Miss USA 2020 was the 69th
Miss USA
Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...
pageant. It was held at the Exhibition Centre and the Soundstage at
Graceland
Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...
in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
, on November 9, 2020.
Akbar Gbaja-Biamila
Akbar Oluwakemi-Idowu Gbaja-Biamila (born May 6, 1979) is a former professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL) who is a commentator and co-host on the ''American Ninja Warrior'' television series. He is the forme ...
and
Allie LaForce
Alexandra Leigh LaForce (born December 11, 1988) is an American journalist, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. She is a reporter for Turner Sports, covering the '' NBA on TNT''. She was previously the lead reporter for SEC college football g ...
served as hosts, while
Cheslie Kryst
Cheslie Corrinne Kryst (; April 28, 1991 – January 30, 2022) was an American television correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2019. Kryst was also an attorney and had served as a correspondent for ''Ex ...
and Christian Murphy served as backstage commentators, and
Haley Reinhart
Haley Elizabeth Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and actress from Wheeling, Illinois. She first rose to prominence after placing third in the 10th season of ''American Idol''. In July 2011, Reinhart signed a re ...
performed.
Cheslie Kryst
Cheslie Corrinne Kryst (; April 28, 1991 – January 30, 2022) was an American television correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2019. Kryst was also an attorney and had served as a correspondent for ''Ex ...
of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
crowned
Asya Branch
Asya Danielle Branch (born May 5, 1998) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was Miss USA 2020 and represented her country at Miss Universe 2020 where she placed Top 21.
Early life and education
Branch was born on May 5, 1998, in Detr ...
of
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
as her successor at the end of the event. Branch is the second consecutive
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to win the title, and the fourth one in five years. This is Mississippi's first win at the Miss USA pageant. Branch represented the United States at the
Miss Universe 2020
Miss Universe 2020 was the 69th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida, United States on May 16, 2021.
At the end of the event, Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa crowned Andrea Meza of Mexico ...
pageant and placed in the Top 21.
Originally scheduled to be held in spring 2020 and was initially to air on
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
, the competition was postponed indefinitely due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. On August 31, the Miss Universe Organization announced that the competition would be held on November 9 of the same year.
FYI served as the new broadcaster of the pageant, replacing Fox, which had broadcast the pageant since
2016.
The show was also rebroadcast on November 18, 2020 on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. The competition marked the first year that a new crown made by jeweler
Mouawad
Mouawad is a family-owned international company of Lebanese origin that makes and sells jewelry, objects of art, and luxury watches. The firm has headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, with a Middle East headquarters at Jumeirah Lakes Towers in Dub ...
is used at Miss USA, effectively retiring the
Mikimoto Crown
The Phoenix Mikimoto Crown, (Kanji: 御木本不死鳥王冠) also informally known as the Mikimoto Crown, was a pageant crown worn by Miss Universe titleholders.
The crown was made by the Mikimoto Pearl company in Toba, Mie Prefecture, Japan ...
.
For a third consecutive year, the competition was held concurrently alongside the
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 ...
competition. This was the last Miss USA to be organized by Miss Universe Organization before being split into its separate organization beginning in
Miss USA 2021
Miss USA 2021 was the 70th Miss USA pageant, held on November 29, 2021, at the Paradise Cove Theater of River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The competition was hosted by Zuri Hall and Patrick Ta, while Nicole Adamo served as a lounge ...
.
Background
Location
On August 30, 2020,
Graceland
Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...
announced on their schedule that the competition would be held on November 9 on their premises in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. The MUO later confirmed that the competition would be hosted at Graceland the following day. This was the first time since
Miss USA 1983
Miss USA 1983 was the 32nd Miss USA pageant, televised live from the Knoxville Civic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, on May 12, 1983. At the conclusion of the final competition, Julie Hayek of California was crowned Miss USA 1983 by outgoing titl ...
that the state of
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
would be hosting the pageant.
Hosts and performer
On October 22, it was announced that the competition would be hosted by
Akbar Gbaja-Biamila
Akbar Oluwakemi-Idowu Gbaja-Biamila (born May 6, 1979) is a former professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL) who is a commentator and co-host on the ''American Ninja Warrior'' television series. He is the forme ...
and
Allie LaForce
Alexandra Leigh LaForce (born December 11, 1988) is an American journalist, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. She is a reporter for Turner Sports, covering the '' NBA on TNT''. She was previously the lead reporter for SEC college football g ...
, while
Cheslie Kryst
Cheslie Corrinne Kryst (; April 28, 1991 – January 30, 2022) was an American television correspondent, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2019. Kryst was also an attorney and had served as a correspondent for ''Ex ...
and Christian Murphy would serve as backstage correspondents. Gbaja-Biamila is a commentator on ''
American Ninja Warrior
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
'' and former professional football player, while LaForce formerly was crowned
Miss Teen USA 2005, and has worked as a sports reporter for
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
and
Turner Sports
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasting, sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS (American TV ch ...
.
On the same day, ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' alum
Haley Reinhart
Haley Elizabeth Reinhart (born September 9, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and actress from Wheeling, Illinois. She first rose to prominence after placing third in the 10th season of ''American Idol''. In July 2011, Reinhart signed a re ...
was announced as the musical guest.
Selection of contestants
Delegates from
50 states and the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
were selected in state pageants which began in September 2019 and concluded in February 2020. The first state pageant was
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, held on September 1, 2019, while the final pageant was
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, held on February 1, 2020. Nine of these delegates were 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 ...
state winners, six of them were former
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 ...
state winners, one delegate was a former
Miss America's Outstanding Teen
Miss America's Outstanding Teen is an American scholarship pageant. It is the sister program to the Miss America Organization, and it aims to "promote scholastic achievement, creative accomplishment, healthy living and community involvement for ...
state winner, and one was former
Miss Earth United States winner who competed at
Miss Earth 2017
Miss Earth 2017, the 17th edition of the Miss Earth pageant, with the theme "Heroines fighting climate change", was held on November 4, 2017 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. Katherine Espín of Ecuador crowned her ...
.
Rachel Slawson,
Miss Utah USA 2020, became the first openly
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
woman to compete in Miss USA; Slawson identifies herself as
queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
.
One state titleholder was appointed as a replacement after the original titleholder was unable to compete. Katie Bozner, the original
Miss Wyoming USA 2020, resigned three weeks before Miss USA 2020 due to her academic obligations in
optometry school. She was replaced by Lexi Revelli, who was the first runner-up of the Miss Wyoming USA 2020 pageant.
COVID-19 restrictions
The pageant was heavily impacted by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Restrictions implemented included an audience of only 300 spectators for both the preliminary and final competitions, and daily temperature checks,
COVID-19 testing and
social distancing
In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dis ...
measures for contestants and staff members. If a delegate tests positive from COVID-19, she would automatically withdraw from the competition, resulted all of the delegates were tested negative prior to arrive in Memphis. Other in-person events such as pre-pageant activities had been cancelled, including press briefings from pageant commentators.
Results
§ Voted into Top 16 by viewers.
Special award
Pageant
Preliminary round
Prior to the final competition, the delegates competed the preliminary competition, which the judges and a presentation show where they competed in swim wear and evening gown. It was held on November 6 at Graceland Exhibition Center and the Soundstage in Memphis hosted by Christian Murphy and Cheslie Kryst.
Finals
For the first time since
Miss USA 2012
Miss USA 2012 was the 61st Miss USA pageant, held on June 3, 2012, at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was televised live on NBC. Alyssa Campanella of California crowned her successor Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island at the end of the event. This ...
, the number of finalists increased to 16, up from 15 in previous years. The sixteenth finalist was determined through an online vote from the viewing public. During the final competition, the top sixteen competed in swimsuit, and the top ten in evening gown. The top five format returned for the first time since
Miss USA 2015
Miss USA 2015 was the 64th Miss USA pageant, held at the Raising Cane's River Center Arena in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on July 12, 2015. All fifty states and the District of Columbia competed. Nia Sanchez of Nevada crowned her successor Olivia J ...
, where the five finalists competed in two question rounds. The winner and her runners-up were determined by a panel of judges.
Judges
*Carolyn Aronson – businesswoman and hairstylist
*
Lynnette Cole
Lynnette Marie Cole-O'Nan (née Cole; born February 9, 1978) is an American television personality, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder who won the title Miss Tennessee USA in 2000. She went on to become the first woman from that state to win ...
–
Miss USA 2000 from
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
*Abby Hornacek –
Fox Nation
Fox Nation is an American subscription video on demand service. Announced on February 20, 2018, and launching on November 27 of that year, it is a companion to Fox News Channel carrying programming of interest to its audience, including origina ...
journalist and media personality
*Gloria Mayfield Banks – motivational speaker, author, and entrepreneur
*
Kimberly Pressler
Kimberly Ann Pressler (born May 21, 1977) is an American sports reporter, businesswoman, model, and former Miss USA who currently works for FOX on Professional Bowlers Association ( PBA) telecasts. Ms. Pressler has been featured in People Magazi ...
–
Miss USA 1999 from
New York
*Susan Yara – businesswoman and
social media personality
An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social ...
Contestants
All 51 state titleholders have been crowned.
Notes
References
External links
Miss USA official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miss Usa
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
November 2020 events in the United States
2020 beauty pageants
2020 in Tennessee
Beauty pageants in the United States
Events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television