Miss Connecticut
Formation | 1922 |
---|---|
Type | Beauty pageant |
Headquarters | Hartford |
Location | |
Membership | Miss America |
Official language | English |
Key people | Ashley Reid (Executive Director) |
Website | Official website |
The Miss Connecticut competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Connecticut in the Miss America pageant. Connecticut has won the Miss America crown once (Marian Bergeron, 1933), and is the only New England state which has produced a Miss America.
Monica Fenwick of Watertown was crowned Miss Connecticut 2024 on June 22, 2024, at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, Connecticut. She will compete for the title of Miss America 2025.
Results summary
[edit]The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss Connecticut 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
[edit]- Miss Americas: Marian Bergeron (1933-1934)[1]
- 1st runners-up: Bridget Oei (2019)
- 2nd runners-up: Tillie Grey (1936)
- 4th runners-up: Jillian Duffy (2020)
- Top 10: Billie Turner (1959), Jeanne Caruso (1981), Sylvia Gomes (2000), Tanisha Brito (2003), Kaitlyn Tarpey (2014)
- Top 12: Ruth S. Rubin (1935)
- Top 15: Florence Harriet Green (1926)
- Top 16: Joan Turner (1946), Renee Roy (1951), Acacia Courtney (2015)
Awards
[edit]Preliminary awards
[edit]- Preliminary Swimsuit: Margaretta Kling (1935), Carol Jean Norval (1970)
- Preliminary Talent: Renee Roy (1951), Billie Turner (1959), Diana Klug (1960), Dana Daunis (2008)
Non-finalist awards
[edit]- Non-finalist Talent: Susan Lightbown (1958), Carole Gelish (1967), Gunnell Ragone (1969), Maryalice Flintroy (1979), Michele Eaton (1988), Valorie Abate (1993), MaryGrace Santagata (1995), Merissa Starnes (1998), Dana Daunis (2008)
Other awards
[edit]- Miss Congeniality: N/A
Winners
[edit]- Declared as winner
- Ended as a runner-up
- Ended as a finalist or semi-finalist
Year | Name | Hometown | Age | Local Title | Miss America Talent | Placement at Miss America | Special scholarships at Miss America | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | Monica Fenwick | Watertown | 23 | Miss Nutmeg | Flute | TBA | TBA | ||
2023 | Gina Carloto[2] | New Haven | 27 | Miss Fairfield | Jazz Dance | ||||
2022 | Sylvana González[3] | Farmington | 24 | Miss Farmington | Latin Jazz Dance | ||||
2021 | Sapna Raghavan[4] | Ellington | 22 | Miss Pleasant Valley | Indian Classical Dance | Previously Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen 2015[5] | |||
2019–20[a] | Jillian Duffy[7] | Burlington | 22 | Miss Wolcott | Vocal, "Once Upon a Time" from Brooklyn the Musical | 4th runner-up[8] | |||
2018 | Bridget Oei[9] | Hebron | 22 | Miss Mountain Laurel | Irish Step Dance, "Reel of Arrivals" | 1st runner-up[10] | |||
2017 | Eliza Lynne Kanner[11] | Hamden | 21 | Miss Fairfield County | Operatic Vocal, "Memory" from Cats | Cheerleader for New England Patriots | |||
2016 | Alyssa Rae Taglia[12] | Wolcott | 22 | Miss Litchfield County | Tap Dance | Previously Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2010 | |||
2015 | Colleen Ward[13] | Wolcott | 22 | Miss Windham County | Irish Step Dance | ||||
2014 | Acacia Courtney[14][15] | Hamden | 21 | Miss Hamden | Ballet en Pointe, "Kitri's Variations" from Don Quixote | Top 16[16] | Previously Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen 2009[17] Currently a TV reporter and paddock analyst for Gulfstream Park[18] Later Miss Connecticut USA 2019[19] | ||
2013 | Kaitlyn Tarpey | Stamford | 21 | Miss Southington | Irish Step Dancing, "Reel Around the Sun" from Riverdance | Top 10 | Previously New York's Miss Teen America 2008–2009 Crowned Miss Teen America 2008-2009 Preliminary Swimsuit Award at National Sweetheart 2012 pageant[citation needed] | ||
2012 | Emily Audibert[20][21] | Wolcott | 21 | Miss Wolcott | Lyrical Dance, "Listen" from Dreamgirls | ||||
2011 | Morgan Amarone[22][23] | Hamden | 23 | Miss Southington | Dance, "My Strongest Suit" from Aida | ||||
2010 | Brittany Decker | Bristol | 21 | Miss Hartford County | Vocal, "Journey to the Past" | ||||
2009 | Sharalynn Kuziak | Southington | 22 | Miss Constitution | Theatrical Tap Dance | ||||
2008 | Ashley Glenn[24] | Hamden | 23 | Miss Shoreline | Lyrical Dance | Previously Massachusetts' Junior Miss 2003 | |||
2007 | Dana Daunis | Watertown | 22 | Miss Fairfield County | Vocal, "Let Him Fly" | Preliminary Talent Award Non-finalist Talent Award |
Contestant at National Sweetheart 2006 pageant | ||
Lauren Betancourt | Suffield | Miss North Haven | N/A | Crowned on June 23, 2007, and later resigned on August 6, 2007[citation needed] | |||||
2006 | Heidi Alice Voight | Milford | 24 | Miss Capital Region | Vocal, "Why Haven't I Heard from You" | ||||
2005 | Dianna Baitinger | Norwich | 23 | Miss North Haven | Vocal, "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" | ||||
2004 | Nikki Palmieri | North Haven | 22 | Miss Montowese | Jazz Dance, "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man" | ||||
2003 | Marla Prete | North Haven | 22 | Miss Fairfield County | Tap Dance, "I Got Rhythm" & "Fascinating Rhythm" | ||||
2002 | Tanisha Brito | New London | 22 | Miss New London County | Tap Dance, "Let's Face the Music and Dance" | Top 10 | Later Miss Georgia USA 2005 | ||
2001 | Marissa Perez | Meriden | 23 | Miss Fairfield County | Vocal, "This Time Around" | Previously Miss Connecticut Teen USA 1996 | |||
2000 | Renelle Richardson | Branford | 18 | Miss Elm City | Classical Ballet en Pointe, "Kitri's Variation" from Don Quixote | ||||
1999 | Sylvia Gomes | Bridgeport | 20 | Miss Hamden | Piano, Theme from The Piano | Top 10 | |||
1998 | Lauren Bergamo | Prospect | 19 | Miss Hamden | Vocal, "It's Time" | ||||
1997 | Merissa Starnes | Bloomfield | 21 | Miss Nutmeg | Contemporary Ballet en Pointe | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
1996 | Stacy Perrone | Wolcott | 22 | Miss Wolcott | Vocal, "And This Is My Beloved" | ||||
1995 | Amy Zappone | Wolcott | 18 | Miss Wolcott | Dance, "Dancin' Fool" from Copacabana | ||||
1994 | MaryGrace Santagata | New Haven | 24 | Miss Charter Oak | Vocal | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
1993 | Kimberly Burgess | Manchester | 22 | Miss Waterbury | Lyrical Dance, "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" | ||||
1992 | Valorie Abate | North Haven | 22 | Miss New Haven County | Classical Vocal, "Carnival of Venice" | Non-finalist Talent Award | Previously Miss Connecticut USA 1991 | ||
1991 | Stephanie Stiefel | West Haven | 26 | Miss New Haven County | Classical Vocal, "Quando me'n vo'" | ||||
1990 | Bianca Salahashourian | Fairfield | 25 | Miss Greater Waterbury | Vocal, "Part of Your World" | ||||
1989 | Marlena Marshall | Glastonbury | 25 | Miss Greater Vernon | Ballet en Pointe | ||||
1988 | Maria Caporale | Oakdale | 24 | Miss New London County | Vocal, "What Did I Have That I Don't Have" from On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | ||||
1987 | Michele Dawn Eaton | Shelton | 21 | Miss Fairfield County | Baton Twirling, "They're Playing Our Song" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
1986 | Lorraine Hudson | North Haven | 24 | Miss Briarwood College | Vocal, "Something's Coming" from West Side Story | ||||
1985 | Lorine Guagenti | Derby | 21 | Miss New Haven County | Jazz Dance | ||||
1984 | Joanne Caruso | Trumbull | 23 | Miss Trumbull | Clarinet, "Jazz Medley" | Sister of Miss Connecticut 1980, Jeanne Caruso[citation needed] | |||
1983 | Dakeita Vanderburg | Westport | 25 | Miss Westport | Popular Vocal, "I Can See It" | ||||
1982 | Kelly Slater | Woodbury | 21 | Miss Woodbury | Popular Vocal, "Blue Champagne" | ||||
1981 | Virginia Reichardt | Danbury | 21 | Miss Danbury | Country Western Vocal, "Love is a Rose" & "Queen of Hearts" | Virginia (Ginny) J. Reichardt Moseley died at 59 in Greenwood, S.C. on August 3, 2019. | |||
1980 | Jeanne Caruso | Trumbull | 21 | Miss Trumbull | Piano & Original Vocal, "Song for Tomorrow" | Top 10 | Sister of Miss Connecticut 1984, Joanne Caruso Former wife of Joe Theisman[citation needed] | ||
1979 | Laura Kaufmann | Enfield | 18 | Miss Greater Enfield | Interpretive Modern Jazz Dance | ||||
1978 | Maryalice Flintroy | Meriden | 18 | Miss Meriden | Popular Vocal, "Inseparable" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
1977 | Karen Kopins | Ridgefield | 18 | Miss Ridgefield | Modern Jazz Dance, "Zero to Sixty in Five" | Actress who has appeared in Dallas, Designing Women, Perry Mason, Troop Beverly Hills, and Once Bitten[citation needed] | |||
1976 | Debra LaRoche | Cheshire | 20 | Miss Cheshire | Popular Vocal, "I Feel a Song Coming On" | ||||
1975 | Mary Cadorette | East Hartford | 18 | Miss Manchester | Modern Jazz Dance | ||||
1974 | Elisa Heinemann | Wethersfield | 18 | Miss Wethersfield | Dramatic Interpretations, "Prunella," "Yenta," & "Wicked Witch" | ||||
1973 | Deborah Blanchard | North Haven | 21 | Miss New Haven | Modern Jazz Dance | ||||
1972 | Linda Kapral | East Lyme | 19 | Miss East Lyme | Modern Jazz, African Dance, & Gymnastics | ||||
1971 | Priscilla Doyle | Rockville | 23 | Miss Manchester | Flamenco Dance | ||||
1970 | Cynthia Fowler | Cheshire | 21 | Miss Cheshire | Classical Vocal, "The Jewel Song" from Faust | ||||
1969 | Carol Jean Norval | Stafford Springs | 21 | Miss Stafford | Organ, "St. Louis Blues" | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | |||
1968 | Gunnell Ragone | West Hartford | 21 | Miss University of Hartford | Popular Vocal & Monologue, "Guantanamera" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
1967 | Diane Bylo | Norwalk | 21 | Miss Stamford | Vocal, "Heaven Hop" | ||||
1966 | Carole Gelish | Hartford | Accordion, "Aquarela do Brasil," "More," & "Tico Tico" | Non-finalist Talent Award | Assumed the title after charging that the winner, Karen Maguire, was not qualified. Behind closed doors with pageant officials present there was some sort of secret run-off with the original winner. At that meeting, Gelish was declared the winner[25] | ||||
1965 | Donna Scott | Stratford | 18 | Miss Danbury | Vocal, "Someone to Watch Over Me" | ||||
1964 | Honora Bukowski | Wallingford | 18 | Miss Wallingford | Jazz Dance, "Bossa Nova" | ||||
1963 | Valerie Stetson | Milldale | Miss Southington | Modern Ballet | |||||
1962 | Diane DeMaio | Hartford | 18 | Miss Hartford | Dramatic Skit | ||||
1961 | Karen Scalise | Glastonbury | 18 | Miss East Hartford | Sermon based on Sermon on the Mount | ||||
1960 | Wendy Mitchell | New Haven | 18 | Miss West Haven | Vocal, "Just In Time" | ||||
1959 | Diana Klug | Torrington | 21 | Speech on Fashion Designing, Presentation of Original Designs, & Tractor Driving | Preliminary Talent Award | ||||
1958 | Billie June Turner | New Canaan | 20 | Ballet en Pointe from Les Sylphides | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | Died at 61 on January 12, 2000, in West Redding, Connecticut[citation needed] | ||
1957 | Susan Lightbown | Fairfield | Vocal, "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" from My Fair Lady | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||||
1956 | Joy Corrado | Torrington | Organ | ||||||
1955 | Audrey Figlar | Hartford | Charleston Dance | ||||||
1954 | Dorothy Hopkins | Storrs | Piano | ||||||
1953 | Sally Middleton | Hartford | Dance | ||||||
1952 | Joyce Yeske | West Hartford | Ballroom Dance | ||||||
1951 | Beverly Buriant | Bridgeport | Drama | Later Miss Connecticut USA 1953 | |||||
1950 | Renee Roy | Hartford | Comedy Sketch of a Cosmetic Demonstration and Vocal / Dance, "Charley, My Boy" | Top 16 | Preliminary Talent Award | Later Miss New York City USA 1954[citation needed] Actress who notably appeared on the soap opera, Love of Life[26] | |||
1949 | Barbara Smetana | Bridgeport | Vocal & Monologue, "Maybe" & "Jackie, Son of a Hardboiled Cop" | ||||||
1948 | Fairfax Mason | Bridgeport | Classical Vocal, "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" | ||||||
1947 | Louise Bienvenu | Waterbury | Vocal, "On the Sunny Side of the Street" | ||||||
1946 | Joan Turner | West Haven | Vocal, "Coax Me a Little Bit" | Top 16 | |||||
1945 | Sylvia Shaw | Hartford | Vocal, "I'm in the Mood for Love" | ||||||
1944 | Barbara Fisher | East Hartford | |||||||
1943 | Mary Rice | Hartford | |||||||
1942 | Alice Clifford | Burlington | |||||||
1941 | Daphne Gladding | Plymouth | |||||||
1940 | Dorothy Pickard | New Haven | |||||||
1939 | Catherine Harrison | Derby | Miss Central Connecticut | Multiple Connecticut representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||||
Frieda Lampar | Bridgeport | Miss Connecticut | |||||||
1938 | Blanche Hawley | Stratford | |||||||
1937 | Frances Greene | Milford | |||||||
1936 | Tillie Grey | Waterbury | Miss Connecticut | 2nd runner-up | Multiple Connecticut representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | ||||
Evelyn Lenhart | Greenwich | Miss Roton Point | |||||||
1935 | Sonia Banks | Bridgeport | Miss Bridgeport | Multiple Connecticut representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||||
Margaretta Kling | New Haven | Miss Connecticut | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||||||
Veronica Turosky[citation needed] | Miss Greater Hartford | ||||||||
Margaret Holmes | Hartford | Miss Hartford | |||||||
Ruth S. Rubin[citation needed] | New Haven | Miss New Haven | Top 12 | ||||||
1934 | No national pageant was held[27] | ||||||||
1933 | Marian Bergeron | West Haven | 15 | N/A[28] | Winner | Held the national title from September 1933 to September 1935 due to pageant being financially unsuccessful after 1933 and not returning until 1935[29] | |||
1932 | No national pageants were held[27] | ||||||||
1931 | |||||||||
1930 | |||||||||
1929 | |||||||||
1928 | |||||||||
1927 | Antoinette Violet | Bridgeport | Miss Bridgeport | N/A[28] | Multiple Connecticut representatives Contestants competed under local title at national pageant | ||||
Leona Faith Monoson | Hartford | Miss Hartford | |||||||
Peggy Louise Proctor | Miss Lockport | ||||||||
Dorothy Barton | New Haven | Miss New Haven | |||||||
1926 | Florence Harriet Green | Bridgeport | Miss Bridgeport | Top 15 | Multiple Connecticut representatives Contestants competed under local title at national pageant | ||||
Doris Laretta Beaupre | Hartford | Miss Hartford | |||||||
Molla Barnett | New Haven | Miss New Haven | |||||||
1925 | Alta Sommerville | Bridgeport | Miss Bridgeport | Multiple Connecticut representatives Contestants competed under local title at national pageant | |||||
Mary Brandaburg | Hartford | Miss Hartford | |||||||
Helen Kanehl | Miss Manchester | ||||||||
1924 | Helen Haddock | Miss Stamford | Competed under local title at national pageant | ||||||
1923 | Hazel Haddock[30] | New Haven | Miss New Haven | ||||||
1922 | Paula E. Spoettle[31] | Bridgeport | Miss Bridgeport | Multiple Connecticut representatives Contestants competed under local title at national pageant | |||||
Lillian Peterson[32] | New Haven | Miss New Haven | |||||||
Hazel Germershausen[33] | Waterbury | Miss Waterbury | |||||||
1921 | No Connecticut representative at Miss America pageant[34]
|
Notes
[edit]- ^ Titleholder extended to a full year in 2020 after state and national pageants postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]
References
[edit]- ^ "Miss America 1933 Atlantic City Newspapers". Retrieved 2012-04-13.
- ^ Lederman, Jay (June 19, 2023). "Miss Connecticut and Miss Connecticut Teen crowned at Mohegan Sun". News 12. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ Smith, Ashley RK. "Miss Connecticut, Miss Connecticut Outstanding Teen 2022 winner announced". wfsb.com. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
- ^ DaRosa, Andrew (2021-04-12). "New Miss Connecticut, Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen crowned". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
- ^ Smith, Steve. "Ellington student wins Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen title". courant.com. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
- ^ Kuperinksy, Amy (May 8, 2020). "Miss America postpones pageant until 2021, N.J. pageant still set for September". Press of Atlantic City.
- ^ Chaiken, Michael (June 9, 2019). "New Miss Connecticut, Outstanding Teen both credit their victories to being 'myself'". Republican American. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
- ^ Pellicano, Teresa (December 19, 2019). "Beauty and Brains: Miss Virginia is Miss America 2020, Miss CT leaves pageant fourth runner-up". WTNH News.
- ^ "Bridget Oei crowned as Miss Connecticut". WTNH News. June 10, 2018.
- ^ Melas, Chloe (September 10, 2018). "Miss America 2019 is Nia Franklin". CNN.
- ^ Smith, Steve (July 5, 2017). "New Miss Connecticut Crowned". Hartford Courant.
- ^ "Alyssa Taglia is Miss Connecticut 2016". pageantsnews.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-20.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Barry, John (June 28, 2015). "Miss Windham County crowned Miss Connecticut". The Bulletin. Norwich, CT: GateHouse Media. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
- ^ Smith, Steve (July 10, 2014). "Miss Connecticut 2014 crowned". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
- ^ "Miss Hamden crowned Miss Connecticut at Garde Arts Center in New London". www.theday.com. July 1, 2014.
- ^ Smith, Steve (September 17, 2014). "Miss Connecticut enjoys Miss America experience". Hartford Courant.
- ^ Wickett, Shana (July 12, 2009). "Pageant winner believes classroom more important than stag". New Haven Register.
- ^ "Acacia Courtney: A Rising Name in Racing". Lady and the Track.
- ^ Smith, Jeff (January 24, 2019). "The life of pageants and ponies for Miss Connecticut USA Acacia Courtney". CT Post.
- ^ DeMatteo, Ann (June 30, 2012). "Miss Wolcott becomes Miss Connecticut, area competitors in runners-up". New Haven Register. New Haven, CT: 21st Century Media. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- ^ "Former Miss Wolcott is crowned Miss Connecticut". Republican-American. Waterbury, CT. July 1, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
- ^ "Hamden woman named Miss Connecticut". New Haven Register. June 25, 2011.
- ^ "Morgan Amarone, of Hamden, named Miss Connecticut". Post-Chronicle. June 28, 2011. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
- ^ "Miss Connecticut crowned; Ridgefield woman first runner-up". NewsTimes. June 29, 2008.
- ^ "Jaycees Fed Up With Pageant". The Norwalk Hour. Aug 24, 1966.
- ^ "www.imdb.com". imdb.com. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
- ^ a b "Miss America Timeline: 1901–1950". PBS. Archived from the original on 2017-02-15. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
- ^ a b Schnitzspahn, Karen (September 8, 1997). "There She Was – Miss Long Branch". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
...talent contest that was established in 1935.
- ^ "Miss America 1933 Atlantic City Newspapers". Retrieved 2012-04-13.
- ^ "Golden Apple Is Sought by Scores". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. September 6, 1923. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Arbuckle, Alex Q. (July 12, 2015). "1922:The first Miss America". Mashable.
- ^ "Telling the News in Pictures: Prize Contest Beauty". Vancouver Daily World. Vancouver, British Columbia. December 2, 1922. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
Lillian Peterson, "Miss New Haven," Conn., in Atlantic City beauty show..
- ^ "Aspirant to Title of Queen of Beauty". The Ithaca Journal. Ithaca, New York. September 16, 1922. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1921 Candidates". Miss America.