Deneen Zezell Graham Kernsis a dance teacher and pageant contestant from

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 ...

. In 1983 she became the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

to win the

Miss North Carolina The Miss North Carolina competition selects the representative for the state of North Carolina to compete in the annual Miss America competition. The competition has been held in Raleigh every year since 1978. Prior to that, it was held in vario ...

beauty pageant; she remained the only

to have won the Miss North Carolina pageant until Alexandra Badgett was crowned in 2019.

Personal life

Graham was born in

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States, approximately 80 miles north of Charlotte. The population was 4,131 at the 2020 US Census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's Home Improveme ...

. Her parents, Jean and Bobby Graham, were both educators in Wilkes County public schools. She entered the 1983 Miss North Carolina pageant at 19, as Miss Elkin Valley. North Wilkesboro held a Deneen Graham Day two weeks after she received the Miss North Carolina title.

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

, winner of the Miss America 1984 title, has said that the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

threatened to burn a cross on Graham's lawn after she won the North Carolina pageant. In 1986, she graduated from the

North Carolina School of the Arts The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is an arts school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It grants high school, undergraduate, and graduate degrees. Founded in 1963 as the North Carolina School of the Arts by then-Governo ...

with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree in Dance. She traveled to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, Far East, and Alaska with the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

Entertainment Tours, and toured the United States with the first national tour of the musical ''Heartstrings''. She appeared in "Theatre of the Stars" productions of such musicals as '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'', '' South Pacific'', '' Hello, Dolly!'', ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments and ...

'', and ''

The Will Rogers Follies ''The Will Rogers Follies'' is a musical with a book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and music by Cy Coleman. It focuses on the life and career of famed humorist and performer Will Rogers, using as a backdrop the Ziegfeld ...

''. As a performer with the Miss Georgia pageant from 1988–94, she served as co-choreographer and chief choreographer. She was also a member of the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

Dance Team (Cheerleaders) during the 1994 season; she served as the assistant to the dance team choreographer. She was inducted into the Wilkes County Hall of Fame in 2016. She is a member of the Dance Masters of America. Many of her students at Carol Walker Dance Academy have received the highest awards in regional and national competitions, and the academy's dance team are currently (as of 2008) National Dance Champions.

Pageants

* Miss Georgia pageant performer *

1983 * Participant in

Miss America 1984 Miss America 1984, the 57th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 17, 1983 on NBC Network. Debra Maffett (Miss California 1982) crowned her successor, Miss New York 1983, Vanessa Williams at ...

pageant

Dance

* Fine Arts degree * Broadway shows * Choreographers of performances on Broadway and Miss Georgia Organization pageants * Atlanta Hawks Dance Team * Artistic Director of Dancers Company One * Member of Dance Masters of America * Choreographed many productions on Broadway and television * Appeared and choreographed, as lead dancer, in hundreds of movies

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Deneen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American actresses American actresses African-American choreographers American choreographers African-American female dancers African-American female models African-American models American cheerleaders American female dancers Dancers from North Carolina Female models from North Carolina Miss America 1980s delegates Miss North Carolina winners National Basketball Association cheerleaders People from North Wilkesboro, North Carolina University of North Carolina School of the Arts alumni African-American beauty pageant winners