Sarah French (born September 17, 1985) is an American journalist. She is currently an anchor/reporter for WCNC 36 in Charlotte, North Carolina. After the murder of her friend and colleague Alice Morrin, French became an advocate for domestic violence victims and worked with Connecticut legislators, trying to pass a 911 texting bill in Morrin's name. She was born in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, but grew up in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

, and moved to

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

, to attend college. French competed in 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 Mis ...

and

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 ...

pageants. She won the

Miss Arkansas Teen USA The Miss Arkansas Teen USA competition is the beauty pageant, pageant that selects the representative for the state of Arkansas in the Miss Teen USA pageant. The state pageant was directed by Premier Pageants from 2002 to 2007 before becoming ...

2004 title in a state pageant held in late 2003. It was her first attempt at the title. She went on to represent

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

in the

2004 pageant held in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land a ...

, in August 2004. French did not place in the nationally televised pageant, which was won by Shelley Hennig of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, but she did win the Miss Photogenic award. This award, chosen by a public internet vote, is given to the delegate who most "exemplifies beauty through the lens of a camera". French, a 2004 graduate of Lakeside High School in Arkansas, later moved to

, to study Broadcast Journalism at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

. While there she won the Miss Mid-Missouri title and competed for the

Miss Missouri Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as " Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, i ...

2006 title, which she won. French is one of only a few Miss Teen USA delegates to win a Miss America state title, which is even more rare than the fact that she has held titles in different states. French competed in the

Miss America 2007 Miss America 2007, the 80th Miss America pageant, was held on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on Monday, January 29, 2007, making it the first time that the pageant was held on a weekday, rather than the traditional Saturday since 1927' ...

pageant broadcast live on CMT from the

Theatre for the Performing Arts The Zappos Theater, originally known as Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, is a mid-sized auditorium located at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. The venue hosts a variety of events, including charity benefits, concerts and ...

on January 29, 2007, and won the Miss America 2007 Smile Award. Her platform was "Health and Fitness for Life". "I chose my platform because diabetes runs on both sides of my family." She has also volunteered with the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

and has written articles for ''Life & Home Magazine'', where she established a monthly health and fitness column. As Miss Missouri, French worked as a spokesperson for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Children's Miracle Network, traveling the state giving motivational speeches and speaking with young students through a program called Right Decisions, Right Now. During college, French worked as an anchor/reporter at the NBC affiliate station, KOMU-TV, in Columbia, Missouri. She worked alone, in the roles of photographer, reporter and editor. During college, she also worked as an intern for NBC Universal in Burbank, California, where she assisted in the production of NBC's annual Press Tour. While in Los Angeles, French was a host for NBC's local television show ''YourLA''. French is a member of the Cherokee Nation. She once spoke at the National Trail of Tears Conference.

References

External links

Miss Arkansas Teen USA official websiteMiss Missouri official websiteMiss America USA official profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Sarah Living people 1985 births Miss America 2007 delegates 2004 beauty pageant contestants 21st-century Miss Teen USA delegates University of Missouri alumni People from Columbia, Missouri