A brand new Miss USA has been topped.

Miss Virginia Justus Kelley was named the winner of the seventy fifth Miss USA pageant on Thursday on the Adrienne Arsht Middle for the Performing Arts in Miami, turning into Virginia’s first winner since 1970. She was topped by Miss USA 2025 Audrey Eckert.

Kelley, 31, is a foster mother of two, a nonprofit founder, and a kids’s guide writer. She’s additionally the primary married lady, first mom, and first lady in her 30s to win Miss USA. The pageant solely started permitting married girls and moms to compete in 2023, and 2024 was the primary yr that every one girls 18 and over have been eligible. The earlier cutoff age was 28.

Kelley will signify the USA on the Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico in November.

A historic pageant

Fifty-one girls competed for the Miss USA crown, collaborating in swimsuit, night robe, and interview rounds in the course of the preliminary competitors earlier this week in Miami.

The highest 20 competed in an onstage swimsuit spherical, whereas the highest 10 additionally competed in a night robe spherical.

Those that made the highest 5 have been requested to reply a last query. For Kelley, that query was: “For 75 years, Miss USA has mirrored the altering face of American girls. In the event you turn out to be the seventy fifth Miss USA, what do you hope your yr will say about girls in America right this moment?”

“We’re right here tonight celebrating the seventy fifth anniversary of Miss USA, however we even have a possibility to make historical past tonight,” Kelley responded. “I am 31 years outdated, I am married to my faculty sweetheart of 9 years, and we’re proud foster dad and mom of two cute siblings that completely have my coronary heart.”

“What my yr as Miss USA would imply and seem like is not questioning if we’ve to decide on between our bold careers, our households, and our wildest desires,” she continued. “I am standing on this stage embracing each a part of who I’m, and I imagine that I could be your subsequent Miss USA.”

She addressed her history-making win at a press convention after the pageant, saying it was “an enormous honor.”

“I take a look at this like a duty to know that I used to be trusted to be the primary,” she stated about being the primary mom and married lady to win the title, including that she “will not be the final.”

Kelley, a giant fan of thrifting, additionally wearing secondhand clothes for the pageant.

“I had gone into the competitors weekend carrying an all-thrifted wardrobe for every part,” she stated. “I beloved certainly one of my first USA state pageants, strolling in with a extremely particular go well with that I discovered in Goodwill, and as quickly as I walked in, the judges stated, ‘Oh, you look gorgeous,’ and I stated, ‘Thanks, $9.99 at Goodwill.'”

Although she fell in love with the joys of “the hunt” whereas thrifting, she stated she realized it was a strategy to present individuals you “do not need to spend one million {dollars}” to be up on the pageant stage.

A brand new class, a brand new decide

This yr, the Miss USA contestants have been additionally judged on a brand-new class known as “business attraction,” which evaluated how they may appeal to sponsorships.

“In the case of business attraction, Miss USA should not solely look unbelievable carrying that crown, they need to make the remainder of the world need to work with the lady carrying it,” Miss USA host and actor Ian Ziering stated in regards to the class in the course of the stay present.

Ziering’s co-host, Miss USA 1993 Kenya Moore, added that the pageant was “placing emphasis” on the winner’s “means to attach with a digicam, with main manufacturers, with magnificence campaigns, and extra” by including the brand new standards.

“Business attraction” was judged based mostly on a portfolio of non-pageant pictures that have been submitted to this yr’s judges, who have been current for all rounds of the competitors, together with the preliminary rounds.

On Tuesday, Miss USA introduced on its Instagram web page that the viewers would even have a say within the high 10 in the course of the finals. “Your vote can have an actual impression on who advances,” the Instagram caption learn.

Followers watching from dwelling got a 12-minute window to forged their votes on a web site. They have been mixed with the judges’ scores, although it was unclear how a lot weight the fan votes held. By the tip of the 12 minutes, Miss Montana was main, however she did not make it to the highest 10.

A brand new reign

Miss USA has undergone a number of adjustments following a tumultuous few years. The pageant has had three completely different leaders since 2020 amid scandals that included rigging accusations, lawsuits, and queens relinquishing their crowns.

This yr’s last present was initially presupposed to air on The CW, however, as Enterprise Insider first reported, the community dropped the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA finals from its schedule on August 20.

“After cautious consideration and conversations with the Miss USA Group, The CW Community has determined to forego subsequent week’s broadcasts of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants,” a spokesperson for the community stated in a press release.

In an Instagram story posted the identical day, the Miss USA group stated it had recognized a “contractual situation with our manufacturing preparations that would not be resolved inside the obligatory timeframe.”

“Since then, our group has labored diligently to discover choices that might enable us to proceed with a stay broadcast on The CW,” it added. “Sadly, we have been unable to succeed in mutually agreeable phrases for this yr’s occasion.”

The ultimate competitors for each pageants was obtainable to look at stay on the Queen Magnificence Community, a streaming service targeted on the pageant business, because it was in 2025.