Texas Aces Dominate Miss USA Like It's a Beauty Monopoly

KEY POINTS

•Texas has claimed the most Miss USA titles—10 crowns including a streak of five consecutive wins from 1985 to 1989.
•Hawaii was awarded its fifth Miss USA title in 2023 after the reigning queen Noelia Voigt stepped down amid leadership controversies.
•Several states like California, Michigan, and District of Columbia have notable Miss USA wins, while 18 states have never won the crown.

In the glittering soap opera of Miss USA history, Texas isn't just playing the game—they're monopolizing it, snagging the crown 10 times, crowned chiefly between 1985-1989 with the legendary 'Texas Aces' five-year winning streak, starring Kimberly Tomes (1977) through Gretchen Polhemus (1989). Meanwhile, California tiptoes behind with six wins, conspicuously absent from the 2000s party, last sending Alyssa Campanella in 2011. Hawaii made pageant history by oddly ascending to their 5th title not by winning, but by inheriting the crown in 2023 when Noelia Voigt resigned due to some CEO drama involving Laylah Rose—because pageantry without corporate lawsuits is like a tiara without bling. Michigan shows variety with the first African American winner in 1990 (Carole Gist), the first Arab American winner in 2010 (Rima Fakih), and a US Army officer alma mater Alma Cooper's triumph in 2024. DC, lacking Senate clout, crushes it in back-to-back wins in 2016 and 2017 with Deshauna Barber and Kára McCullough. Illinois' glory days ended before disco died, last winning in 1974, and New York proudly claims the first ever Miss USA crown in 1952 with Jackie Loughery, who also managed a top-10 finish in the first-ever Miss Universe—talk about multitasking. Oh, and North Carolina apparently only gets it together in the 2000s with all four wins courtesy of that decade. So, while 18 states still haven’t even sniffed a tiara, these pageant winners are busy turning crowns into state souvenirs and lawsuits.