Nana Meriwether (born May 24, 1985) is an American philanthropist, former professional volleyball player, and beauty pageant titleholder. She competed at

Miss USA 2012 Miss USA 2012 was the 61st Miss USA pageant, held on June 3, 2012, at The AXIS in Las Vegas, Nevada and it was televised live on NBC. Alyssa Campanella of California crowned her successor Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island at the end of the event. This ...

, representing

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and finished as the first runner-up. On December 19, 2012, winner Olivia Culpo won

Miss Universe 2012 Miss Universe 2012 was the 61st Miss Universe pageant, held at the PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on December 19, 2012. At the end of the event, Leila Lopes of Angola crowned Olivia Culpo of ...

, and Meriwether assumed the title of Miss USA three weeks later. She is additionally the cofounder of the nonprofit organization the Meriwether Foundation, and a two-time All-American volleyball player at

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Life and career

Early life

Meriwether was born on May 24, 1985, in

Acornhoek Acornhoek, commonly known as Khenhuk, is a semi-rural town situated in the north eastern areas of Bushbuckridge in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Established in the late 1950s, the town is located about 38 km south-east of Hoedsp ...

, Tintswalo Hospital, South Africa. Her father is Delano Meriwether, the first African-American student at

Duke University School of Medicine The Duke University School of Medicine, commonly known as Duke Med, is the medical school of Duke University. It is located in the Collegiate Gothic-style West Campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The School of Medicine, along wit ...

, while her mother, Nomvimbi Meriwether, is South African and works as a lawyer. Her parents had been doing volunteer work in South Africa at the time of Meriwether's birth. She was raised in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named after the nearby Potomac River. Potomac is the seventh most educated small town in America, based on percentage of residents with postsecondary deg ...

and graduated from

Sidwell Friends School Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is ' ( en, Let the light shine out from all), al ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(June 4, 2012)
Nana Meriwether, Sidwell Friends grad, is first runner-up at Miss USA
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' Meriwether played volleyball at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

for one semester.(February 20, 2006)
Breaking the Barrier
''Inside – Duke University Medical Center'' She later transferred to the

, where she was named a two-time

NCAA All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

volleyball player and graduated with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

.(July 8, 2012)
UCLA volleyball alumna Nana Meriwether finds a new way to compete by participating in pageants
''

Daily Bruin The ''Daily Bruin'' is the student newspaper at the University of California, Los Angeles. It began publishing in 1919, the year UCLA was founded. The ''Daily Bruin'' distributes about 6,000 copies across campus each school day. It also publis ...

'' After graduating, Meriwether played volleyball professionally for Las Indias de Mayagüez in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, and trained for the

United States women's national volleyball team The United States women's national volleyball team participates in international volleyball competitions and friendly games, and is governed by USA Volleyball. The current head coach is three-time Olympic gold medalist and retired dominant beac ...

for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

. She later completed a degree in premedical sciences at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Pageantry

State titles

Meriwether competed in her first pageant for the

Miss Universe Organization 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 Str ...

, Miss California USA 2008, representing Malibu, where she didn't place in the semifinals. Meriwether returned to Miss California USA in 2009, this time representing

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

, where she finished as the third runner-up to

Carrie Prejean Caroline Michelle "Carrie" Prejean Boller (; born 1987) is an American model, former Miss California USA 2009, and Miss USA 2009 first runner-up. Prejean was stripped of her Miss California USA crown for alleged breaches of contract. Litigation ...

. Meriwether competed in Miss California USA 2010 and finished as first runner-up to Nicole Johnson. She competed in the Miss California USA for the final time in 2011, where she finished as fourth runner-up to

Alyssa Campanella Alyssa Marie Campanella (born March 21, 1990) is an American model, blogger, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2011. Having previously been crowned Miss California USA 2011, Campanella was the sixth woman representing Calif ...

, who would go on to win

Miss USA 2011 Miss USA 2011 was the 60th Anniversary of the Miss USA pageant, held on the Las Vegas Strip at the Theatre for the Performing Arts in the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, Paradise, Nevada on Sunday, June 19, 2011. Rima Fakih of Michigan crowned ...

.(June 4, 2012)
More on Miss USA Maryland Nana Meriwether
''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'' After competing in

Miss California USA Miss California USA is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. The pageant is directed by Crown Diva Productions. California's most ...

for four years, Meriwether returned to her home state of

, and entered Miss Maryland USA 2012. She won the title and received the right to represent the state at

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, ...

Miss USA 2012

Meriwether represented Maryland at

, where she eventually finished as the first runner-up to

Olivia Culpo Olivia Frances Culpo (born May 8, 1992) is an American model, fashion influencer, social media personality, and actress. After winning the Miss Rhode Island USA competition, she went on to be crowned Miss USA, and then Miss Universe in 2012. ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. On December 19, 2012, Olivia Culpo won the title of

. Due to pageant protocol, Miss USA must resign her title in order to fulfill her duties as Miss Universe. The first runner-up assumes the title of Miss USA, meaning that Meriwether became the new Miss USA 2012 three weeks later.

Other ventures

Meriwether is a cofounder of the Meriwether Foundation, which she runs along with the members of her family. The organization operates programs in health, education, nutrition, and development in rural and impoverished communities of

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. Meriwether worked as an executive assistant to

Glenda Bailey Dame Glenda Adrianne Bailey DBE (born 16 November 1958) is a former editor-in-chief of ''Harper’s Bazaar'', a monthly fashion magazine published by the Hearst Corporation. She was in this position from May 2001 to 2020. Early life Bailey was ...

, the editor-in-chief of ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

''. She has worked for and contributed to

Carine Roitfeld Carine Roitfeld (; born 19 September 1954) is a French fashion editor, former fashion model, and writer. She is the former editor-in-chief of ''Vogue Paris'', a position she held from 2001 to 2011. In 2012, she became founder and editor-in-chief ...

's ''CR Fashion Book'', '' Vanity Fair'', and ''

Vogue Australia ''Vogue'' ''Australia'' is the Australian edition of ''Vogue'' magazine. ''Vogue Australia'' became the 4th edition of Vogue in 1959 after ''Vogue'', ''British Vogue'' and ''Vogue Paris''. Prior to becoming a stand-alone issue, the Australian edit ...

''. Founded by Joseph Lubin, Meriwether joined ConsenSys in 2018 where she helps build decentralized companies and applications for the Ethereum blockchain.

Notes

References

External links

Profile
at missuniverse.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meriwether, Nana 1985 births African-American volleyball players American beauty pageant winners American people of South African descent American women philanthropists American women's volleyball players Living people Miss USA 2012 delegates Miss USA winners People from Johannesburg People from Potomac, Maryland Philanthropists from Maryland Sidwell Friends School alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of Southern California alumni African-American beauty pageant winners 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women UCLA Bruins women's volleyball players Duke Blue Devils women's volleyball players