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other kinds of queens
June 14, 2013

See Miss USA Winners From the Last 61 Years

By Diana Tsui

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Photo: Corbis

Miss USA is set to crown a new beauty queen this Sunday on NBC, but before the next batch of 51 ladies compete for the title, take a moment to look back at some winners from the past. Miss USA — not to be confused with Miss America — was started in 1950 by Catalina Swimwear as a reaction to the reigning Miss America Yolande Betbeze refusing to pose for swimsuit publicity pictures. Early winners had hourglass figures popular at the time, but as time passed, title holders grew progressively slimmer and more athletic. A caption for 1968’s winner, Dorothy Anstett, describes her as “measuring 40-25-36, 5’9”, and weighing 127 lbs.” Modern-day queens like 2002’s Shauntay Hinton and 2004’s Shandi Finnessey had positively ripped physiques — check out the knots of their biceps as they raised their arms in victory.

In its 61 years of existence, Miss USA has enjoyed many success stories along with a few scandals. In 1957, 18-year-old Mary Leona Gage was stripped of her title after it was discovered that not only was she secretly married but also the mother of two children. Kelli McCarty won the pageant in 1991 before seguing into a semi-successful acting career that included a stint on the soap opera Passions; she is now an adult film actress. McCarty was succeeded by Shannon Marketic, who famously filed a lawsuit against the prince of Brunei, alleging she was paid to perform sexual acts for party guests. Kenya Moore won the year after Marketic and now features on the cast of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Two years later, a young Ali Landry took the title before capturing the country’s attention as the Dorito girl in an infamous 1998 Super Bowl commercial. Most recently in the early aughts, Susie Castillo won in 2003 and would go on to host MTV’s TRL. Click ahead to see these women and more, in all of their sash and crowned glory.

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Bikini Portion Banned From Miss World Pageant
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1 / 36 Photos
Jackie Loughery (1952, far left)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Myrna Hansen (1953)  Photo: Hulton Archive
Mirian Stevenson (1954, center)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Carlene King Johnson (1955)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Mary Leona Gage (1957)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Linda Bement (1960)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Sharon Brown (1961, right)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Bobbi Johnson (1964)  Photo: CBS Photo Archive
Sue Ann Downey (1965, center)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Maria Remenyi (1966)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Sylvia Louise Hitchcock (1967, center)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Dorthy Anstett (1968)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Tanya Wilson (1972, center)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Amanda Jones (1973)  Photo: Ron Galella
Dorthy Anstett (1974)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Mary Friel (1979)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Shawn Wetherly (1980)  Photo: Keystone
Julie Hayek (1983)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Christie Fichtner (1986, right)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Carole Anne-Marie Gist  (1990)  Photo: George Rose/1990 George Rose
Kelli McCarty (1991, left) & Shannon Marketic (1992, center)  Photo: STEVE RASMUSSEN/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Kenya Moore (1993)  Photo: MISS UNIVERSE,INC./2011 AFP
Chelsi Smith (1995)  Photo: MISS UNIVERSE/2011 AFP
Ali Landry (1996)  Photo: PAT SULLIVAN/1996 AP
Brook Mahealani Lee (1997)  Photo: CHRIS BERNACCHI
Kimberly Pressler (1999)  Photo: AFP/2011 AFP
Kandace Krueger (2000)  Photo: PATRICK PRATHER
Shauntay Hinton (2002)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Susie Castillo (2003)  Photo: © Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Shandi Finnessey (2004)  Photo: RICHARD HARBAUGH/2011 AFP
Rachel Smith (2007, left) & Tara Conner (2006, right) Photo: Kevin Winter/2007 Getty Images
Crystle Stewart (2008)  Photo: Eric Jamison/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Kristen Dalton (2009)  Photo: JEWEL SAMAD/2009 AFP
Rima Fakih (2010)  Photo: Denise Truscello
Alyssa Campanella (2011)  Photo: Julie Jacobson/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
Olivia Culpo (2012)  Photo: Isaac Brekken/2012 Getty Images
1 / 36

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  • miss usa 2013
  • other kinds of queens
  • fame
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