Miss America 1939, the 13th

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, was the last pageant to be held at the famed

Steel Pier The Steel Pier is a 1,000-foot-long () amusement park built on a pier of the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, across from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City (formerly the Trump Taj Mahal). Begun in 1898, it was one of the most po ...

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.

. The finals were held on Saturday, September 9, 1939, and

Miss Michigan The Miss Michigan competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Michigan in the Miss America pageant. Michigan has won the Miss America crown on five occasions. Melissa Beyrand of Milford was crowned Miss Michig ...

Patricia Donnelly Patricia Donnelly Harris (October 30, 1919 – October 25, 2009) was Miss America in 1939. Early years Born Patricia Mary Donnelly in Durand, Michigan, she was a singer in grade school and on radio programs, and she began singing with a band ...

, was crowned Miss America 1939. The Miss Congeniality Award was also introduced at the 1939 competition. Donnelly later became a singer and actress. Third runner-up Marguerita Skliris became the actress Margia Dean, who starred in such Hollywood films as ''

Seven Women from Hell ''Seven Women from Hell'' is a 1961 war drama directed by Robert D. Webb and starring Patricia Owens, Denise Darcel (in her final film), Margia Dean, Yvonne Craig and Cesar Romero about women prisoners in a Japanese World War II prison camp, int ...

'' and ''

The Quatermass Xperiment ''The Quatermass Xperiment'' (a.k.a. ''The Creeping Unknown'' in the United States) is a 1955 British science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions, based on the 1953 BBC Television serial ''The Quatermass Experiment'' written by Ni ...

''. Fourth runner-up Rose Marie Elliott had a successful musical career on the Broadway stage as

Rose Marie Brown Rose Marie Brown (April 15, 1919 – January 19, 2015) was an American theater actress who was crowned Miss Virginia in 1939. Then known by her birth name, Rose Marie Elliott, she placed fourth in the 13th Miss America pageant in Atlantic City. Ho ...

Results

Awards

Preliminary awards

Other awards

Contestants

References

Secondary sources

External links

Miss America official website
{{Miss America

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

1939 in the United States 1939 in New Jersey September 1939 events Events in Atlantic City, New Jersey