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The Miss Maryland USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Maryland in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant is directed by D&D Productions.

The first Miss USA winner from Maryland, Mary Leona Gage, won Miss USA 1957. However, she was later discovered to be a mother of two sons and was therefore dethroned. In 2012, Nana Meriwether placed 1st runner-up, but became Miss USA 2012 when Olivia Culpo won Miss Universe 2012.

Seven Maryland titleholders are former Miss Maryland Teen USAs. These four all reigned in the early 1990s, and in fact four out of seven titleholders from 1990 to 1995 were former teens. Only four Miss Maryland USA has competed at Miss America.

From 2006 to 2008, each woman who won Miss Maryland USA was the previous year's first runner-up.

In June 2024, Bailey Anne Kennedy became the first trans woman to win the pageant.

Bailey Anne Kennedy of Williamsport was crowned Miss Maryland USA 2024 on June 1, 2024 at Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Rockville. She will represent Maryland at Miss USA 2024.

Gallery of titleholders

• Mary Leona Gage, Miss Maryland USA 1957 & Miss USA 1957
• Michaé Holloman, Miss Maryland USA 2007
• Casandra Tressler, Miss Maryland USA 2008
• Nana Meriwether, Miss Maryland USA 2012. She later assumed the Miss USA 2012 title after Olivia Culpo won Miss Universe 2012
• Taylor Dawson, Miss Maryland Teen USA 2015 and Mamé Adjei, Miss Maryland USA 2015 at an event for military families
• Bailey Anne Kennedy, Miss Maryland USA 2024

Results summary

Miss USA placements

• Miss USAs: Mary Leona Gage †(1957)
• 1st runners-up: Paulette Reck (1968), Nana Meriwether (2012)
• 4th runners-up: Betty Jo Grove (1973), Mamé Adjei (2015)
• Top 8/10/12: Carol Theis (1971), Tonja Walker (1980), Linda Lambert (1981), Angie Boyer (1982), Rowann Brewer (1988), Jennifer Wilhoit (1995), Marina Harrison (2005), Allyn Rose (2011), Taylor Burton (2014), Mariela Pepin (2019), Layilah Nasser (2021)
• Top 15/20: Barbara Eschenburg (1954), Charlene Holt (1956), Diane White (1959), Royette Tarry (1964), Roselaine Zetter (1966), Sandy Clevering (1967), Kasey Staniszewski (2013), Brittinay Nicolette (2018), Savena Mushinge (2023)

Maryland holds a record of 25 placements at Miss USA.

Awards

• Miss Photogenic: Rowann Brewer (1988)
• Style Award: Megan Gunning (2001)

Winners

Color key

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

Notes

1. Mary Leona Gage was later dethroned when she was discovered that she was married and had two children.
2. Nana Meriwether was 1st runner-up at Miss USA, but succeeded the title when Olivia Culpo became Miss Universe.
3. Age at the time of the Miss USA pageant

References

1. More, Maggie; McFly, Tommy; Reporter, News4 Scene; Harris, Leon (13 June 2024). "'Every woman, universally': Military wife is first Asian American, transgender woman to win Miss Maryland". NBC4 Washington.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
2. "Meade, UMd. Grad Crowned Miss Maryland USA". WBALTV. 7 December 2004.
3. ^ "University Senior Wins Miss Maryland USA Pageant". Howard University. 13 December 1999. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012.
4. ^ "Miss USA roots sister on in Miss America bid". Hartford Courant. 2 September 1963. p. 20A.
5. Woestendiek, John (10 April 2005). "The long, unhappy pageant of Mary Leona Gage". The Baltimore Sun.

External links

• Miss USA state pageants
• Maryland culture
• Women in Maryland
• Recurring events established in 1952
• 1952 establishments in Maryland
• Annual events in Maryland