Marissa Whitley (born January 11, 1983) is a former

Miss Teen USA Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the M ...

, having won the 2001 title representing the state of

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

. Born in Los Angeles, California, to an African-American father and European-American mother. The youngest of four, Marissa moved to

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

at age three after the premature death of her mother and was raised by her aunt while her older siblings were split among other family members. At age 5, Marissa's father was killed in a drive by shooting in Los Angeles before they had the chance to meet. She was the first titleholder from that state to win the national competition. After winning Miss Merrie Christmas for scholarship money her junior year, she was given an entry form by her older sister and decided to compete in the Miss Missouri Teen USA Pageant. Whitley won her first title,

Miss Missouri Teen USA The Miss Missouri Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Missouri in the Miss Teen USA pageant. It is directed by Vanbros and Associates, based in Lenexa, Kansas. In 1993, Missouri joined the Vanbro ...

in 2000, and reigned until she won the Miss Teen USA 2001 title. She captured the state title along with the award for Miss Congeniality and set her sights on the national title following graduation. With her sassy attitude and warm personality, Marissa's dream came true as she made history at 18 and became the first winner from

to capture the national title during the 19th Annual

Miss Teen USA 2001 Miss Teen USA 2001, the 19th Miss Teen USA pageant, was televised live from South Padre Convention Island Center, South Padre Island, Texas on 22 August 2001. At the conclusion of the final competition, Marissa Whitley of Missouri was crowned ...

Competition, airing live on CBS. Marissa Whitley remained 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 ...

where she worked for MTV Networks on the College Television Network and as a commercial print model for

Ford Models Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. Company Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen ...

. She continued to speak at events around the country."Biography for Marissa Whitley"
Internet Movie Database."Interview - Miss Teen USA, Marissa Whitley"
Kids World. Interview in 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, Marissa Living people Miss Teen USA winners 2001 beauty pageant contestants 21st-century Miss Teen USA delegates Female models from Missouri Female models from Los Angeles People from Springfield, Missouri 1983 births African-American beauty pageant winners African-American female models 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people