Miss Arkansas USA
Beauty pageant competition
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Miss Arkansas USA, previously known as Miss Arkansas Universe,[1][2] is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of Arkansas in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. The pageant is directed by Vanbros and Associates.[3][4][5][6]
| Formation | 1952 |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters | Shawnee |
| Location | |
| Members | Miss USA |
Official language | English |
Key people | John M. Vannatta Jason Vannatta Jennifer Vannatta-Fisher |
| Website | Official website |
Arkansas's most successful placement was in 1982, when Terri Utley was crowned Miss USA. The most recent placement was Olivia Halsey in 2025 who placed in the Top 20. Nine Miss Arkansas USA titleholders were former Miss Arkansas Teen USA titleholders who competed at Miss Teen USA. The longest reigning titleholder was Haley Rose Pontius in 2020, having held the title for 18 months, while the shortest titleholder was Stephanie Barber in 2021, having held the title for 10 months and 18 days.
The state pageant was directed by Premier Pageants from 2002 to 2007 before becoming part of the Vanbros organization, headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas. In 2018, Vanbros chose Fort Smith, Arkansas as the new host city of the pageant. Other host cities for the pageant have included Bentonville, Little Rock, Magnolia, and West Memphis.[7][8][9]
The current Miss Arkansas USA is Anna Claire Hay of Fayetteville who was crowned on May 3, 2026, at The Center for the Arts in Russellville. She will represent Arkansas at Miss USA 2026.
Gallery of titleholders
Stephanie Barber, Miss Arkansas USA 2021
Haley Pontius, Miss Arkansas USA 2020
Terri Utley, Miss Arkansas USA 1982 and Miss USA 1982
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Results summary
Placements
- Miss USA: Terri Utley (1982)
- 1st Runner-Up: Margaret Haywood (1955)
- 2nd Runner-Up: Nancy McCollum (1956)
- Top 5: Savannah Skidmore (2019)
- Top 10: Chanley Painter (2009), Abby Floyd (2016)
- Top 15/16/20: Waydine Nesbitt (1954), Helen Garrott (1957), Donna Needham (1959), Ann Smithwick (1968), Mary Dial (1970), Jessica Furrer (2005), Adrielle Churchill (2010), Kelsey Dow (2012), Mackenzie Hinderberger (2023), Olivia Halsey (2025)
Arkansas holds a record of 16 placements at Miss USA.
Awards
- Miss Photogenic: Jennifer Sherrill (2004)
- Miss Congeniality: Madeline Bohlman (2024)
Winners
- Color key
- Winner
- Runner-Up
- Semifinalist
| Year | Name | Hometown | Age[a] | Local title | Placement at Miss USA | Special awards at Miss USA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Anna Claire Hay | Fayetteville | 22 | Miss Razorback | TBD | TBD |
|
| 2025 | Olivia Halsey | Jonesboro | 25 | Miss West Little Rock | Top 20 | ||
| 2024 | Madeline Bohlman | Fayetteville | 22 | Miss Northwest Arkansas | Miss Congeniality |
| |
| 2023 | Mackenzie Elizabeth Hinderberger | Farmington | 23 | Miss Farmington | Top 20 |
| |
| 2022 | Rylie Wagner | Ozark | 21 | Miss Ozark | |||
| 2021 | Stephanie Barber | Fayetteville | 22 | Miss Northwest Arkansas |
| ||
| 2020 | Haley Rose Pontius | Houston | 23 | Miss Richland Hills |
| ||
| 2019 | Savannah Jera Skidmore[10] | Calico Rock | 23 | Miss White River | Top 5 |
| |
| 2018 | Lauren Ashton Weaver | Greenwood | 21 | Miss Greenwood |
| ||
| 2017 | Arynn Nicole Johnson | Hot Springs | 19 | Miss Hot Springs |
| ||
| 2016 | Abby Elizabeth Floyd[12] | Searcy[12] | 19 | Miss Searcy | Top 10 |
| |
| 2015 | Leah Michele Blefko | Fayetteville | 21 | Miss White River | |||
| 2014 | Helen Elizabeth Wisner | Fayetteville | 25 | Miss White River | |||
| 2013 | Hannah Love Billingsley | Franklin | 22 | Miss North Arkansas |
| ||
| 2012 | Kelsey Rhea Dow | Jonesboro | 21 | Miss Craighead County | Top 16 | ||
| 2011 | Courtney Lakynn McBride | White Hall | 20 | Miss Central Arkansas | |||
| 2010 | Adrielle Lynn Churchill | Dover | 24 | Miss White River | Top 15 |
| |
| 2009 | Chanley Shá Painter[citation needed] | Conway | 24 | Miss Conway | Top 10 | ||
| 2008 | Rachel Dianne Howells | Alma | 21 | Miss Washington County | |||
| 2007 | Kelly George | Sherwood | 24 |
| |||
| 2006 | Kimberly Forsyth | Cabot | 26 | ||||
| 2005 | Jessica Furrer | Conway | 22 | Top 15 | |||
| 2004 | Jennifer DeAnn Sherrill | Sherwood | 19 | Miss Photogenic | |||
| 2003 | Taylor Marie Carlisle | Jacksonville | 21 | ||||
| 2002 | Amber Nicole Boatman | Norphlet | 23 | ||||
| 2001 | Jessie Davis | Harrison | |||||
| 2000 | Whitney Lea Moore | Cabot | 22 | ||||
| 1999 | Allison Nicole Heavener | Batesville | 22 | ||||
| 1998 | Kami Mikhael Tice | Huntsville | 21 |
| |||
| 1997 | Tamara Henry | Little Rock | 25 | ||||
| 1996 | Tiffany Brooke Parks | Cabot | 20 | Miss Boston Mountain |
| ||
| 1995 | Kristen Bettis | ||||||
| 1994 | Hannah Hillyard | Little Rock | |||||
| 1993 | Katherine Leigh "Kati" Fish | Hot Springs |
| ||||
| 1992 | Jona Garner | ||||||
| 1991 | Angela Rockwell | ||||||
| 1990 | Kathryn Grace Harris | Pine Bluff | 18 | ||||
| 1989 | Paige Ann Yandell | Greenwood |
| ||||
| 1988 | Melissa Anne Staples[15] | Calion | 20 |
| |||
| 1987 | Sheri Donette Smeltzer[17] | Smackover | 23 |
| |||
| 1986 | Rhonda Blaylock | Springdale | 22 | ||||
| 1985 | Susan Caroline Dean | Osceola | 23 | ||||
| 1984 | Michelle A. "Shelly" Boyd[20] | Manila | 21 |
| |||
| 1983 | Debra "Debbie" Baltz[21] | Paris[21] | 23 | ||||
| 1982 | Leanne Derryberry[21] | Jerusalem | did not compete |
| |||
| Terri Lea Utley[22] | Cabot | 20 | Miss USA 1982[22] |
| |||
| 1981 | Lynnanne Derryberry[23] | Jerusalem | 18 | ||||
| 1980 | Susie Owens | Jacksonville | 21 | ||||
| 1979 | Cynthia LaFran Caldwell[24] | Jacksonville | 21 | ||||
| 1978 | Donna Funderburk | El Dorado | 22 | ||||
| 1977 | Debra Lynn Duree | Texarkana | |||||
| 1976 | Sonia Kay Jines | Conway | |||||
| 1975 | Robin Fields | Hot Springs | 18 | ||||
| 1974 | Gina Huddle | ||||||
| 1973 | Christal Phiffer[1] | Texarkana[1] | |||||
| 1972 | Susan Tichenor[25] | Pine Bluff[25] | 21[25] | ||||
| 1971 | Paula Keith[26] | Little Rock[26] | 20[26] | ||||
| 1970 | Mary Jane Dial[27] | Malvern[27] | 21[27] | Top 15 | |||
| 1969 | Leonette Reed | Heber Springs | |||||
| 1968 | Ann Smithwick[5] | Jacksonville[5] | 19[5] | Top 15 | Top 15 Best in Swimsuit[28] | ||
| 1967 | Katy Lou Wurst[29][30] | Fort Smith[29][30] | 19[30] | ||||
| 1966 | Peggy Jean Jones | Green Forest | |||||
| 1965 | Jeri Haynie[4] | El Dorado[4] | |||||
| 1964 | Barbara McGlothlin | ||||||
| 1963 | Cheryl Jane Bechtelheimer[31] | Camden |
| ||||
| 1962 | Linda Riggan | Leola | |||||
| 1961 | Mickey Lambert | ||||||
| 1960 | Gene Chambers | Danville |
| ||||
| 1959 | Donna Sue Needham | Berryville | 19 | Top 15 | |||
| 1958 | Nancy Hill | Little Rock | 19 | ||||
| 1957 | Helen Elizabeth Garrott | West Memphis | 19 | Top 15 | |||
| 1956 | Nancy McCollum | Stuttgart | 19 | 2nd Runner-Up[32] | |||
| 1955 | Margaret Anne Haywood | Jonesboro | 19 | 1st Runner-Up |
| ||
| 1954 | Waydine Nesbitt[33][34] | Magnolia[34] | 21[34] | Top 21 | |||
| 1953 | Jackie Stucker | West Helena | 19 | ||||
| 1952 | Barbara Wathen | Jonesboro | 20 | ||||
Notes
- Age at the time of the crowning