Eva Leanza Cornett (June 10, 1971 – October 28, 2020) was an American television personality and beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned

Miss Florida The Miss Florida competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Florida in the Miss America pageant. Florida has twice won the Miss America crown. In the fall of 2018, the Miss America Organization terminated Miss F ...

1992 and

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

1993 the same year.

Early life

Cornett was born in

Big Stone Gap, Virginia Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,643 at the 2010 census. History The community was formerly kno ...

, and was a 1989 graduate of

Terry Parker High School Terry Parker High School is a public high school in the Duval County Public School district, located in Jacksonville, Florida. The school celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.http: ...

. She was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2006.

Pageantry

Cornett was previously

National Sweetheart Miss National Sweetheart is a United States beauty pageant created in 1941 where runners-up from the Miss America state pageants are invited to Hoopeston, Illinois to compete for the title of Miss National Sweetheart, and the name of the title held ...

1991. As

Miss America 1993 Miss America 1993 was the 66th Miss America pageant, which was held on September 19, 1992. The winner, Leanza Cornett, was the first Miss Florida to take the crown. She later became a television personality for programs such as ''Entertainment T ...

, she became the first Miss America to adopt

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

awareness as her platform for her year of service. She became one of the first Miss America titleholders to refuse to wear the Miss America crown at public appearances.

Career

Cornett was the first actress to play a live-action version of

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

, the title character from ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...

'', at the "Voyage of The Little Mermaid" show at

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by Ma ...

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...

in 1991. She was also a member of the

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

group Area Code, which released their single album, ''One Big World'', before Leanza’s big break. Cornett also served as a host for several television shows, including ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...

'' (1994–1995), ''New Attitudes'' (1998), and ''

Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire? ''Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?'' is an American reality television special in which 50 women competed in a beauty pageant-style contest to marry a wealthy man whom they had never met, with the wedding being performed at the end of the ...

'' (2000). She made television guest appearances in television series such as ''

Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, in ...

'', ''

The Tick ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', '' CSI'', and ''

Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in primetime, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United States ...

'', and ''

Fear Factor ''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/ dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled ''Now or ...

''. In addition, she served as a reporter for

Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily dev ...

's coverage of the

Eukanuba Eukanuba ( ) is the brand name of dog food and cat food, owned and manufactured by Mars, Incorporated worldwide and by Spectrum Brands in European markets; previously handled by Procter & Gamble from 1999 through 2014. The company produces 17 d ...

AKC National

Dog Show A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ''c ...

programs, and hosted the "On The Block" show on

DIY Network Magnolia Network is an American basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines. It broadcasts personality-based lifestyle programs related to topics such as home construction, Home renovation, renovation, and cuisi ...

. Her stage credits included ''

Barefoot in the Park ''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda. Productions ''Barefoot ...

'', ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymn ...

'', ''

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grange ...

'', ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...

'', and ''

Voyage of the Little Mermaid ''Voyage of the Little Mermaid'' is a live show attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. ''Voyage'' is an abridgment of the 1989 film ''The Little Mermaid''. Along with a mix of live actors and puppets ...

''.

Personal life

Cornett married broadcast journalist

Mark Steines Mark Anthony Steines (born June 7, 1964) is an American broadcast journalist and actor who was host of the syndicated gossip and entertainment round-up program '' Entertainment Tonight'' from 2004 to 2012, joining the program on August 24, 1995. ...

on July 22, 1995. Weeks after their wedding, Cornett was let go from her ''Entertainment Tonight'' position and immediately replaced by Steines himself. Cornett and Steines had two sons, Kai Harper (born on February 19, 2002), and Avery James (born on November 4, 2003). The couple later divorced after 17 years of marriage. She died on October 28, 2020, after being hospitalized for a head injury incurred in a fall at her home in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

References

External links

*
Delta Delta Delta Distinguished Alumnae profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornett, Leanza 1971 births American infotainers American women television personalities Miss America 1993 delegates Miss America winners People from Big Stone Gap, Virginia People from Jacksonville, Florida Rollins College alumni 2020 deaths Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in Florida Deaths from head injury 20th-century American people Television personalities from Florida