Erin O'Flaherty
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Erin O'Flaherty | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Title | Miss Missouri 2016 |
| Predecessor | McKensie Garber |
Erin O'Flaherty is an American beauty pageant titleholder who held the title of Miss Missouri in the Miss America 2017 pageant. She is the first openly lesbian contestant to compete in Miss America.[2]
In 2013, she was crowned Miss University of Central Florida.[3] While there, she was an ambassador for Children's Miracle Network.[4] She took a couple years off from pageant competition, however, she wanted to compete before she surpassed the age eligibility.[5] In 2016, she was crowned Miss Missouri in the Miss America pageant. Also in 2016, she became the first openly lesbian contestant to compete in Miss America.[2] Her platform is suicide prevention, a cause close to her heart from losing her best friend to suicide and experiencing her first funeral at the age of 13.[6] As an advocate for suicide prevention, she works with The Trevor Project, a hotline for LGBT youth, and The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.[7] Her talent is a vocal performance.[8]
