Melissa Ann Witek (born April 9, 1981) is an American actress, model, television personality, and beauty queen who competed in the

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 and appeared on the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

show '' Treasure Hunters''.

Biography

Witek was born in Rockledge, Florida. She later moved to

Cocoa Beach, Florida Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,539 at the 2018 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The first non-native ...

, which presented her with the

key to the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

in August 2004. A sister of

Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta Delta (), also known as Tri Delta, is an international women's fraternity founded on November 27, 1888 at Boston University by Sarah Ida Shaw, Eleanor Dorcas Pond, Isabel Morgan Breed, and Florence Isabelle Stewart. Tri Delta part ...

sorority, she graduated from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

with a degree in Public Relations in 2003, the third consecutive University of Florida alumna to win the Miss Florida USA crown. From 2003 to 2005, Witek was CEO and President of her own builders' supply company, Ampex Granite, which she discussed during her live interview for the

Miss USA 2005 Miss USA 2005 was the 54th Miss USA pageant, held in Baltimore, Maryland on April 11, 2005. It was won by Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina. Fifty-one state titleholders competed for the title of Miss USA in the Hippodrome Theatre on April 11, ...

pageant.

Pageantry

Witek's first pageant title was Miss Florida Gator which she won in February 2002. With this title, she competed at Miss Florida 2002 (in the Miss America system), but did not place. Her first Miss USA system title was Miss Florida Panhandle USA, which she won in March 2004. In May of that year, she competed against forty-seven other contestants in the Miss Florida USA pageant held in Hollywood, Florida and broadcast live throughout the state. Witek won the crown and numerous other prizes, including cash, a wardrobe and use of an apartment in Hollywood during her reign. On April 11, 2005, Witek represented Florida in the

pageant broadcast live from

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. She placed fourth runner-up to Chelsea Cooley 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 ...

, her state's highest placement since 1987.

Reality television

Months before her state pageant win, Witek had made the semi-finals of reality television show '' The Bachelor'' but was cut because of the possibility of her knowing the Bachelor, former University of Florida football star Jesse Palmer. In April 2006 it was announced that Witek was among the cast of the new

reality television series '' Treasure Hunters'' that aired June 18, 2006. She teamed up with fellow Miss USA 2005 delegates Kristen Johnson of

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 ...

and Kaitlyn Christopher of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

for the competition, which was taped during September and October 2005. Their group, Team Miss USA, came in as fourth runner-up on the show.

Personal life

As of 2020 She lives in Orlando, FL. She is a Registered

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Notes

References

Granite's Glamour Girl
''Pageantry'' magazine (accessed 3 May 2006)
City of Hollywood Staff Summary Request: Presentation of Melissa Witek, Miss Florida USA 2005
(accessed 3 May 2006)

''Florida Today'', 29 August 2004 (accessed 3 May 2006)
Tale of Two Miss Floridas
''Pageantry'' magazine

External links

MelissaWitek.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Witek, Melissa University of Florida alumni Living people 1981 births Miss USA 2005 delegates People from Cocoa Beach, Florida People from Rockledge, Florida Florida Republicans Participants in American reality television series