Miss Kentucky Teen USA

The Miss Kentucky Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Kentucky in the Miss Teen USA pageant.

Miss Kentucky Teen USA

Formation	1982; 43 years ago (1982)
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	Cincinnati
Location	Ohio
Membership	Miss Teen USA
Official language	English
Key people	Melissa Proctor-Pitchford, state pageant director
Website	Official website

Tara Conner, Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2002, Miss Kentucky USA 2006 & Miss USA 2006

Although Kentucky has not produced a Miss Teen USA titleholder, five delegates have placed as Top 5 or Top 6: Krista Keith in 1983, Kristi Dawn Hicks in 1989, April Vaughn in 1990, Kristen Johnson in 2000 and Tara Conner in 2002. Their most recent placement was Taylor Hubbard who placed in the Top 15 in 2010.

Reese Burt of Lexington was crowned Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2025 on July 19, 2025, at The Vern Riffe Center for the Arts Shawnee State University in Portsmouth. She will represent Kentucky at Miss Teen USA 2025.

Eligibility

The participant must be a single, legally recognized female between the ages of 14 and 18 years old. Specifically, the contestant has to be under 19 years old before January 1 of the pageant year. Also, the applicant must have never been married, pregnant, or had a marriage annulled. A contestant can only be eligible if she is a United States citizen and remains a United States citizen throughout the competition at both a state and national level. She must have lived in the state she desires to compete in permanently, at least six months prior to the pageant date, or be a full-time student in the state with one semester completed by December 31 of the pageant year.

Results summary

Placement at Miss Teen USA

• 1st runners-up: Kristi Dawn Hicks (1989)
• 2nd runners-up: Krista Keith (1983), Kristen Johnson (2000), Tara Conner (2002)
• Top 6: April Vaughn (1990)
• Top 10: Lexie Kemper (1999), Amanda Nunnelley (2003)
• Top 12: Brittany Johnson (1995)
• Top 15: Sarah Withers (2005), Jefra Bland (2009), Taylor Hubbard (2010)

Kentucky holds a record of 11 placements at Miss Teen USA.

Awards

• Miss Photogenic: Lexie Kemper (1999), Kristen Johnson (2000)

Winners

•   Declared as Winner
•   Ended as runner-up
•   Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists

Year	Name	Hometown	Age1	Local title	Placement at Miss Teen USA	Special awards at Miss Teen USA	Notes
2025	Reese Burt	Lexington	TBA	Miss Keeneland Teen	TBA	TBA
2024	Karlie Holmen	Gilbertsville	17	Miss Purchase District Teen
2023	MéShyia Bradshaw	Elizabethtown	17	Miss Hardin County Teen
2022	Gabriella Hembree	Carrollton	18	Miss Two Rivers City Teen
2021	Kennedy Mosley	London	16	Miss London Teen
2020	Mattie Barker	Louisville	17	Miss Southern Kentucky Teen			Later Miss Kentucky USA 2025
2019	Emma Johns	Pikeville	16	Miss Pikeville Teen
2018	Jordan Crozier[1]	Somerset	18	Miss Pulaski County Teen
2017	Olivia Prewitt[2][3]	Danville[2]	18[2]	Miss Danville Teen
2016	Christiaan Prince[4]	Grayson[4]	15[4]	Miss Carter County Teen
2015	Caroline Ford	Bowling Green	18	Miss South Central Teen
2014	Megan Ducharm	Shelbyville	18	Miss Shelby County Teen
2013	Gracie Sapp	Lexington	15	Miss Fayette County Teen
2012	Tiffany Cline	Georgetown	14	Miss Scott County Teen
2011	Stephanie Jones	Elizabethtown	18
2010	Taylor Hubbard[5]	London[5]	15		Top 15
2009	Jefra Bland	Campbellsville	19		Top 15		Later contestant on Survivor: Cagayan[6]
2008	Shannen Reil	West Van Lear	15
2007	Katrina Giannini	Princeton	17
2006	Tiffany Withrow	Ashland	17
2005	Sarah Bryan Withers	Columbia	18		Top 15
2004	Megan Frank	Greensburg	19
2003	Amanda Nunnelley	Louisville	17		Top 10
2002	Tara Conner[7]	Russell Springs	16		2nd runner-up	Body Glove Swimsuit Award	Later Miss Kentucky USA 2006 Miss USA 2006 4th runner up at Miss Universe 2006[7]
2001	Katherine Faulkner	Hazard	17
2000	Kristen Johnson	Slaughters	18		2nd runner-up	Miss Photogenic	Later Miss Kentucky USA 2005 2nd runner up at Miss USA 2005
1999	Lexie Kemper[8]	Louisville[8]	17[8]		Top 10	Miss Photogenic[9]
1998	Elizabeth Arnold	Columbia	18				Later Miss Kentucky USA 2002
1997	Kelli Jones	Louisville	18
1996	Kelly Marie Sodan	Berea	15
1995	Brittany Johnson	Virgie	17		Top 12
1994	Crystal Hayden	Paducah[10]	16
1993	Holly Riggs	Paducah[10]	15
1992	Heather Boggess	Paducah[10]	17
1991	Christine Jackman	Louisville	18
1990	April Vaughn	Louisville	17		Top 6
1989	Kristi Dawn Hicks[11]	Bardstown	17[11]		1st runner-up		Later Miss Kentucky 1995[11]
1988	Marti Hendricks[12]	Danville[12]	19[12]
1987	Tracey Marsee	Middlesboro	16
1986	Amy Miller	Louisville	15
1985	Leanne Gregory	Lexington	15
1984	Suzy Neclerio	Georgetown	18
1983	Krista Keith	Louisville	16		2nd runner-up

¹ Age at the time of the Miss Teen USA pageant