Miss Kentucky Teen USA
Beauty pageant competition
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The Miss Kentucky Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Kentucky in the Miss Teen USA pageant.
| Formation | 1983 |
|---|---|
| Type | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters | Cincinnati |
| Location | |
| Members | Miss Teen USA |
Official language | English |
Key people | Melissa Proctor-Pitchford, state pageant director |
| Website | Official website |
Although Kentucky has not produced a Miss Teen USA titleholder, five delegates have placed as Top 5 or Top 6: Krista Keith in 1983, Kristi Dawn Hicks in 1989, April Vaughn in 1990, Kristen Johnson in 2000 and Tara Conner in 2002. Their most recent placement was Taylor Hubbard who placed in the Top 15 in 2010.
Taylor Moore of Louisville was appointed Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2026 on June 30th, 2026, after the open casting call from Thomas Brodeur, the new owner of the national pageant. She will represent Kentucky at Miss Teen USA 2026.
Eligibility
The participant must be single, legally recognized female, between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years old. Specifically, the contestant has to be under nineteen years old before January 1 of the pageant year. Also, the applicant must have never been married, pregnant, or had a marriage annulled. A contestant can only be eligible if she is a United States citizen and remains a United States citizen throughout the competition at both a state and national level. She must have lived in the state she desires to compete in permanently, at least six months prior to the pageant date, or be a full-time student in the state with one semester completed by December 31 of the pageant year.
Results summary
Placement at Miss Teen USA
- 1st runner-up: Kristi Dawn Hicks (1989)
- 2nd runners-up: Krista Keith (1983), Kristen Johnson (2000), Tara Conner (2002)
- Top 6: April Vaughn (1990)
- Top 10: Lexie Kemper (1999), Amanda Nunnelley (2003)
- Top 12: Brittany Johnson (1995)
- Top 15: Sarah Withers (2005), Jefra Bland (2009), Taylor Hubbard (2010)
Kentucky holds a record of 11 placements at Miss Teen USA.
Awards
- Miss Photogenic: Lexie Kemper (1999), Kristen Johnson (2000)
Winners
- Declared as Winner
- Ended as runner-up
- Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
| Year | Name | Hometown | Age1 | Local title | Placement at Miss Teen USA | Special awards at Miss Teen USA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Taylor Moore | Louisville | TBA | Miss Pikeville Teen | TBA | TBA | |
| 2025 | Reese Burt | Lexington | 19 | Miss Keeneland Teen | |||
| 2024 | Karlie Holmen | Gilbertsville | 17 | Miss Purchase District Teen | |||
| 2023 | MéShyia Bradshaw | Elizabethtown | 17 | Miss Hardin County Teen | |||
| 2022 | Gabriella Hembree | Carrollton | 18 | Miss Two Rivers City Teen | |||
| 2021 | Kennedy Mosley | London | 16 | Miss London Teen | |||
| 2020 | Mattie Barker | Louisville | 17 | Miss Southern Kentucky Teen |
| ||
| 2019 | Emma Johns | Pikeville | 16 | Miss Pikeville Teen | |||
| 2018 | Jordan Crozier[1] | Somerset | 18 | Miss Pulaski County Teen | |||
| 2017 | Olivia Prewitt[2][3] | Danville[2] | 18[2] | Miss Danville Teen | |||
| 2016 | Christiaan Prince[4] | Grayson[4] | 15[4] | Miss Carter County Teen | |||
| 2015 | Caroline Ford | Bowling Green | 18 | Miss South Central Teen | |||
| 2014 | Megan Ducharm | Shelbyville | 18 | Miss Shelby County Teen | |||
| 2013 | Gracie Sapp | Lexington | 15 | Miss Fayette County Teen | |||
| 2012 | Tiffany Cline | Georgetown | 14 | Miss Scott County Teen | |||
| 2011 | Stephanie Jones | Elizabethtown | 18 | ||||
| 2010 | Taylor Hubbard[5] | London[5] | 15 | Top 15 | |||
| 2009 | Jefra Bland | Campbellsville | 19 | Later contestant on Survivor: Cagayan[6] | |||
| 2008 | Shannen Reil | West Van Lear | 15 | ||||
| 2007 | Katrina Giannini | Princeton | 17 | ||||
| 2006 | Tiffany Withrow | Ashland | |||||
| 2005 | Sarah Bryan Withers | Columbia | 18 | Top 15 | |||
| 2004 | Megan Frank | Greensburg | 19 | ||||
| 2003 | Amanda Nunnelley | Louisville | 17 | Top 10 | |||
| 2002 | Tara Conner[7] | Russell Springs | 16 | 2nd runner-up | Body Glove Swimsuit Award |
| |
| 2001 | Katherine Faulkner | Hazard | 17 | ||||
| 2000 | Kristen Johnson | Slaughters | 18 | 2nd runner-up | Miss Photogenic |
| |
| 1999 | Lexie Kemper[8] | Louisville[8] | 17[8] | Top 10 | Miss Photogenic[9] | ||
| 1998 | Elizabeth Ann "Lizzie" Arnold | Columbia | 18 |
| |||
| 1997 | Kelli Jones | Louisville | |||||
| 1996 | Kelly Marie Sodan | Berea | 15 | ||||
| 1995 | Brittany Johnson | Virgie | 17 | Top 12 | |||
| 1994 | Crystal Hayden | Paducah[10] | 16 | ||||
| 1993 | Holly Riggs | Paducah[10] | 15 | ||||
| 1992 | Heather Boggess | Paducah[10] | 17 | ||||
| 1991 | Christine Jackman | Louisville | 18 | ||||
| 1990 | April Vaughn | Louisville | 17 | Top 6 | |||
| 1989 | Kristi Dawn Hicks[11] | Bardstown | 17[11] | 1st runner-up |
| ||
| 1988 | Marti Hendricks[12] | Danville[12] | 19[12] | ||||
| 1987 | Tracy Starr Marsee[13] | Middlesboro | 15 | ||||
| 1986 | Amy Miller | Louisville | |||||
| 1985 | Leanne Gregory | Lexington | |||||
| 1984 | Suzy Neclerio | Georgetown | 18 | ||||
| 1983 | Krista Keith | Edgewood | 15 | 2nd runner-up |
1 Age at the time of the Miss Teen USA pageant