The Miss Illinois is a pageant program affiliated with
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 ...
, which is competition for women models representing the state of Illinois.
The first "Miss Illinois" sent to the national pageant was
Lois Delander
Lois Eleanor Delander (February 14, 1911 – January 23, 1985) was Miss America in 1927.
Biography
Delander, a native of Joliet, Illinois and high school junior, aged 16, won the Miss America crown on her parents' twentieth wedding anniversa ...
who subsequently won the Miss America title. Including Delander, five Miss Illinois representatives have won the Miss America title.
Monica Nia Jones of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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was crowned Miss Illinois 2022 on June 11, 2022 at Marion Cultural Arts & Civic Center in
Marion Marion may refer to:
People
*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
. She represented Illinois and competed for the title of
Miss America 2023
Miss America 2023 was the 95th edition of the Miss America pageant, which occurred at the Mohegan Sun on December 16, 2022. The 2023 calendar year, based on several sources, may be the final year at Mohegan Sun.
Rather than being aired on mai ...
at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut in December 2022 where she was in the Top 11 and the People's Choice winner.
Results summary
The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss Illinois titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.
Awards received by contestants competing as Miss Chicago at the national pageant are denoted with a "*".
Placements
* Miss Americas:
Lois Delander
Lois Eleanor Delander (February 14, 1911 – January 23, 1985) was Miss America in 1927.
Biography
Delander, a native of Joliet, Illinois and high school junior, aged 16, won the Miss America crown on her parents' twentieth wedding anniversa ...
(
1927),
Judith Ford
Judith Anne Ford Nash (née Ford; born December 26, 1949) is a retired teacher who was Miss America 1969. Judith Anne Ford moved to Belvidere, Illinois at age three with her parents and brother. In 1968 she won the title of Miss Boone County, held ...
(
1969),
Marjorie Vincent (
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
),
Katherine Shindle (
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
),
Erika Harold
Erika Natalie Louise Harold (born February 20, 1980) is an American attorney, politician, and former Miss America.
Harold was Miss Illinois 2002 and Miss America 2003. Her pageant platform was combating bullying. In 2014, she was a candidate ...
(
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
)
* 1st runners-up: Bette Brunk* (1942), Sandra Truitt (1982),
Jade Smalls
Jade Simmons is an American classical concert pianist who was an independent presidential candidate in 2020.
Career
Simmons attended college at Northwestern University, and was crowned Miss Chicago and Miss Illinois in 1999. She was named first ...
(2000)
* 2nd runners-up: Trudi Germi (1949), Florence Gallagher* (1956), Jean Ahern (1975)
* 3rd runners-up: Arlene Causey (1936), Elaine Steinbach* (1944),
Jeri Zimmermann (1990)
* 4th runners-up: Margaret Leigh (1924), Jo Hoppe* (1953), Tracy Hayes (1996)
* Top 10: Patricia Hayes (1942), Marjorie Nelson* (1943), Adrianne Falcon* (1952), Regina Dombeck* (1955), Sandra Jean Stuart* (1957), Suzanne Ingeborg Johnson (1960), Colleen Metternich (1974), Hannah Smith (2011), Megan Jo Ervin (2012), Isabelle Hanson (2022)
* Top 11: Monica Nia Jones (2023)
* Top 12: Betty June King (1944)
* Top 13: Lee Mercer Wieland* (1945)
* Top 15: Ethel Lorraine Lodbell (1939),
Lois Nettleton
Lois June Nettleton (August 16, 1927 – January 18, 2008) was an American film, stage, radio, and television actress. She received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won two Daytime Emmy Awards.
Early life
Lois Nettleton was born on Au ...
* (1948), Teresa Giorgian* (1949), Abby Foster (2018)
* Top 16: Patricia Frye (1946),
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomin ...
* (1946), Marjorie Adams* (1951)
Illinois holds a record of 36 placements at
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 ...
.
Awards
Preliminary awards
*
Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Bette Brunk* (1942), Trudi Germi (1949), Jo Hoppe* (1953), Sandra Stuart* (1957), Pamela Gilbert (1963),
Judith Ford
Judith Anne Ford Nash (née Ford; born December 26, 1949) is a retired teacher who was Miss America 1969. Judith Anne Ford moved to Belvidere, Illinois at age three with her parents and brother. In 1968 she won the title of Miss Boone County, held ...
(1969),
Jeri Zimmermann (1990), Tracy Hayes (1996), Megan Jo Ervin (2013)
*
Preliminary Talent: Suzanne Ingeborg Johnson (1960),
Judith Ford
Judith Anne Ford Nash (née Ford; born December 26, 1949) is a retired teacher who was Miss America 1969. Judith Anne Ford moved to Belvidere, Illinois at age three with her parents and brother. In 1968 she won the title of Miss Boone County, held ...
(1969), Colleen Metternich (1974), Jean Ahern (1975), Sandra Truitt (1982),
Marjorie Vincent (1991),
Katherine Shindle (1998),
Jenny Powers
Jennifer Diane Powers (born August 29, 1979) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant. She won the title of Miss Illinois in 2000, and has had major roles in Broadway productions such as '' Little Women'' and '' Grease''.
...
(2001), Isabelle Hanson (2021)
* Preliminary Interview:
Erika Harold
Erika Natalie Louise Harold (born February 20, 1980) is an American attorney, politician, and former Miss America.
Harold was Miss Illinois 2002 and Miss America 2003. Her pageant platform was combating bullying. In 2014, she was a candidate ...
(2003)
* Preliminary On-Stage Interview:
Erika Harold
Erika Natalie Louise Harold (born February 20, 1980) is an American attorney, politician, and former Miss America.
Harold was Miss Illinois 2002 and Miss America 2003. Her pageant platform was combating bullying. In 2014, she was a candidate ...
(2003)
Non-finalist awards
* Non-finalist Talent: Audra Deckmann* (1959), Margaret McDowell* (1961), Vicky Joyce Nutter (1961), Donnalyn Freund* (1963), Dulcie Scripture (1970), Debra Carlson (1979), Blythe Sawyer (1981), Cindi Hodgkins (1988), Cheryl Majercik (1992), Kathleen Farrell (1993), Sara Martin (1994),
Chuti Tiu
Chuti Tiu is an American actress of Filipino and Chinese descent. She was Miss Illinois in 1994.
Early life
Tiu was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Filipino immigrants. Her father is of Chinese origin and her mother is Filipina-Spanish. Her p ...
(1995), Amanda Jo Meadows (1999),
Jenny Powers
Jennifer Diane Powers (born August 29, 1979) is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant. She won the title of Miss Illinois in 2000, and has had major roles in Broadway productions such as '' Little Women'' and '' Grease''.
...
(2001)
Other awards
*
Miss Congeniality: Patsy Bruce (1955)
*
America's Choice
''America's Choice'' is the fifth album by the American blues rock band Hot Tuna, recorded in 1974, and released in 1975 as Grunt BFL1-0820. The album was also released in Quadraphonic as Grunt BFD1-0820. The first of the "Rampage" trilogy album ...
: Abby Foster (2018), Monica Nia Jones (2023)
* Charles & Theresa Brown Scholarship: Marisa Buchheit (2015)
* Equity & Justice Scholarship Award Finalists: Ariel Beverly (2020)
* Overall Interview Award:
Erika Harold
Erika Natalie Louise Harold (born February 20, 1980) is an American attorney, politician, and former Miss America.
Harold was Miss Illinois 2002 and Miss America 2003. Her pageant platform was combating bullying. In 2014, she was a candidate ...
(2003)
*
Quality of Life Award Winners: Cheryl Majercik (1992)
*
STEM Scholarship Award Winners: Jaryn Franklin (2017)
Winners
;Notes
References
External links
Official website
{{Miss America state
Illinois culture
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
Women in Illinois
Recurring events established in 1927
1927 establishments in Illinois