Mai Therese Shanley (born February 17, 1963) is an American model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss New Mexico 1983, Miss New Mexico USA 1984 and

Miss USA 1984 Miss USA 1984 was the 33rd Miss USA pageant, televised live from Lakeland Civic Auditorium, Lakeland, Florida on May 17, 1984. At the conclusion of the final competition, Mai Shanley of Miss New Mexico USA, New Mexico was crowned Miss USA 1984 ...

Biography

Her mother is ethnically

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

and is from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, while her father is Irish and was born in Ireland. Shanley's first pageant experience came when she represented

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

in the

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 ...

pageant in 1983. She did not place in that pageant. Later, Shanley became the second

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

delegate to win Miss USA. She was 21 at the time she was crowned the 33rd winner at the pageant held in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

, on May 17, 1984. She also edged out two former Miss America state titleholders in the top five, Kelly Anderson ( Miss West Virginia 1982) and Desiree Denise Daniels (

Miss Tennessee The Miss Tennessee competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Tennessee in the Miss America Scholarship Competition. Lauren Dickson of Parsons was crowned Miss Tennessee 2022 on June 25, 2022 at the Cannon Center ...

1982), who placed second and third, respectively.

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

(18 May 1984)
Mai Shanley
''Kentucky New Era''(19 May 1984)
Miss USA Still Pinching Herself
''Lakeland Ledger'' Shanley went on to compete at the

Miss Universe Pageant Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

in Miami, FL in July 1984, where she was a semi-finalist.(22 May 1984)
Miss USA in New York
''The Telegraph'' She married pilot Mark Fitzgerald and has two daughters.

References

External links

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1963 births American people of Irish descent American beauty pageant winners of Chinese descent Living people Miss America 1980s delegates Miss Universe 1984 contestants Miss USA winners People from Alamogordo, New Mexico 20th-century American people American people of Taiwanese descent {{US-pageant-bio-stub