Miss USA 2023

Miss USA 2023 was the 72nd Miss USA pageant, held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, on September 29, 2023.^[1][2] All times in this article are Pacific Time Zone (UTC-7)

Miss USA 2023
Date	September 29, 2023
Presenters	Keltie Knight Adrienne Bailon-Houghton Jordan Kimball Morgan Romano
Venue	Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, Nevada
Broadcaster	The CW
Entrants	51
Placements	20
Winner	Noelia Voigt Utah (Resigned) Savannah Gankiewicz Hawaii (Assumed)
Congeniality	Jordan Naylor, Alaska
Best State Costume	Savannah Gankiewicz, Hawaii
Photogenic	Annika Sharma, Massachusetts
← 2022 2024 →

Morgan Romano of North Carolina crowned Noelia Voigt of Utah as her successor at the end of the event. This is Utah's third Miss USA title and first win in sixty-three years.^[1] Voigt resigned from the title on May 6, 2024, due to mental health.^[3] Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii was later announced as her successor on May 9, 2024.^[4]

The competition was hosted by Keltie Knight and Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, with Jordan Kimball and Miss USA 2022 Morgan Romano as correspondents. This was the first pageant to be held under the directorship of fashion designer Laylah Rose,^[5] and aired on The CW.^[6] It was also the last edition with an upper age limit of twenty-eight years.^[7]

Background

Location

The competition venue

On July 14, 2022, it was reported that the competition would be held in Reno, Nevada, with the city securing a three-year deal to host the pageant from 2022 to 2024.^[8] It was the third time that the pageant was held in Reno, and the second consecutive year in the city, following Miss USA 2019 and 2022.^[9][10] Then-Miss USA organization president Crystle Stewart said the location was chosen to honor Cheslie Kryst, who won Miss USA 2019 in the same venue and had died by suicide in January 2022.^[11]

On October 7, due to allegations of rigging at Miss USA 2022, the franchise for the pageant and its sister pageant Miss Teen USA were suspended and returned to the Miss Universe Organization.^[12] In August 2023, it was announced that Crystle Stewart had stepped down as president of the Miss USA Organization.^[13] She was replaced by fashion designer Laylah Rose.^[5]

Selection of contestants

Starting with this competition, the Miss Universe organization announced that married women and mothers could compete.^[14] The ruling was first used in the first five editions of the pageant before being revised in 1957.^[15]

In September 2023, Miss USA 2022 winner R'Bonney Gabriel announced that from 2024, there would be no maximum age limit, especially for related national pageants. Previously, contestants had to be between the ages of 18 and 28 by the start of pageants.^[7]

Delegates from the fifty states and the District of Columbia are selected in state pageants which began in September 2022 and scheduled to conclude in August 2023, as the state pageant schedule can become very dense between the last state pageant held from 2022. The first state pageant was Miss Idaho USA, held on September 11, 2022, and the last state pageant was Miss New York USA, held on August 6, 2023. Miss Maine USA became the first married Miss USA state titleholder in sixty-six years after getting married in April 2023.^[16] Nine state titleholders were former Miss Teen USA state winners, two were former Miss World America state winners, another was a former Miss America's Outstanding Teen state titleholder, three are former Miss America state titleholders, and one is former Miss Supranational Zambian winner.

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss USA 2023	Utah – Noelia Voigt
1st runner-up	Hawaii – Savannah Gankiewicz ∞[4]
2nd runner-up	Wisconsin – Alexis Loomans[17]
3rd runner-up	Pennsylvania – Jasmine Daniels[17]
4th runner-up	Texas – Lluvia Alzate[17]
Top 20	Alabama – Sophie Burzynski[18]  Arkansas – Mackenzie Hinderberger[18]  California – Tianna Clark[18]  Connecticut – Karla Aponte Roque[18]  District of Columbia – Cassie Baloue[18]  Florida – Caroline Dixon[18]  Illinois – Samantha Elliott[18]  Maryland – Savena Mushinge[18]  Nevada – Josie Stephens[18]  New Jersey – Derby Chukwudi[18]  New Mexico – Bianca Wright[18] §  North Carolina – Jordyn McKey[18]  South Carolina – Kirby Elizabeth Self[18]  Virginia – Ashley Williams[18]  Washington – Samantha Gallia[18]

∞ – Voigt resigned as Miss USA 2023. Due to protocol, the first runner-up, Savannah Gankiewicz, assumed the Miss USA title.
§ – Voted into Top 20 by viewers

Special awards

Award	Contestant
Best State Costume	Hawaii – Savannah Gankiewicz[19]
Miss Congeniality	Alaska – Jordan Naylor
Miss Photogenic	Massachusetts – Annika Sharma
Best in Interview	Hawaii – Savannah Gankiewicz
Best in Evening Gown	Pennsylvania – Jasmine Daniels
Best in Swimwear	Texas – Lluvia Alzate
Impact Award	Mississippi - Sydney Russell

Pageant

Format

The Miss USA Organization introduced several specific changes to the format for this edition. The number of semi-finalists was increased to twenty from sixteen of the previous year. The results of the preliminary competition — which consisted of the swimsuit competition, the evening gown competition, and the closed-door interview determined the first nineteen semi-finalists who advanced at the first cut. The internet voting was also used, with fans being able to vote for another delegate to advance into the semifinals. The twenty semi-finalists competed in both the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and were to be narrowed down to five afterwards.^[2][18] The five finalists competed in the question and answer round, and the final speech portion, after which Miss USA 2023 and her runners-up were announced.

Selection committee

• Nicole Miller – Fashion designer^[20]
• Vivica A. Fox – Actress^[20]
• Emina Cunmulaj Nazarian – Model^[20]
• Patrick Starrr – Beauty entrepreneur^[20]
• Luann de Lesseps – Television personality^{[citation needed]}

Contestants

Fifty-one contestants competed for the title.^[21]

State/district	Contestant	Age[a]	Hometown	Notes
Alabama	Sophie Burzynski[22]	22	Auburn
Alaska	Jordan Naylor[23]	25	Anchorage	Previously Miss Alaska's Outstanding Teen 2012 Later Miss Alaska 2024
Arizona	Candace Kanavel[24]	27	Tempe
Arkansas	Mackenzie Hinderberger[25]	24	Farmington	Previously Miss Arkansas Teen USA 2018[26]
California	Tianna Clark[21]	27	Perris
Colorado	Arianna Lemus[27]	27	Gunnison
Connecticut	Karla Aponte Roque[28]	27	Branford	Previously Miss Connecticut World 2019
Delaware	Noa Mills[21]	25	Middletown
District of Columbia	Cassie Baloue[21]	25	Washington, D.C.
Florida	Caroline Dixon[29]	25	Palm Harbor
Georgia	Rachel Russaw[30]	24	Atlanta
Hawaii	Savannah Gankiewicz[31]	27	Kihei[32]	Previously Mutya ng Pilipinas Overseas Filipino Communities 2017[33]
Idaho	Hannah Menzner[34]	27	Boise	Previously Miss Idaho Teen USA 2014[35]
Illinois	Samantha Elliott[36]	22	Freeport
Indiana	Haley Jordan[37]	25	Pittsboro	Previously Miss Indiana 2017
Iowa	Grace Lynn Keller[38]	24	Coralville	Previously Miss Iowa 2021
Kansas	Haley Berger[39]	22	Lawrence	Daughter of Prathumrat Woramali Berger, Miss Thailand World 1989[40]
Kentucky	Madalyne Kinnett[41]	22	Lexington
Louisiana	Sylvia Masters[42]	28	Houma
Maine	Juliana Morehouse Locklear[43]	23	Portland	First married Miss USA state titleholder[43] Daughter of Lynn Jenkins Morehouse, Miss North Carolina USA 1994
Maryland	Savena Mushinge[44]	26	Germantown	Previously Miss Supranational Zambia 2022
Massachusetts	Annika Sharma[45]	22	Newton	Previously Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 2020
Michigan	Alexis Fagan-Williams[21]	22	Detroit
Minnesota	Sarah Anderson[46]	20	Maple Grove
Mississippi	Sydney Russell[47]	24	Collinsville
Missouri	Autumn Black[48]	24	Kansas City
Montana	Madyson Rigg[49]	26	Kalispell	Previously Miss Montana Teen USA 2014[50]
Nebraska	Mimi Wood[21]	24	Omaha
Nevada	Josie Stephens[21]	28	Fallon
New Hampshire	Britney Lane[21]	26	Hooksett
New Jersey	Derby Chukwudi[51]	25	Hoboken
New Mexico	Bianca Wright[21]	28	Anthony
New York	Rachelle Di Stasio[21]	26	New York City
North Carolina	Jordyn McKey[52][53]	25	Charlotte
North Dakota	Monni Nyaribo[21]	27	Grand Forks
Ohio	Mackenzie Schutt[21]	27	Westerville
Oklahoma	Liv Walbeck[21]	21	Norman
Oregon	Manju Bangalore[54]	25	Corvallis	Previously Miss Oregon World 2018 and 2020, and Miss California World 2019
Pennsylvania	Jasmine Daniels[21]	26	Collegeville	Previously Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA 2015
Rhode Island	Mary Malloy[21]	26	Cumberland	Previously Miss Rhode Island Teen USA 2015
South Carolina	Kirby Elizabeth Self[55]	23	Greenwood	Previously Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2018
South Dakota	Amber Hulse[21]	25	Hot Springs	Previously Miss South Dakota 2019 and Miss South Dakota 2020.
Tennessee	Regan Ringler[56]	26	Nashville
Texas	Lluvia Alzate[57]	26	Houston
Utah	Noelia Voigt[58]	23	Park City
Vermont	Jenna Howlett[21]	21	Bridport	Previously Miss Vermont Teen USA 2019
Virginia	Ashley Williams[21]	24	Reston	Former professional cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders
Washington	Samantha Gallia[59]	25	Seattle
West Virginia	Nevaeh Harmon[21]	21	Charleston
Wisconsin	Alexis Loomans[21]	21	Waunakee	Previously Miss Wisconsin Teen USA 2018
Wyoming	Beck Bridger[21]	27	Sheridan	Previously Miss Wyoming 2018

Notes

1. Ages at the time of the pageant