The Miss New Jersey competition is an annual pageant held to select the representative for the state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

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. Two Miss New Jersey winners have gone on to hold the title of Miss America:

Bette Cooper Elizabeth "Bette" Cooper-Moore (August 11, 1920 – December 10, 2017) won the Miss America 1937 pageant as Miss Bertrand Island, representing an amusement park on Lake Hopatcong in New Jersey. Early life She was born in Hackettstown, New Jersey ...

who won in 1937 and Suzette Charles who did not win, but took over the title for the last 7 weeks of

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 ...

's reign in 1984. They also have one unofficial Miss America:

Dorothy Hann Dorothy Irene Hann was Miss America in 1932. Hann, from Camden, New Jersey was the first Miss America "crowned" since 1927, due to an absence of pageants due to the Great Depression. The pageant was held in Wildwood, New Jersey instead of the tra ...

(1932). In the fall of 2018, the Miss America Organization terminated the Miss New Jersey organization's license as well as licenses from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

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 * '' ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to ...

, and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. On December 26, 2018; MAO reinstated the license for the Miss New Jersey organization for one year, contingent on leadership changes and the recruitment of new sponsors and board members. Augostina Mallous of

Cape May Court House Cape May Court House is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Middle Township in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States.

was crowned Miss New Jersey 2022 on June 25, 2022 at the Superstar Theater in the Resorts Casino Hotel in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

. She competed for the title of Miss America 2023 at the Mohegan Sun in

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

in December 2022.

Gallery of past titleholders

File:Suzette Charles aboard USS Coral Sea (CV-43) 1985.jpg, File:Miss_New_jersey1985.jpg, File:Miss NJ 2008 July4parade.jpg, File:Miss New Jersey Lindsey Petrosh.jpg, File:Cierra Kaler-Jones at Miss America 2015.jpg,

Results summary

The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss New Jersey titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.

Placements

* Miss America:

(

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Febr ...

) * 1st runners-up: Kathryn M. Gearon (1921), Suzette Charles* (1984) * 2nd runners-up: Cheryl Carter (1970),

Suzanne Plummer Suzanne "Sue" Pluskoski Lowden (; born February 8, 1952) Payment required to read article. is the former Chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party and a former Nevada state senator. Lowden is a former businesswoman, television news anchor and kin ...

(1974), Therese Hanley (1981), Jennifer Makris (1995), Kaitlyn Schoeffel (2018) * 3rd runners-up: Ruth Brady (1938), Madeline Layton (1942), Mary D'Arcy (1978) * Top 10: Emerita Monsch (1924), Emily Borbach (1924), Kathleen Harris (1943), Betty Jane Crowley (1949), Michele Sexton (1994), Victoria Paige (2000), Jill Horner (2001) * Top 12: Mary Dillinger (1935), Elizabeth Koehler (1935) * Top 15: Edith Becker (1924), Helen Corcoran (1925), Frances M. Glowaski (1925), Evelynne Jeanne Crowell (1926), Mildred Morlock (1926), Carolyn Pierson (1927), Margo Lundgren (1939), Delores Mendes (1947), Jennifer Farrell (2004), Jade Glab (2020) * Top 16: June Stephens (1951) * Top 18: Gertrude Christman (1933)

Awards

Preliminary awards

* Preliminary Evening Wear: Alicia Luciano (2003) * Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness: Suzanne Plummer (1974), Kathy Nejat (1998) * Preliminary On Stage Interview: Jade Glab (2020) * Preliminary Talent: Ruth E. Brady (1938), Suzette Charles (1984), Heather Hertling (1993)

Non-finalist awards

* Non-finalist Talent: Marilyn Beryl Rockafellow (1959), Georgia Malick (1963), Linda Gialanella (1973), Debra Naley (1982), Patricia La Terra (1985), Patricia Bowman (1989), Laura Murray (1990), Heather Hertling (1993), Dena Querubin (1996), Kathy Nejat (1998), Stephanie Ferrari (1999), Erica Scanlon (2005), Amy Polumbo (2008)

Other awards

Miss Congeniality Miss Congeniality may refer to: * ''Miss Congeniality'' (film), 2000 film, directed by Donald Petrie, starring Sandra Bullock and Benjamin Bratt **'' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'', a 2005 sequel *A special award, the "Miss Congeniality A ...

: Betty Jane Crowley (1949) (tie), Patricia Condon (1954) * Amateur Beauty Award: Kathryn M. Gearon (1921) * Amateur Beauty Award Second Prize: Mary Elizabeth Edwards (1922) * Amateur Beauty Award Third Prize: Estelle Marks (1922) *Jean Bartel Social Impact Initiative 2nd runner-up: Alyssa Sullivan (2022) * Overall Elegance and Lifestyle Award: Alicia Luciano (2003) * Quality of Life Award Winners: Dena Querubin (1996), Lindsey Gianinni (2016) * Quality of Life Award 2nd runners-up: Jill Horner (2001), Ashleigh Udalovas (2011) * Quality of Life Award Finalists: Jaime Gialloreto (2019)

Winners

;Note

Popular culture

In Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, "

American Pastoral ''American Pastoral'' is a Philip Roth novel published in 1997 concerning Seymour "Swede" Levov, a successful Jewish American businessman and former high school star athlete from Newark, New Jersey. Levov's happy and conventional upper middle cla ...

", the central character Seymour "Swede" Levov marries Dawn Dwyer, an Irish Catholic winner of Miss New Jersey 1949, from nearby Elizabeth, whom he met at Upsala College in East Orange, New Jersey. In the

Drake & Josh ''Drake & Josh'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. The series follows two teenage stepbrothers Drake Parker ( Drake Bell) and Josh Nichols ( Josh Peck) as they live together despite opposite personalities. Th ...

episode "Vicious Tiberius", the boys find out their teacher, Mrs. Hayfer, was the winner of Miss New Jersey 1976 while house sitting for her. The winner of the 1957 pageant is mentioned by title in the

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

film ''

Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...

''.

References

External links

Miss New Jersey official website
{{Miss America state

New Jersey culture Women in New Jersey 1921 establishments in New Jersey Recurring events established in 1921