Miss USA 2022: From fashion designers to journalists, meet the 51 stunning contestants
RENO, NEVADA: The stage for Miss USA 2022 is set with the preliminary round done and dusted. With the fabulous swimsuit round and evening gown segment leaving the audience and judges spellbound, the finale is almost here. Fans and critics are waiting with bated breath for the announcement of a new queen to represent the United States in the Miss Universe pageant.
The former Miss Kentucky 2021 and reigning Miss USA will return to the stage after a year to crown her successor. The contestants' excitements has gone through the roof. This time, the contestants are not just beautiful but incredibly intelligent too. From a doctoral student to a fashion designer that wears her creations to pageants, these extraordinary women are all set to put their best stiletto studded foot forward and give it their best. Here's all you need to know about the 51 contestants.
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Miss Alabama USA: Katelyn Vinson
The 22-year-old graduated from Auburn University with a degree in business administration. She works as the director of admissions at Moondance Adventures and loves playing the piano and collecting antique vinyl records
Miss Alaska USA: Courtney Schuman
The 28-year-old studied geology as well as environment and society. She currently works as a travel and tour director. Her hobbies include trail running, backcountry skiing, rock climbing, and mountain biking
Miss Arizona USA: Isabel Ticlo
The 28-year-old is on her way to getting her doctorate in physical therapy and works as a game-show host and freelance writer. According to her Miss USA bio, her dream is to open a private practice that provides pro bono services.
Miss Arkansas USA: Rylie Wagner
The 22-year-old is currently studying apparel merchandising and product development. She hopes to become a buyer for a major retailer and start her own sustainable fashion line one day.
Miss California USA: Tiffany Johnson
The 26-year-old is a professional dancer, choreographer, and model. She has degrees in psychology and nutrition along with a cosmetology license. She dreams of becoming a sports broadcaster and coach.
Miss Colorado USA: Alexis Glover
The 22-year-old graduated from the University of Northern California with degrees in journalism and political science and currently works as a real-estate agent. She loves thrift-store shopping and doing lip-sync battles with her friends.
Miss Connecticut USA: Cynthia Dias
The 23-year-old has a master's degree in psychology from the University of New Haven and works as a senior HR generalist. Cynthia is a ballroom dancer and dreams of performing at the World ProAm Dancesport Series. Her other aspiration is to become a certified life coach and performance coach.
Miss Delaware USA: Grace Lange
The 22-year-old is currently a law student at the University of Pennsylvania. She works as a commercial model and has modeled for various brands at the New York Fashion Week.
Miss District of Columbia USA: Faith Porter
The 23-year-old graduated with an art and entertainment management degree and worked as a Broadway and entertainment manager. According to her Miss USA bio, Porter founded an award-winning acappella group that has produced three Broadway singers and a Tony Award nominee.
Miss Florida USA: Taylor Fulford
The 28-year-old currently works as an educator for the Seminole Tribe of Florida. She aspires to become a school board member to prioritize and implement policies to ensure success for all students.
Miss Georgia USA: Holly Haynes
According to her Miss USA bio, the 26-year-old works as a branding and marketing professional as well as a model, singer, actress and author. She dreams of owning a sustainable and socially-responsible fashion company that supports STEM education.
Miss Hawaii USA: Kiana Yamat
The 28-year-old works as a civil engineer and wants to advocate for young women to confidently pursue STEM careers and be a role model in male-dominated industries. She loves cliff diving, alpine skiing, scuba diving, and wrestling.
Miss Idaho USA: Jordana Dahmen
The 27-year-old currently works as a research coordinator for a company focused on ageing and disabled citizens. Her hobbies include gardening and baking.
Miss Illinois USA: Angel Reyes
The 25-year-old, who was once homeless, is currently a spa director with hopes of owning her own medical aesthetics spa.
Miss Indiana USA: Samantha Toney
The 27-year-old was an NFL cheerleader for the Indianapolis Colts just a year after she was nearly paralyzed. She is currently a marketing specialist and entrepreneur.
Miss Iowa USA: Randi Estabrook
The 25-year-old was a collegiate softball player at Iowa State University, even after a major spinal surgery as a child. She hopes to become a pediatric physical therapist and open a pediatric yoga studio so she can help children who are in the same position as hers.
Miss Kansas USA: Elyse Noe
The 23-year-old studied journalism and she hopes to become a sports news anchor. She loves to bake and has even won first-place ribbons for her chocolate cake.
Miss Kentucky USA: Lizzy Neutz
The 23-year-old aspires to be an actress. She is also a real estate investor in short-term housing. Her hobby is hiking.
Miss Louisiana USA: KT Scannell
The 22-year-old is currently in a master's program at Louisiana State University to become a master gardener. She is also an avid beekeeper.
Miss Maine USA: Elizabeth Kervin
The 20-year-old is studying biochemistry, intending to become a trauma surgeon. She has been volunteering with veteran programs in Maine for seven years, which is close to her heart because her father was a veteran.
Miss Maryland USA: Caleigh Shade
The 23-year-old is a survivor of domestic abuse. She prides herself on having gone to therapy for over two years. Caleigh has a communications degree from Salisbury University but her true passion is wine. She's a student at the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Miss Massachusetts USA: Skarlet Ramirez
The 27-year-old immigrated from the Dominican Republic to the United States at 13 and did not speak any English. She now has a degree in communication from Fitchburg State University and hopes to grow her YouTube platform and develop a modeling career.
Miss Michigan USA: Aria Hutchinson
The 23-year-old graduated with a degree in neuroscience from the University of Michigan in 2021 and founded the nonprofit Project InPower, which supports victims of human trafficking and trauma through self-defense, meditation, and yoga classes.
Miss Minnesota USA: Madeline Helget
The 24-year-old is a registered sonographer who has a degree from St Cloud Technical. She entered the Miss Minnesota pageant just 11 days before it took place and won.
Miss Mississippi USA: Hailey White
The 23-year-old has a degree in marketing, a certificate of professional sales, and modeling and acting training from the John Robert Powers school. She works as a wedding planner and hopes to own a wedding planning company and venue in the future.
Miss Missouri USA: Mikala McGhee
The 28-year-old is a sports anchor and news reporter with a bachelor's degree in communications and a master's degree in criminal justice, law, and administration. She played Division 1 basketball for five years.
Miss Montana USA: Heather Lee O'Keefe
The 25-year-old is a recent graduate of NSU College of Law and the youngest member of her class. She enjoys modeling, managing her Instagram-famous dog Fifi and running her online boutique.
Miss Nebraska USA: Natalie Pieper
The 27-year-old previously held an internship with the Supreme Court, studied politics at Washington University in St Louis, participated in an event with Barack Obama, and is now an attorney. She is a classically-trained ballet dancer and loves wake surfing and online shopping.
Miss Nevada USA: Summer Keffeler
The 20-year-old is an aviation student, enjoys kickboxing and wake surfing. She was also a competitive cheerleader and dancer.
Miss New Hampshire USA: Camila Sacco
The 27-year-old grew up in Paraguay and currently works as a nutritionist and health information management specialist. She loves modeling, gardening, surfing, playing beach volleyball and spending time with her dog.
Miss New Jersey USA: Alexandra Lakhman
The 26-year-old participated in the Miss New Jersey competition seven times before being crowned, all while studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She loves baking and boxing.
Miss New Mexico USA: Suzanne Perez
The 25-year-old is a speech-language pathologist who is working towards opening her rehabilitation center for adults and children. She plays multiple instruments and can cook traditional Filipino food.
Miss New York USA: Heather Nunez
The 26-year-old has a degree in criminal justice and cybercrime. She has training in CPR and karate, hopes to join the FBI in the future. Heather also loves meditating, writing poetry, and inspiring her younger sister.
Miss North Carolina USA: Morgan Romano
The 24-year-old is both a chemical engineer and a classically-trained ballerina. She enjoys baking, meditating, and spending time with her rescue cats.
Miss North Dakota USA: SaNoah LaRcque
The 25-year-old is the first of a tribal nation to win the Miss North Dakota title. She previously graduated from Harvard and works as a grant financial analyst. She likes puzzles, cheerleading, and pow-wow dances.
Miss Ohio USA: Sir'Quora Carroll
The 23-year-old is a full-time model with aspirations to open her agency in the future. She loves journaling, voice acting and cooking. She is an avid traveler.
Miss Oklahoma USA: Ashley Ehrhart
The 25-year-old is a community family advisor and was an NBA dancer for the Oklahoma City Thunder. She also hosts a podcast and knows how to fly a plane.
Miss Oregon USA: Arielle Freytag
The 28-year-old once had cancer and is dedicated to finding a cure for the disease. Arielle also hopes to become a flight instructor in the future. She often travels and loves to play golf and attend awards shows.
Miss Pennsylvania USA: Billie LaRae Owens
The 26-year-old is an aspiring broadcast journalist. She mentors girls through her philanthropic endeavor, HoopHers.
Miss Rhode Island USA: Elaine Collado
The 27-year-old wants to become an Emmy Award-winning actress and screenplay writer. She has also founded a nonprofit organization called Abba Hope, which aims to help families without homes in Rhode Island and Los Angeles.
Miss South Carolina USA: Meera Bhonsle
The 26-year-old is a multimedia journalist who dreams of becoming an on-air personality and the host of a television show. She loves horseback riding, playing the piano, cooking, and traveling.
Miss South Dakota USA: Shania Knutson
The 21-year-old is a small business owner, florist, and wedding associate. She loves practicing hot yoga.
Miss Tennessee USA: Emily Suttle
The 26-year-old works as a registered dietitian and dreams of travelling to all seven continents. She wants to go to Antarctica next as number four on the list. Her hobby is flower arranging.
Miss Texas USA: R'Bonney Gabriel
The 28-year-old graduated from the University of North Texas in 2018 with a degree in fashion design. She designed her own wardrobe for the 2022 Miss USA pageant and loves vintage thrift shopping, practicing yoga, sketching and hula hooping.
Miss Utah USA: Elisabeth Bradley-Gandara
The 28-year-old is a classically-trained opera singer and performer who aspires to be a singer-songwriter and an actress.
Miss Vermont USA: Kelsey Golonka
The 23-year-old works as a neonatal intensive care nurse. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of North Carolina Wilmington even after sustaining two traumatic brain injuries.
Miss Virginia USA: Kailee Horvath
The 23-year-old hopes to work as a registered nurse in a pediatric emergency room. Her hobbies are hiking in Shenandoah National Park, indoor cycling and learning 'Star Wars' trivia.
Miss Washington USA: Mazzy Eckel
The 22-year-old is a publicist who dreams of influencing the nation as a social media and marketing consultant. She also teaches group fitness classes and enjoys learning about American Sign Language.
Miss West Virginia USA: Krystian Leonard
The 26-year-old is a grant writer and entrepreneur with her own nonprofit foundation, Shining SCARS. She loves golfing, hunting, painting, and acting.
Miss Wisconsin USA: Hollis Brown
The 26-year-old hosts her podcast titled 'Outnumbered'. Her hobbies include podcasting, hot yoga, kickboxing and solving escape rooms.
Miss Wyoming USA: Morgan McNally
The 26-year-old is a marketing specialist. She loves playing the trumpet and has a passion for agriculture. She also uses her garden to grow food that she donates to members of her community.
Miss USA 2022 is all set to premiere on Monday, October 3, at 8 pm ET and 5 pm PT on Hulu Live TV.