Miss USA 1980


Miss USA 1980, the 29th Miss USA pageant, was televised live on May 15 from the Gulf Coast Convention Center in Biloxi, Mississippi on CBS.
The pageant was won by Shawn Weatherly of South Carolina, who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Mary Therese Friel of New York. Weatherly would later win the Miss Universe 1980 pageant, and first runner-up Jineane Ford of Arizona inherited the Miss USA title for the remainder of the year. Weatherly later became an actress, featured in the television series Baywatch.

Results

Placements

∞ Weatherly won Miss Universe 1980. Due to protocol, Weatherly resigns her title as Miss USA 1980. 1st runner-up, Jineane Ford, replaces her as Miss USA.

Semifinal scores

StatePreliminary AverageInterviewSwimsuitEvening GownSemifinal Average
8.450 7.938 7.489 7.832 7.753
8.317 8.950 8.670 8.701 8.774
9.086 9.082 9.097 9.567 9.249
8.083 7.858 7.031 7.518 7.469
8.503 7.417 8.008 7.703 7.709
8.924 9.029 8.953 8.313 8.765
8.334 8.822 8.775 8.268 8.621
8.998 8.804 8.438 7.968 8.403
8.344 8.498 8.167 8.176 8.280
8.104 8.029 7.826 7.625 7.827
8.247 8.989 8.347 8.457 8.598
8.119 8.477 8.217 7.828 8.174


;Legend

Preliminary swimsuit scores

The following is the contestants average scores in the Preliminary swimsuit competition.
StateScore
Alabama8.538
Alaska6.250
Arizona8.564
Arkansas7.431
California7.420
Colorado7.020
Connecticut6.808
Delaware6.742
District of Columbia7.738
Florida9.043
Georgia7.692
Hawaii7.533
Idaho7.000
Illinois7.192
Indiana7.183
Iowa7.063
Kansas7.279
Kentucky7.811
Louisiana7.583
Maine6.669
Maryland8.467
Massachusetts6.455
Michigan6.599
Minnesota7.528
Mississippi7.663
Missouri7.021
Montana6.193
Nebraska8.556
Nevada6.836
New Hampshire7.833
New Jersey7.497
New Mexico8.716
New York8.350
North Carolina7.434
North Dakota7.051
Ohio7.715
Oklahoma7.164
Oregon6.814
Pennsylvania7.049
Rhode Island7.080
South Carolina9.563
South Dakota7.092
Tennessee7.289
Texas8.504
Utah7.586
Vermont5.475
Virginia8.142
Washington7.703
West Virginia7.413
Wisconsin7.152
Wyoming6.946


;Legend

Special awards

Historical significance

  • South Carolina wins competition for the second time. Incidentally, Weatherly  went on to become the fifth woman from the USA to win the Miss Universe title in 1980.
  • Arizona earns the 1st runner-up position for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1965. Besides it became the 20th state who wins the Miss USA title for the first time. She finished as 1st runner-up, but succeeded as Miss USA 1980 after Shawn Weatherly became Miss Universe.
  • Florida earns the 2nd runner-up position for the third time. The last time it placed this was in 1967.
  • Alabama earns the 3rd runner-up position for the first time.
  • Kentucky earns the 4th runner-up position for the third time. The last time it placed this was in 1971.
  • States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Arizona, New York and Texas.
  • Texas placed for the sixth consecutive year.
  • Arizona and New York made their second consecutive placement.
  • Florida and New Mexico last placed in 1978.
  • Minnesota last placed in 1977.
  • South Carolina last placed in 1976.
  • Alabama and Kentucky last placed in 1975.
  • Maryland and Nebraska last placed in 1973.
  • New Hampshire last placed in 1962.
  • Massachusetts breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1978.
  • Hawaii and Virginia break an ongoing streak of placements since 1977.
  • California breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1957.

    Delegates

The Miss USA 1980 delegates were:
  • Alabama - Pamela Rigas
  • Alaska - Debby Fickus
  • Arizona - Jineane Ford
  • Arkansas - Susie Owens
  • California - Kari Lloyd
  • Colorado - Shelley Marks
  • Connecticut - Kristine Wilson
  • Delaware - Karen Giobbe
  • District of Columbia - Marianne Ritter
  • Florida - Barbara Bowser
  • Georgia - April Reid
  • Hawaii - Carol Ching
  • Idaho - Marta Vincen
  • Illinois - Karen Marie Groat
  • Indiana - Susan Osby
  • Iowa - Lori Kromminga
  • Kansas - Lisa Boyd
  • Kentucky - Lisa Devillez
  • Louisiana - Kelly Bonin
  • Maine - Victoria Elias
  • Maryland - Tonja Walker
  • Massachusetts - Diane Campbell
  • Michigan - Teena Hammonds
  • Minnesota - Carla Reid Peterson
  • Mississippi - Cheri Brown
  • Missouri - Kelly Laxon
  • Montana - Robbin English
  • Nebraska - Rebecca Staab
  • Nevada - Kimberlee Guider
  • New Hampshire - Eva Dyer
  • New Jersey - Joni Peifer
  • New Mexico - Kathy Dawn Patrick
  • New York - Debra Sue Maurice
  • North Carolina - Lori Boggs
  • North Dakota - Kim Thompson
  • Ohio - Elizabeth Kim Thomas
  • Oklahoma - Martha Streightoff
  • Oregon - Martha Viducich
  • Pennsylvania - Andrea Patrick
  • Rhode Island - Robyn Hall
  • South Carolina - Shawn Weatherly
  • South Dakota - Jane Schmidt
  • Tennessee - Diane Hunt
  • Texas - Barbara Buckley
  • Utah - Tamara Parsons
  • Vermont - Judi Mason
  • Virginia - Kelly Humphrey
  • Washington - Janet Brown
  • West Virginia - Linda Hendrick
  • Wisconsin - Susan McGaffigan
  • Wyoming - Suzie Harris

    Judges

  • Judi Andersen
  • Gerald Fitzgerald
  • Anita Gillette
  • Peter Max
  • Bob Kane
  • Richard Kline
  • Joan Prather
  • Rosie Vela
  • Adam West
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