Susan Akin (born August 12, 1964) is an American

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

titleholder from

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

who was Miss Mississippi 1985 and

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

1986.

Early life and education

Akin was born to Earl and Dorothy Akin on August 12, 1964. She was a member of

Pi Beta Phi Pi Beta Phi (), often known simply as Pi Phi, is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois on April 28, 1867, as I. C. Sorosis, the first national secret c ...

sorority at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

Pageantry

Before the Miss America 1986 pageant, computer modeling successfully predicted that Akin would be named Miss America, her odds set at 7 to 1. During her pageant years, Akin participated in over 110 pageants.

Career

Akin traveled extensively with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

, performing at conventions both in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. Akin was formerly the spokesperson for the National Down's Syndrome Association, during which she spoke before state legislatures and advocacy groups. In 1991, Akin appeared in a segment on ''

Unsolved Mysteries ''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television series, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Kar ...

'' to discuss the unexplained death of Crystal Spencer, an aspiring actress who died in the same apartment building where Akin and her husband, Jet Taylor, lived in 1988.

Controversies

She is the granddaughter of Bernard L. Akin, a conspirator in the

murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner On June 21, 1964, three Civil Rights Movement activists, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, were murdered by local members of the Ku Klux Klan. They had been arrested earlier in the day for speeding, and after being releas ...

of 1964. The '' Meridian Star'' reported Akin's response to her grandfather's involvement, "That's something that doesn't involve me. I wasn't even born and can't be involved in this. And the people who have taken it out of context thinking they can drag me down, cannot and they're not." Akin openly opposed mixed marriages with the ''New York Press'' quoting her as saying, "I feel at this time intermixing could lead to more problems."

Personal life

After crowning Kellye Cash as her successor, Akin moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1987 to pursue a career in acting, but soon fell into

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. In the late 1980s, Akin became addicted to

opiates An opiate is an alkaloid substance derived from opium (or poppy straw). It differs from the similar term ''opioid'' in that the latter is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain ( ...

after being injured in a car accident. She moved back to Mississippi and soon married Jetson "Jet" Taylor and gave birth to a daughter, Alexandria, in 1992. Taylor and Akin divorced in 1994. In 1996, Akin married Brooks Lynch. She continued to struggle with addiction, ultimately leading to a suicide attempt in 1999. Akin and Lynch had a son, Preston Lynch, in 2001.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akin, Susan 1964 births Living people Miss America 1980s delegates Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners Miss America winners People from Meridian, Mississippi University of Mississippi alumni Miss Mississippi winners