Miss Illinois' Teen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the state pageant affiliated with Miss Teen USA, see Miss Illinois Teen USA
| Formation | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Location | |
| Members | Miss America's Teen |
Official language | English |
Key people | Dr. Susan Shea (Executive Director) |
| Website | Official website |
The Miss Illinois' Teen competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of Illinois in the Miss America's Teen pageant.
Brooke Herod of Gurnee was crowned Miss Illinois' Teen on June 12, 2026, at the Marion Cultural and Civic Center in Marion, Illinois. She competed for the title of Miss America's Teen 2027 on September 5, 2026, at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida.
In January 2023, the official name of the pageant was changed from Miss Illinois’ Outstanding Teen, to Miss Illinois’ Teen, in accordance with the national pageant.
Results summary
The year in parentheses indicated year of Miss America's Outstanding Teen competition the award/placement was garnered.
Awards
Preliminary awards
- Preliminary Talent: MerrieBeth Cox (2008)
- Preliminary Evening Wear/On-Stage Question: MerrieBeth Cox (2008), Summer Robbins (2012)
Non-finalist awards
- Non-finalist Evening Wear/OSQ: Peyton Newman (2019)
- Non-finalist Interview: Summer Robbins (2011), Imani P. Muse (2020)
Other awards
- AHA Go Red For Women Leadership Award: Lucy Kuelper (2025)
Winners
| Year | Name | Hometown | Age | Local title | Talent | Placement at MAO Teen | Special scholarships at MAO Teen | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Brooke Herod | Gurnee | 16 | Miss Capital City's Teen | Hip-Hop Dance | |||
| 2025 | Lillie Brown | Jacksonville | 16 | Miss Bay City's Teen | Lyrical Dance | |||
| 2024 | Lucy Kuepler | Rio | 16 | Miss Capital City's Teen | Vocal | AHA Go Red for Women Leadership Award | Later Miss Illinois Teen Volunteer 2026 | |
| 2023 | Isabella Waggoner[1] | Ramsey | 17 | Violin | Miss Southern Illinois 2026 | |||
| 2022 | Mia Fritsch-Anderson | Chicago | 17 | Miss Chicago's Outstanding Teen | Irish Dance | |||
| 2021 | Kylie Ryder[2] | Sycamore | 18 | Miss Windy City's Outstanding Teen | Lyrical Dance, "Who You Are" | 3rd Runner Up at Miss Illinois 2025. Miss Northern Suburbs 2026. | ||
| 2020 | Victoria Shore | Marion | 18 | Miss Land of Lincoln's Outstanding Teen 2019 | Vocal | N/A | Assumed title when Imani Muse stepped down after a year of service. Later became Miss Missouri Volunteer 2022. | |
| 2019 | Imani P. Muse[3] | Illinois City | 16 | Miss Chicago's Outstanding Teen | Vocal, "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha | Non-finalist Interview Award | First African-American to be named Miss Illinois' Outstanding Teen. Top 13 at Miss Alabama 2024. Competed at Miss Alabama 2025. Miss Mississippi Crown 2026. | |
| 2018 | Peyton Newman[4] | Vernon Hills | 16 | Vocal, "Vienna" | Non-finalist Evening Wear/OSQ Award[5] | |||
| 2017 | Maddie Mazzella[6] | Chicago | 17 | Vocal “On my Way” | ||||
| 2016 | Christine Bryant[7] | Marion | 17 | Miss Southern Illinois' Outstanding Teen | Vocal, “Hallelujah” | |||
| 2015 | Peyton Tucker[8] | Moline | 17 | Miss Windy City's Outstanding Teen | Vocal | |||
| 2014 | Grace Etzkorn[9] | Lisle | 17 | Vocal | Competed at the Jimmy Awards in 2015[10] 2nd runner-up at Miss Illinois 2018 pageant[11] | |||
| 2013 | Isabelle Hanson[12] | Glen Ellyn | 17 | Miss Northern Suburbs' Outstanding Teen | Violin | Dr. Glenn Harman Instrumental Talent Award | Later Miss Illinois 2021, Miss America 2022 Top 10 Finalist, Miss America 2022 Talent Preliminary Award Winner [13] | |
| 2012 | Grace Khachaturian[14] | Champaign | 15 | Miss Central Illinois' Outstanding Teen | Dance | Later Miss Illinois 2018[11][15] | ||
| 2011 | Summer Robbins[16][17] | Coffeen | 16 | Miss Southern Illinois' Outstanding Teen | Violin, "Classical Gas" | Non-finalist Interview Award[18] Preliminary Evening Wear/OSQ Award[18] |
||
| 2010 | Kaitlyn Wehr[19] | Moline | 16 | Miss Blackhawk Valley's Outstanding Teen | Jazz Dance | |||
| 2009 | Andrea Novak[20] | Arlington Heights | 17 | Miss Dupage County's Outstanding Teen | Dance/Twirl | |||
| 2008 | Emily Travis[21] | Metropolis | 17 | Miss Metropolis' Outstanding Teen | Piano | Diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome as an infant[22] | ||
| 2007 | MerrieBeth Cox[23] | Roselle | 16 | Miss Greater Woodfield's Outstanding Teen | Baton Twirling | Preliminary Evening Wear/OSQ Award Preliminary Talent Award |
Later Purdue University's 27th Golden Girl[24] Later Miss Indiana 2012[25] Top 12 at Miss America 2013 pageant[26] | |
| 2006 | Campbell Hunt[27] | Marion | Miss John A. Logan's Outstanding Teen | Vocal with American Sign Language interpretation, "The Rose" | ||||
| 2005 | Kathryn Strause[28] | Rock Island | 17 | Miss Blackhawk Valley's Outstanding Teen | Classical Piano | |||