Karen Jean Morrison-Comstock (born August 4, 1954) is an American model and beauty queen from St. Charles,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

who held the

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, ...

1974 title.

Pageants

Comstock entered the

Miss Illinois USA The Miss Illinois USA pageant is a competition that selects the representative for the state Illinois in the Miss USA pageant. It is directed by Vanbros and Associates and is previously directed by D&D Productions from 2001 to 2014 before be ...

pageant at the suggestion of her modeling agency who owned the franchise and her sister who encouraged her to participate.

Paula Zahn Paula Ann Zahn (; born February 24, 1956) is an American journalist and newscaster who has been an anchor at ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, and CNN. She currently produces and hosts the true crime documentary series '' On the Case with Paula Zahn' ...

, an acquaintance of Comstock also competed and placed in the top five. She won and a month later represented her state in the

pageant, held in Niagara Falls, New York on May 18, 1974. Comstock won the nationally televised pageant and was crowned by Amanda Jones, also of Illinois. She was crowned in a custom-made white chiffon gown made by Alyce Hamm of Alyce Designs. Her prize winnings included $7,500 cash, a $7,500 appearance contract, $3,000 in scholarships as well as a new car, color television, stereo and clothing. At the time Comstock was one of the tallest contestants ever to win a major beauty pageant. Comstock represented the United States in the

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 ...

pageant broadcast from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

two months after winning her national title. This was only the third time that the pageant had been held outside the United States, and the first held in Asia. Continuing the strong history of the United States in this pageant, Comstock placed in the semi-finals. The pageant was won by

Amparo Muñoz Amparo Muñoz Quesada ( Vélez-Málaga, 21 June 1954 – Málaga, 27 February 2011) was a Spanish actress, model and beauty queen who won the Miss Universe 1974 competition in Manila, Philippines, being the first and only Spaniard titleholder ...

of Spain. During her reign she traveled extensively and met celebrities, including Jack Lemmon,

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...

, Omar Sharif and Joe Namath.

Personal life

Comstock attended Haines Junior High School and St. Charles High School. She was a freshman at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

when she won the Miss USA title but left to pursue modeling in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1976 she returned home to Illinois, embraced fundamentalist Protestant

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and toured the United States representing a non-profit organization called Sharing Ministries. She later married Gordon Comstock and has four children.

References

External links

Miss Illinois USA official websiteMiss USA official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison-Comstock, Karen 1955 births Living people Miss Universe 1974 contestants Miss USA winners People from St. Charles, Illinois