Kandace Gayle Krueger Matthews (born May 27, 1976) is an American journalist, singer, TV Host and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 2001 and represented the United States in the

Miss Universe 2001 Miss Universe 2001, the 50th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant, was held on May 11, 2001, at the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Denise Quiñones of Puerto Rico was crowned by Lara Dutta of India as her successor at ...

where she placed second runner-up. She is the daughter of Larry and Barbara Johnson Krueger, and was born and raised in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Pageants

Miss Texas USA

Krueger started competing in local Miss Texas USA pageants as an eighteen-year-old, placing in the top five but not winning. She won her first local title, Miss Williamson County USA, in 1999 and her second, Miss Austin USA, in 2000. Krueger competed in the

Miss Texas USA The Miss Texas USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Texas in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. This pageant is part of the Miss USA Organization, owned by Texas native C ...

pageant numerous times in 1990s without placing, although she came close to making the top twelve in 1999 at the Miss Texas USA 2000 pageant. In 2000, her first appearance in the pageant semi-finalis, Krueger won the

2001 title.

Miss USA

Krueger represented

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

in the Miss USA 2001 pageant broadcast live from

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the sou ...

in March 2001. She made the semi-finals, becoming the first Texan to make the top ten in three years, placed second in the swimsuit competition (9.38) and fourth in the evening gown competition (9.29). She entered the top five in second place, with an average combined score of 9.33. After the final interview round she was ranked second, but went on to win the pageant. During her homecoming in Texas, she was given the key to the city of Austin, presented to the Senate, and met with governor Rick Perry.

Miss Universe - second runner up

As Miss USA, Krueger earned the right to represent the United States at the

Pageant in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, where she finished as second runner-up, ahead of Celina Jaitley of India and

Eva Ekvall Eva Mónica Anna Ekvall Johnson (March 15, 1983 – December 17, 2011) was a Venezuelan television news anchor, author, advocate in the fight against breast cancer, fashion model and former Miss Venezuela. After winning the competition, she had ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

and behind Evelina Papantoniou of Greece and winner

Denise Quiñones Denise Marie Quiñones August (born 9 September 1980) is a Puerto Rican actress, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss Universe 2001. Prior to winning the Miss Universe pageant, she represented her hometown of Lares in the Miss Puerto R ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. She placed third in the swimsuit competition (9.37) and fourth in evening gown (9.45).

Career and family

Prior to Miss USA, Krueger attended

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

and studied

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

. Her ambition was to become a sports newsbroadcaster. She was given the chance to be a presenter for the Miss USA 2002 broadcast. She is currently the host of the weekday TV show Today with Kandace broadcast in Dallas, TX.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krueger, Kandace 1976 births Living people Miss Universe 2001 contestants Miss USA 2001 delegates Miss USA winners People from Austin, Texas People from College Station, Texas American people of German descent Texas A&M University alumni