Ruth Zakarian (born February 6, 1966) is an American actress and beauty queen who was the winner of the first ever

Miss Teen USA 1983 Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the ...

pageant in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay area, Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,6 ...

. She also competed at

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 New Mexico was crowned Miss USA 1984 by outgoing titleho ...

but unplaced.

Miss Teen USA

Armenian American Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians ...

, Zakarian was born in

Amsterdam, New York Amsterdam is a city in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,219. The city is named after Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The City of Amsterdam is surrounded on the northern, east ...

and represented the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

at the Miss Teen USA pageant. Before then, she was a

babysitter Babysitting is temporarily caring for a child. Babysitting can be a paid job for all ages; however, it is best known as a temporary activity for early teenagers who are not yet eligible for employment in the general economy. It provides auton ...

for

Jessica Collins Jessica Collins (born Jessica Lynn Capogna; April 1, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Dinah Lee Mayberry on the ABC soap opera '' Loving'' (1991–1994) and Avery Bailey Clark on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and ...

, Miss New York Teen USA 1988 and first runner-up to

Miss Teen USA 1988 Miss Teen USA 1988, the 6th Miss Teen USA pageant, was televised live from San Bernardino, California on July 25, 1988. At the conclusion of the final competition, Mindy Duncan of Oregon was crowned by outgoing queen Kristi Addis of Mississipp ...

. In her interview during the pageant, Collins called attention to this fact with Zakarian in attendance.

After Miss Teen USA

Zakarian later worked as an actress under the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

of Devon Pierce. Her most notable role was as "Diane Westin" on the soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

''. She also appeared on '' Santa Barbara'' as Isabella Castillo. Zakarian now resides in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. She has one daughter, Fiaba Zakarian who studied Psychology and Economics at Loyola Marymount University.

References

External links

* 1967 births Living people American soap opera actresses American television actresses American people of Armenian descent Miss Teen USA winners People from Amsterdam, New York Actresses from New York (state) 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women {{US-pageant-bio-stub