Miss Grand USA, also referred to as Miss Grand United States of America, is an annual female beauty pageant in the United States, founded in 2016 by a Dominican-American businessperson, Chantel Martínez, aiming to select the country representative for Miss Grand International, which is an annual international beauty pageant promoting World Peace and against all kinds of conflicts.
The Miss Grand USA organization has been franchising the state competitions to individual organizers since 2016, which in some cases are responsible for more than one state. Each U.S. state must choose a candidate who competes at the national Miss Grand USA pageant, however, delegates may be appointed state or regional titles if a state pageant is not offered in their area.
The United States holds a record of 6 placements at Miss Grand International, the highest position was first place, won in 2020 by Abena Appiah of New York, followed by the third and fourth runners-up by Sthephanie Miranda and Michelle León in 2023 and 2016, respectively.
History The United States has participated in Miss Grand International since the pageant's inception in 2013. Under the management of Earth Pageant Productions from 2013 to 2015, the first two representatives were appointed to compete internationally without a national pageant for Miss Grand, while the third earned the title through the Miss Earth United States 2015. During this period, two representatives, Blair Griffith and Lauren Petersen, placed among the top 20 finalists in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
After Chantel Martínez, a New York-based Dominican-American fashion model, acquired the franchise in 2016, she organized the inaugural Miss Grand USA pageant to select the country's representative for the international competition. The event was held at Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space in New York City, featuring 13 national finalists, with Michelle León of the host state being crowned the winner. León later finished as the fourth runner-up at the 2016 Miss Grand International contest in Las Vegas, Nevada. Later in 2018, Martínez scheduled the 2018 contest to be held on May 28 in New York, but lost the franchise to Israel Silva and Hernan Rivera of H&I Grand Productions LLC, a Chicago-based event organizer that owned and organized the Miss Grand USA pageant from 2019 to 2023. The franchise was subsequently transferred to the e-commerce company Protagonist Live LLC in early 2024, with former Miss Grand Ireland 2023, Rachel Slawson, serving as president under Iron Tiara LLC. On December 6, 2024, Crown Legacy LLC assumed management of the franchise, while production continued under Protagonist Live LLC.
Since its establishment, the pageant has been canceled only once, in 2020, due to the significant increase in COVID-19 infections across the country. The organizer subsequently appointed Ghanaian American model Abena Appiah to represent the United States at the international competition in Thailand, where she won the title, becoming the first American representative to win Miss Grand International and the first Black contestant to do so.
Editions Location and date The following list is the edition detail of the Miss Grand USA contest, since its inception in 2016.
Year Edition Date Final venue Host State Entrants Ref. 2016 1st Leonard Nimoy Thalia, Symphony Space, New York CityNew York 13 2017 2nd 25 Jul 2019 3rd 11 Aug Lincolnshire Marriott Resort, Lake CountyIllinois 28 2021 4th 20 Jun Joe's Live Rosemont, Rosemont 18 2022 5th 23 Jun Copernicus Center, Chicago 12 2023 6th 17 Aug Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel & Conference Center 25 2024 7th 12 Aug Club M2, Miami Florida 2025 8th 18 AugRio Showroom at Rio Las Vegas, Las VegasNevada 31 2026 9th 10 Aug
Competition results
YearMiss Grand United StatesRunners-up 1st runner-up 2nd runner-up 3rd runner-up 4th runner-up 2016 Michelle León(New York) Heather Jorgensen(Illinois) Melissa Martinez(Mississippi)Not Awarded 2017 Taylor Kessler(California) Brianna Key(Louisiana) Alexi Gropper(Georgia) Courtney Williams(Maryland) Leidy Guzman(Rhode Island) 2019 Emily Delgado(Nevada) Alexandria Kelly(Michigan) Que Demery(Florida) Shiobhan Fraser (Georgia) Stormy Keffeler(Washington) 2021 Madison Callaghan(North Carolina) Taylor Gipson(Tennessee) Gennesis Padron(Mid-Atlantic) Sydney Salinas(Texas) Emily Argo(Illinois) 2022 Emily DeMure(Colorado) Mercia Stephens(Ohio) Brooke Butler(Kansas)Not Awarded 2023 Sthephanie Miranda(Great Lakes) Samantha Keaton(Illinois) Rachel Slawson(New York) Francie Millan(Texas) Mazzy Eckel(Washington) 2024 Cora Griffen (Georgia) Tiajah Elliott (New Jersey) Victoria Oluwakotanmi (Illinois) Andrea Valentina (Florida) Giselle Burgos (Arizona)2025 Ivana Garcia(Ohio) Andrea Valentina Nuñez(East Coast) Rachelle Di Stasio(Washington) Christianah Adejokun(Southern States) Emely Aleman(Tennessee) 2026 Mekyla Li (Massachusetts) Victoria Oluwakotanmi(Indiana) Francie Millan(Louisiana) Shelbi Byrnes(Nevada) Alma Gonzalez(New Mexico)
International competition YearDelegateNational qualificationCompetition PlacementSpecial AwardsNational director(s) 2013 Blair Griffith Top 20 — Evan L. Skow 2014 Sara Platt Unplaced — 2015 Lauren Petersen Top 20 — 2016 Michelle León Miss Grand United States 2016 4th Runner-Up — Chantel Martínez 2017 Taylor Kessler Miss Grand United States 2017 Unplaced — 2018 Paola Cossyleon Appointment Unplaced — Israel Silva &Hernan Rivera 2019 Emily Delgado Miss Grand United States 2019 Unplaced — 2020 Abena Appiah Appointment Miss Grand International 2020 — 2021 Madison Callaghan Miss Grand United States 2021 Unplaced — 2022 Emily DeMure Miss Grand United States 2022 Unplaced — 2023 Miss Grand United States 2023 3rd Runner-Up — 2024 Cora Griffen Miss Grand United States 2024 Unplaced — Rachel Slawson 2025 Ivana Garcia Miss Grand United States 2025 Top 22 2026 Mekyla Li Miss Grand United States 2026 colspan=2 Candace Thomas &Sthephanie Miranda Victoria Oluwakotanmi TBDNote 1. Previously Miss Colorado Teen USA 2006 and Miss Colorado USA 2011. 2. Later Miss Texas USA 2020. 3. Also Miss Supranational Nevada 2019. 4. Previously Top Model of the World Ghana 2013, Miss Universe Ghana 2014 & Miss Earth Ghana 2019. 5. Previously Miss Colorado USA 2020. 6. Previously Miss Ohio USA 2020. 7. Previously Miss Georgia USA 2021.
Winner gallery
States by number of wins + Number of wins State Years 2 Colorado 2013, 2022 New York 2016, 2020 1 North Carolina 2021 Nevada 2019 Illinois 2018 California 2017 Virginia 2015 South Carolina 2014
National finalists The following list is the national finalists of the Miss Grand USA pageant, as well as the competition results. width=300 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9thStates and the federal districtAlabama Y Alaska Y Arizonarowspan=2 rowspan=2 Yrowspan=2 Yrowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 Arkansas California Coloradorowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 rowspan=2 YYConnecticut Y YDelaware District of Columbia YY Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Y Iowa Y Kansas Y Kentucky Louisiana Maine Y Maryland Massachusetts Y Michigan Y Minnesota Mississippi Y Missouri Montana Y Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Y New York North Carolina Y North Dakota Ohio Y Oklahoma Oregon Y Pennsylvania Y YRhode Island Y South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia YY Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Non-state representativesAtlantic Central New York East Coast Golden Coast Y Great Lakes Mid-Atlantic Y New England North Atlantic North East Y Northern California Silver State South South Atlantic Y South East Y Southern States Tri-State West Coast Total 131728181224193129Color keys
References
External links
Miss Grand USA, official website