Former Miss Americas

Miss America 1955 Lee Meriwether – Lee appears in the movie, “The Ultimate Gift” now available on DVD.  She also appears as Ed Harris’ and Brad Dourif’s wine-guzzling, cigarette-smoking mama, in the movie tentatively titled “Touching Home.”  She sang in “Betty Garrett, Closet Songwriter” at Theatre West in Hollywood and is currently developing her one woman show, “Women’s Voices from the Hill above Spoon River” for a tour.  Daughters Kyle and Lesley, granddaughter Ryan, and husband Marshall fill her life with love and wonder. 

Miss America 1956 Sharon Kay Ritchie – Following her year as Miss America, Sharon enjoyed being involved in theatre and television shows, as well as acting as a corporate spokesperson for several international companies.  During the challenges and joys of her life, she has learned to always have faith and to look forward and focus on what is next, trusting in God’s plan for her.  She cherishes her husband, Terry Mullin, her children, grandchildren, and friends.  She and her husband enjoy traveling, but they spend most of their time at their homes in Southern California and Hawaii.  Her goal is to make every day a special occasion.   

Miss America 1958 Marilyn Van Derbur – Marilyn’s book, Miss America By Day, has won six awards, including a first-place award in Writer’s Digest’s prestigious national competition.  To order her book, or a DVD of her most recent speech, visit: www.MissAmericaByDay.com.

Miss America 1961 Nancy Fleming – Nancy is excited about the arrival of her first grandchild, Heath Larson Carbone.  She has waited for him for a very long time.  Nancy and her husband Jim continue to reside in California. 

Miss America 1963 Jackie Mayer – As the coordinator of the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in Columbus, Jackie was recently honored to have Governor Ted Strickland and First Lady Frances present awards to nine outstanding Ohio women.  She was also pleased to have her Miss America gown, trophy, and a video of her crowning on display for six months at the Ohio Historical Society.  Jackie recently moved to Springfield, Missouri to be closer to her daughter Kelly and her family.  She is the office manager of Chrishan Park, an Arabian horse farm and she still loves traveling to speaking engagements throughout the country.

Miss America 1964 Donna Axum – Donna Axum Whitworth welcomed her newest grandchild, Andrew, on July 2, 2007.  She is serving her 4^th year on the Miss America Board of Directors.  Donna is the first Miss America to be elected to the Board and serves as Secretary on the Executive Committee.  She also serves as co-chair of the Judge’s Committee, and co-chair of the State License and By-Laws Committees.  She and her husband, Bryan, have five children and ten grandchildren and enjoy spending time in their homes in Fort Worth, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Donna also serves on six other boards, including the National Committee for the Performing Arts for the Kennedy Center in Washington and is immediate Past Chair of the Texas Cultural trust. 

Miss America 1967 Jane Jayroe – One of the highest awards in Oklahoma was recently bestowed upon Jane, when she was inducted into the state’s Hall of Fame.  In addition to her book, “More Grace than Glamour,” Jane has written the essay for a beautiful photography book, “Oklahoma III.”   Her volunteer work continues with her appointment to the National Foundation for Evangelism, Mercy Health Systems, Oklahoma Centennial Commission, Oklahoma Heritage Association, and the OKC Community Foundation.  In addition to producing major events for Oklahoma City University and a brisk speaking schedule, Jane enjoys traveling with her husband, Jerry, visiting grandchildren, and church activities. 

Miss America 1968 Debra Barnes – The past few years have seen Debbie overcome difficulties and find joy.  After her 35 year marriage ended, she traveled to Zambia, Africa to assist a missionary family from her church.  In 2006, she entered graduate school and married Bill Snodgrass.  Debbie received her master’s degree in May and she is now a full-time member of the music faculty of Missouri Southern State University.  She is also the music director for Full Faith Church of Carthage, Missouri.  As a result of winning a concerto competition at Pittsburg State University (in Kansas), Debbie will be playing Chopin’s Piano Concerto in F Minor with the Southeast Kansas Symphony in April 2008.  She and Bill enjoy being close to daughters Kristi and Karla, as well as their five grandchildren who range in age from 7 to 16.

Miss America 1969 Judi Ford – Life is good for Judi and her husband Jim.  They’re busy keeping up with their children and grandchildren who include Drew, Brian, Kelly, Brad, Molly and husband Ryan, as well as grandson Jack and granddaughter Kate.  Molly and Ryan are expecting a third child in January 2008.  Judi is still teaching physical education at the elementary school and coaching the high school girls’ golf team. 

Miss America 1971 Phyllis George – A full time advocate for the prevention, treatment and cure of Alzheimer’s disease since her mother, Louise, died of the disease; Phyllis was recently honored at a grand gala in New York City where she was presented with the prestigious Rita Hayworth Alzheimer Award.  Phyllis is currently writing a book for Alzheimer caregivers and developing a documentary on the subject.  She is also a motivational speaker for her book, Never Say Never: 10 Lessons to Turn You Can’t Into Yes I Can.  In addition, Phyllis has worked with “Save the Children” for the past 27 years, she is an active board member for the Miss America Organization and she is a founding board member of the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship.  Though she maintains an apartment in New York City, Phyllis once again lives in Lexington, Kentucky.  Her proudest accomplishment is being mother to Lincoln and Pamela. 

Miss America 1972 Laurel Schaefer – Life is busy, but good for Laurel, who just helped her mother celebrate her 92^nd birthday.  Laurel is the owner and casting director of Creative Casting Services, which seeks talent for TV and Internet commercials. 

Miss America 1974 Rebecca King Dreman – Rebecca has been recognized by her peers as one of Colorado’s Top Attorneys, and was named an outstanding alumna of the University of Denver, College of Law, practicing complex litigation and family law.  She is a Miss America Organization board member and also serves on many other boards and committees in Colorado.  She has been married to her husband George for 29 years and is the proud mother of Emily and Diana, both students at the University of Colorado.  An avid sports fan, fly fisher and camper, Rebecca is happy to report that her parents, Grace and Wylie King are well and still living in their farm in Iowa. 

Miss America 1979 Kylene Barker – Last year during pageant week, Kylene and her then-fiancé, Ian McNeil, astounded their friends with a surprise wedding in their suite at the Venetian.  Katie Harman sang and Lee Meriwether and her daughter Lesley attended, but Elvis was a no-show!  Kylene and Ian traveled by private jet with their friends from Naples, Florida and had an amazing weekend. 

Miss America 1980 Cheryl Prewitt – Cheryl credits simple, childlike faith in God for allowing her to overcome poverty and injuries from a horrific car accident, and go on to win the title of Miss America in 1980.  She has used this distinction as a springboard to launch the Gospel of Jesus Christ into churches, schools, women’s retreats, and TV appearances.  She and her husband Harry Salem, have written over 25 books, and have produced more than 15 music CDs.  Cheryl is a wife, mother, minister, singer, pianist and entrepreneur, having developed a premier line of competition swimwear, shoes and accessories for pageant contestants.  According to Cheryl, “None of these things would be possible, if not for my Jesus.”  For more information, contact www.salemfamilyministries.org.

Miss America 1985 Sharlene Wells – A 20^th wedding anniversary cruise to Alaska was the highlight of the past year for Sharlene and her husband Bob.  Although their four children are lots of fun, Monica, Nicole, Sarah, and Jacob were not invited along!  Sharlene and her family live in Centerville, Utah where she is a Partner and Chief Marketing Officer for StoryRock, a core technology provider for interactive historical archiving products.  Their most recent project was “My Memories Suite,” which was developed with Polaroid. 

Miss America 1988 Kaye Lani Rae Rafko – Kaye Lani and her family live in Monroe, Michigan.  In addition to acting as Co-Director for Gabby’s Ladder and Co-Director for the Miss Monroe County Program, Kaye Lani serves on twelve organizational boards.  She is also quite busy with her three children!

Miss America 1989 Gretchen Carlson – In September 2006, Gretchen became the co-host of the #1 cable news program in America, Fox and Friends, on the Fox News Channel (7-9am, EST, M-F).  She remains active as an advocate for the arts for young children and continues to serve as a celebrity spokesperson for The March of Dimes.  Gretchen and her husband Casey Close live in Connecticut with their two children, Kaia and Christian. 

Miss America 1990 Debbye Turner – The fast paced lifestyle of Miss America has continued for Debbye, who has amassed more than a million air travel miles in her career as a motivational speaker and correspondent for The Early Show on CBS.  Among the stories she has covered, she is proudest of garnering an interview with President and Mrs. Bush about their pets, and covering the heartbreaking saga of Barbaro, the doomed Kentucky Derby champion racehorse.  Debbye is also the co-host and sideline reporter for the famed Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, host of 48 Hours on WE, and she is a licensed minister.  A long distance runner for three years, she has completed six marathons.  Debbye remains involved with the Miss America Organization by emceeing and judging state pageants.  She loves living in the New York City area. 

Miss America 1993 Leanza Cornett – A successful television personality and busy mother, Leanza can be seen on Animal Planet hosting the Eukaneuba Classic show series.  She is also the face of MURAD skincare.  Leanza and her husband, Mark Steines, have been married for 12 years and have two children, Kai and Avery.  They live in Los Angeles and are very involved in their community and church. 

Miss America 1995 Heather Whitestone – A busy “soccer mom,” Heather is also a spokesperson for the Starkey Hearing Aid Foundation and Cochlear Company, as well as a guest speaker for churches and organizations across America.  In July, Heather and her husband John welcomed their third son, Wilson, who joined brothers John and James at home. 

Miss America 1998 Kate Shindle – Kate is currently co-starring as Vivienne Kensington in Broadway’s “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” which was filmed by MTV for airing this past October.  The cast album is available everywhere.  While that has taken up most of her year, she also carved out some time to star in “Sympathy Jones” at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, move to Harlem, serve as consulting producer on the CW show, Crowned, and write an op-ed piece for Salon.com.  Kate is very much hoping that her cool new website will be up and running at www.kateshindle.com by the time anyone reads this. 

Miss America 1999 Nicole Johnson – As a government affairs and patient advocacy consultant/expert for various diabetes companies, Nicole spends a great deal of time in Washington, DC working with the Animas Corporation, Eli Lilly and Diabetes Centers of America.  To make sure the voice of the patient is heard, she recently created the Nicole Johnson Foundation.  Nicole continues to host a weekly diabetes talk show, dLife, on CNBC and writes monthly columns on diabetes for various web and print publications.  She is also finishing a book on diabetes and pregnancy and recently received her master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh.  Visit www.nicolejohnson.com to learn more. 

Miss America 2000 Heather French – With a new line of pageant gowns coming out in 2008, Heather is putting to use her master’s degree in Fashion Design.  The Heather French Henry Collection will be available at select stores nationwide and one-of-a-kind specialty designs can be ordered.   The Executive Director of the Heather French Foundation for Veterans, Inc., Heather recently completed a fitness video for the Department of Veteran Affairs.  She is also the author of a book series, “The Adventures of Claire.”  She and her husband, Stephen, remain committed to the Kentucky Prostate Cancer Coalition, which they founded in 2003.  They also own and operate the Rosemary Clooney House Museum in Augusta, Kentucky.  Heather and Steve reside in Louisville, Kentucky with the daughters Harper and Taylor. 

Miss America 2001 Angela Perez Baraquio – A new Polynesian entertainment company, Isle Entertainment, Inc. (www.isleentertainment .com) was recently launched by Angie and her husband, Tinifuloa Grey.  She continues to travel to speaking engagements nationwide and enjoys recognizing and awarding volunteers across America as a member of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.   Angie has also signed with a literary agent and is working on an inspirational memoir.  She and her husband live in Anaheim, California with their two sons, Isaiah and Micah. 

Miss America 2002 Katie Harman – In February 2007, Katie released her first solo recording, Soul of Love, to popular and critical acclaim.  As a full-time performer, she continues to sing with opera companies, musical theatre companies and symphonies around the nation.   She recently starred as “Lily” in the Portland Musical Theatre Series production of “The Secret Garden,” as well as headlining concerts with Obsidian Opera and the Astoria Musical Festival.  Katie also continues to tour nationally as a sought-after speaker for cancer issues and women’s health.  She and her husband, Tim Ebner, live in southern Oregon with their son, Tyler. 

Miss America 2005 Deidre Downs – A second year medical student at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Deidre continues to represent GN ReSound and has traveled extensively across the United States and Japan as the company’s spokesperson.  She is also proud of the fact that the “Curing Childhood Cancer” car tag she initiated as part of her Miss America platform continues to generate research revenue for The Children’s Hospital of Alabama.  Deidre is currently planning her spring wedding to fiancé Andrew Gunn.

Miss America 2006 Jennifer Berry – Intolerance for underage drinking and drunk driving continues to motivate Jennifer as she travels and speaks on the subject across the country.  She is also an international spokesperson for Express, Proactive, and the Italian company, Changes.  In addition, Jennifer speaks across the country for the Washington Speakers Bureau.  Her crowning joy this year was getting married to Nathan Gooden on April 28, 2007.  The happy couple resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.