Orean Lencola Sullivan (born 1957) is an American news anchor, singer and former beauty queen who has competed in the

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 ...

pageant. She was the first African-American to be crowned Miss Arkansas. Sullivan was the oldest of five children born to Richard and Macie Sullivan. She attended the University of Central Arkansas where she received a degree in broadcasting. Sullivan won the Miss Arkansas title in July 1980 and represented Arkansas in the

Miss America 1981 Miss America 1981, the 54th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 6, 1980 on NBC Network. The winner, Susan Powell of Oklahoma, later became co-host of the series ''Home Matters'' on the D ...

pageant held later that year in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. Sullivan and Doris Hayes (Washington) became the first African-American women to win preliminary awards in the pageant, with Lencola taking a preliminary swimsuit award. She was also the first to place among the top five, where she was fourth runner-up. Sullivan became a news reporter on KARK-TV in Little Rock, Arkansas, and later moved to New York City. She has also worked for KTTV-TV in Austin, Texas, and sang with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, Kool & the Gang (for example on the album ''Unite'') and the

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

Orchestra, among many other things. In 2002, Sullivan married Roel P. Verseveldt, a native of the Netherlands, in Little Rock, Arkansas. She and her husband have since been involved in international business activities. Among other things, Sullivan also works at Royal Dutch Shell and teaches and guest-lectures at the University of Groningen, both in the area of diversity and inclusion. She currently lives in The Hague.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Lencola 1957 births Living people African-American television personalities Miss America 1980s delegates Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners People from Morrilton, Arkansas American expatriates in the Netherlands American women singers 20th-century American people African-American women musicians 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women