Connecticut as the new Mis ...

. With her win, 2019 became the first year that all five major pageants were won by mixed and black women; other titleholders were

Toni-Ann Singh Toni-Ann Singh (born February 1996) is a Jamaican beauty queen who won Miss World 2019. She was previously crowned Miss Jamaica World 2019 and is the fourth woman from Jamaica to win Miss World. She is also the longest-reigning Miss World in th ...

of Jamaica (as

Miss World 2019 Miss World 2019, the 69th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 14 December 2019 at the ExCeL London in London, United Kingdom. Vanessa Ponce of Mexico crowned her successor Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica at the end of the event. Backgro ...

Zozibini Tunzi Zozibini Tunzi (born 18 September 1993), also known as Zozi Tunzi, is a South African model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2019. Tunzi had previously been crowned Miss South Africa 2019. She is the third ...

of South Africa (as

Miss Universe 2019 Miss Universe 2019 was the 68th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Stage 1 of the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, United States on 8 December 2019. At the end of the event, Catriona Gray of the Philippines crowned Zozibini Tunzi of So ...

Nia Franklin Nia Imani Franklin (born July 27, 1993) is an American composer and beauty pageant titleholder. In June 2018, she was crowned Miss New York 2018. On September 9, 2018, she was crowned Miss America 2019 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, by the outgoin ...

(as

Miss America 2019 The Miss America 2019 pageant/competition was the 92nd Miss America pageant, though the Miss America Organization celebrated its 98th anniversary in 2018. This discrepancy is due to national pageants not being held from 1928–1932 or in 1934 beca ...

), and

Cheslie Kryst Cheslie Corrinne Kryst (; April 28, 1991 – January 30, 2022) was an American television correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2019. Kryst was also an attorney and had served as a correspondent for ''Ex ...

(as

Miss USA 2019 Miss USA 2019 was the 68th Miss USA pageant. It was held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, on May 2, 2019. Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey served as hosts, while Lu Sierra served as commentator, all for the second consecutive time and w ...

Life and career

Early life

Garris was born on August 21, 2000 in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. She is

biracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...

; her father is

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, while her mother is

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

. Prior to being crowned Miss Teen USA, Garris was a dual enrolled student at Joseph A. Foran High School in

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located between New Haven and Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the village of Devon and the borough of Woodmont. ...

, and the

ACES Educational Center for the Arts ACES Educational Center for the Arts (ECA), is an American public arts magnet high school, located at 55 Audubon Street in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The school is primarily located in the former Congregation Mishkan Israel synagogu ...

in New Haven, where she studied theatre. Throughout her life, Garris has participated in competitive dance, being trained in

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pointe Pointe technique ( ) is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns ''pointe work'', in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. A dancer is said to be ''en pointe'' () when ...

, hip hop, and tap. She founded the organization We Are People 1st, which assists people with disabilities, and was founded due to Garris's elder sister struggling with multiple disabilities; Garris has been recognized by the

Connecticut Department of Developmental Services The Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is a state agency of Connecticut providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Its headquarters are in Hartford. According to its official Twitter ...

for her work. After graduating from high school, Garris now attends

Southern Connecticut State University Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...

studying communications and also volunteers at

Yale New Haven Hospital Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) is a 1,541-bed hospital located in New Haven, Connecticut. It is owned and operated by the Yale New Haven Health System. YNHH includes the 168-bed Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven, the 201-bed Yale New Haven ...

Pageantry

Garris began her pageantry career as a teenager, competing in the National American Miss circuit and the

Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen ''For the state pageant affiliated with Miss Teen USA, see Miss Connecticut Teen USA'' The Miss Connecticut's Teen competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of Connecticut in the Miss America's Teen pageant. Pe ...

competition. She transitioned to the

Miss Universe Organization 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 Str ...

in 2019, competing in Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2019 and winning the title on her first try. As Miss Connecticut Teen USA, Garris was awarded the right to compete for

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. She competed in the finals on April 28, 2019 at the

Grand Sierra Resort Grand Sierra Resort (formerly MGM Grand Reno, Bally's Reno and Reno Hilton) is a hotel and casino located approximately three miles east of Downtown Reno, Nevada. The hotel has 1,990 guest rooms and suites, 12 restaurants, including Charlie Palmer ...

, and was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder

Hailey Colborn Hailey Colborn (born October 10, 2000) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Teen USA 2018. She is the second entrant from Kansas to win the title after Keylee Sue Sanders won Miss Teen USA 1995. Life and career Early li ...

, besting first runner-up Caitlyn Vogel of

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. Following her win, Garris became the second titleholder from Connecticut to win Miss Teen USA, succeeding

who was crowned

. Following her win, she received national attention for wearing her natural

afro-textured hair Afro-textured hair, or kinky hair, is a human hair texture originating from sub-Saharan Africa. Each strand of this hair type grows in a tiny, angle-like helix shape. The overall effect is such that, contrasted with straight, wavy, or curly hai ...

during the competition. Garris's reign was originally scheduled to end on spring 2020, but due to the circumstances over 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 ...

, she became the longest reigning Miss Teen USA titleholder and surpassed

Allison Brown Allison Elaine Brown (born August 23, 1968) is an American actress and beauty queen who was Miss Teen USA 1986. Brown also competed in the Miss USA pageant. Biography Brown grew up in Edmond, Oklahoma, and attended Edmond Memorial High School. Sh ...

's previous record of 546 days on October 26, 2020. She ended her reign on November 7, 2020, after crowning Kiilani Arruda as

Miss Teen USA 2020 Miss Teen USA 2020 was the 38th Miss Teen USA pageant. Originally scheduled to be held in spring 2020, the competition was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later rescheduled for November 7, 2020 at the Exhibition Centre ...

, at

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garris, Kaliegh 2000 births African-American beauty pageant winners African-American female models American beauty pageant winners American female models Female models from Connecticut Living people Miss Teen USA winners People from Milford, Connecticut People from New Haven, Connecticut Southern Connecticut State University alumni 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women