American Experience | Miss America

...The Winners Are...

As of 2002, 75 young women have won the title of Miss America. Averaging all the winners' vital statistics, the composite winner is 20 years and 3 months old; her average weight is just over 121 pounds; her height is 5 feet, 6-1/2 inches. The states producing the most winners are California (6), Ohio (6, with one winning twice), and Pennsylvania (5), but the places producing the most winners relative to their resident populations are the District of Columbia (2), Hawaii (2), and Mississippi (4).

Visit the Miss America Organization's Web site to read biographies of all the pageant's winners.


year	finalist	state	age	hgt.	wgt.	msmts.

1921	Margaret Gorman	DC	16	5'1"	108	30-25-32

1922 1923	Mary Catherine Campbell	OH	16	5'7"	140	35-26-36

1924	Ruth Malcomson	PA	18	5'6"	137	34-25-34

1925	Fay Lanphier	CA	19	5'6"	138	34-26-37

1926	Norma Smallwood	OK	18	5'4"	118	33-25-34

1927	Lois Delander	IL	17	5'5-1/2"	115	33-25-34


year	finalist	state	age	hgt.	wgt.	msmts.

1933	Marian Bergeron	CT	15	5'4-1/2"	112	32-26-37

1935	Henrietta Leaver	PA	17	5'6"	120	33-23-35

1936	Rose Coyle	PA	22	5'6"	114	34-23-34

1937	Bette Cooper	NJ	17	5'6-1/2"	120	32-26-36

1938	Marilyn Meseke	OH	20 or 21	5'7"	128	34-26-36

1939	Patricia Donnelly	MI	19	5'7"	126	36-25-34


year	finalist	state	age	hgt.	wgt.	msmts.

1940	Frances Burke	PA	19	5'9"	120	34-23-35

1941	Rosemary LaPlanche	CA	18	5'5-1/2"	120	34-24-36

1942	Jo-Carroll Dennison	TX	18	5'5"	118	34-22-34

1943	Jean Bartel	CA	19	5'8"	130	36-23-35

1944	Venus Ramey	DC	19	5'7"	125	36-25-37

1945	Bess Myerson	NY	21	5'10"	135	35-25-35

1946	Marilyn Buferd	CA	21	5'8"	123	35-25-36

1947	Barbara Jo Walker	TN	21	5'7"	130	35-25-35

1948	Bebe Shopp	MN	18	5'9"	140	37-27-36

1949	Jacque Mercer	AZ	18	5'3"	106	34-22-34


year	finalist	state	age	hgt.	wgt.	msmts.

There is no 1950 winner. Since Miss America reigns for a year following her September victory, and most of that year falls into the next calendar year, in 1950, pageant officials decided to call the winner "Miss America 1951," and have followed this practice ever since.

1951	Yolande Betbeze	AL	18 or 21	5'5-1/2"	119	35-24-35

1952	Colleen Hutchins	UT	25	5'10"	143	36-24-36

1953	Neva Jane Langley	GA	19	5'6-1/4"	118	35-23-35

1954	Evelyn Ay	PA	20	5'8"	132	37-24-36

1955	Lee Meriwether	CA	19	5'8-1/2"	124	34-22-35

1956	Sharon Ritchie	CO	18	5'6"	116	35-23-35

1957	Marian McKnight	SC	19	5'5"	120	35-23-35

1958	Marilyn Van Derbur	CO	20	5'8-1/4"	130	35-25-36

1959	Mary Ann Mobley	MS	21	5'5"	114	34-22-35


year	finalist	state	age	hgt.	wgt.	msmts.

1960	Lynda Mead	MS	20	5'7"	120	36-24-36

1961	Nancy Fleming	MI	18	5'6"	116	35-22-35

1962	Maria Fletcher	NC	19	5'5-1/2"	118	35-24-35

1963	Jacquelyn Mayer	OH	20	5'5"	115	36-22-26

1964	Donna Axum	AR	21	5'6-1/2"	124	35-23-35

1965	Vonda Kay Van Dyke	AZ	21	5'6"	124	36-24-36

1966	Deborah Bryant	KS	19	5'7"	115	36-23-36

1967	Jane Jayroe	OK	19	5'6"	116	36-24-36

1968	Debra Barnes	KS	20	5'9"	135	26-24-36

1969	Judith Ford	IL	18	5'7"	125	36-24-36


year	finalist	state	age	hgt.	wgt.	msmts.

1970	Pam Eldred	MI	21	5'5-1/2"	110	34-21-34

1971	Phyllis George	TX	21	5'8"	121	36-23-36

1972	Laurel Lea Schaefer	OH	22	5'7"	118	36-24-36

1973	Terry Meeuwsen	WI	23	5'8"	120	36-25-36

1974	Rebecca King	CO	23	5'9"	125	36-24-36

1975	Shirley Cothran	TX	21	5'8"	119	36-23-36

1976	Tawny Godin	NY	18	5'10"	128	36-24-36

1977	Dorothy Benham	MN	20	5'7"	120	35-23-35

1978	Susan Perkins	OH	23	5'5"	105	34-24-35

1979	Kylene Barker	VA	22	5'4"	108	35-24-35


year	finalist	state	age	hgt.	wgt.	msmts.

1980	Cheryl Prewitt	MS	22	5'7"	114	35-23-36

1981	Susan Powell	OK	21	5'4"	110	35-24-35

1982	Elizabeth Ward	AR	20	5'9"	129	36-24-36

1983	Debra Maffett	CA	25	5'7"	115	35-22-35

1984	Vanessa Williams	NY	20	5'6"	110	34-24-34

1984	Suzette Charles	NJ	20	5'3"	100	33-22-33

1985	Sharlene Wells	UT	20	5'8"	120	35-25-36

1986	Susan Akin	MS	21	5'9"	114	35-22-35

1987	Kellye Cash	TN	21	5'8"	116	N/A

1988	Kaye Lani Rae Rafko	MI	24	5'10"	131	N/A

1989	Gretchen Carlson	MN	22	5'3"	108	N/A


year	finalist	state	age	hgt.	wgt.	msmts.

1990	Debbye Turner	MO	23	5'8"	118	N/A

1991	Marjorie Vincent	IL	25	5'6"	110	N/A

1992	Carolyn Sapp	HI	24	5'10"	N/A	N/A

1993	Leanza Cornett	FL	21	N/A	N/A	N/A

1994	Kimberly Aiken	SC	18	N/A	N/A	N/A

1995	Heather Whitestone	AL	21	N/A	N/A	N/A

1996	Shawntel Smith	OK	24	N/A	N/A	N/A

1997	Tara Dawn Holland	KS	23	N/A	N/A	N/A

1998	Kate Shindle	IL	21	5'11"	145	N/A

1999	Nicole Johnson	VA	24	5'9"	133	N/A


year	finalist	state	age	hgt.	wgt.	msmts.

2000	Heather Renee French	KY	24	5'6"	N/A	N/A

2001	Angela Perez Baraquio	HI	24	5'4"	118	N/A

2002	Katie Harman	OR	21	5'3"	110	N/A

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