Miss USA 1997


Miss USA 1997, the 46th Miss USA pageant, was held at Shreveport, Louisiana in January and February, 1997. Delegates arrived in the city on January 19, the preliminary competition was held on February 2, 1997 and the final competition on February 5, 1997. The event, held at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum was broadcast live on CBS.
At the conclusion of the final competition, Brook Lee of Hawaii was crowned by outgoing titleholder Ali Landry of Louisiana, becoming the fourth Hawaiian to win the Miss USA pageant and the first win in 19 years, since Judi Andersen in Miss USA 1978. After Lee won the Miss Universe 1997 title three months later, first runner-Up Brandi Sherwood of Idaho inherited the Miss USA title. Sherwood became the first Miss Teen USA winner and the third Miss Teen USA state delegate in a row to hold the Miss USA title. Upon Sherwood inheriting the Miss USA 1997 title, she also became the first Idaho delegate to hold the Miss USA title.
The pageant was held in Shreveport, Louisiana for the first time, having been held in South Padre Island, Texas the previous three years and in Wichita, Kansas the four years prior. The new location was announced in August 1996, and then reigning Miss USA, Louisiana native Ali Landry, was invited to attend the official contract signing.
The pageant was hosted by George Hamilton for the only time, and Marla Maples Trump, soon-to-be ex-wife of pageant owner Donald Trump, offered colour commentary for the only time. Randy Newman provided entertainment during the competition.
Just prior to the final event it was announced that broadcaster CBS had entered a partnership with Trump, becoming half-owners of the Miss USA pageant and the associated Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe competitions.
While the delegates were in Louisiana, over sixty corporate sponsors provided funding for events, which included dinners, receptions and cocktail parties. There were over three hundred volunteers involved. The delegates were involved in more than forty-five hours of rehearsals prior to the preliminary competition and final show.
This was the first year in which delegates were allowed to choose whether they wanted to wear one-piece or two-piece bathing suits for the preliminary and final swimsuit competitions. In previous years, the delegates were all assigned to only wear either one or the other.

Results

Placements

Final ResultsContestant
Miss USA 1997
  • Hawaii - Brook Lee ∞
1st Runner-Up
  • Idaho - Brandi Sherwood ∞
    • 2nd Runner-Up
  • Tennessee - Towanna Stone
    • Top 6
  • Florida - Angelia Savage
  • Texas - Amanda Little
  • Utah - Temple Taggart
    • Top 10
  • Rhode Island - Claudia Jordan
  • Alabama - Autumn Smith
  • New Jersey - Jennifer Makris
  • Oklahoma - Trisha Stillwell
    • ∞ Lee won Miss Universe 1997. Due to protocol, Lee resigns her title as Miss USA 1997. 1st runner-up, Brandi Sherwood, replaces her as Miss USA.

    Special awards

    Preliminary competition

    The following are the contestants' scores in the preliminary competition.
    StateInterviewSwimsuitEvening gownAverage
    Alabama9.028.778.788.85
    Alaska8.187.457.727.78
    Arizona8.338.128.648.36
    Arkansas8.518.898.748.71
    California8.868.268.328.48
    Colorado8.277.948.488.23
    Connecticut8.348.818.818.65
    Delaware8.498.408.648.51
    District of Columbia8.648.508.658.60
    Florida9.448.959.139.17
    Georgia8.188.358.508.34
    Hawaii9.158.879.099.03
    Idaho8.638.839.198.88
    Illinois8.268.268.548.35
    Indiana8.518.668.718.63
    Iowa8.387.968.148.16
    Kansas8.968.498.348.60
    Kentucky8.518.458.898.62
    Louisiana8.778.418.608.59
    Maine8.308.378.308.32
    Maryland8.718.758.688.70
    Massachusetts8.558.318.378.41
    Michigan8.947.857.888.22
    Minnesota8.748.228.658.54
    Mississippi8.318.148.058.17
    Missouri8.698.758.778.74
    Montana8.708.648.668.67
    Nebraska8.807.677.768.08
    Nevada8.768.678.728.72
    New Hampshire8.677.917.307.96
    New Jersey9.028.478.818.76
    New Mexico8.188.468.378.34
    New York8.698.418.498.53
    North Carolina8.658.078.108.27
    North Dakota8.678.238.238.38
    Ohio8.988.078.298.45
    Oklahoma9.179.139.239.17
    Oregon8.997.637.618.08
    Pennsylvania8.668.368.248.42
    Rhode Island9.359.069.159.18
    South Carolina8.548.068.408.33
    South Dakota8.288.138.438.28
    Tennessee9.289.088.969.11
    Texas8.878.799.048.89
    Utah9.198.948.868.99
    Vermont8.547.977.898.13
    Virginia9.058.288.598.64
    Washington8.328.678.838.61
    West Virginia8.048.698.668.46
    Wisconsin8.567.897.457.97
    Wyoming8.147.607.877.87

    Final competition

    StateInterviewSwimsuitEvening GownAverageFinalists
    Idaho9.3009.5119.3039.3719.624
    Tennessee9.4739.5899.4749.5129.553
    Hawaii9.5149.3309.4739.4399.450
    Florida9.3089.7249.7379.5909.443
    Texas9.3149.3839.5319.4099.353
    Utah9.2079.6579.3979.4209.279
    Rhode Island9.3369.3279.4199.360-
    Alabama9.1939.5569.2939.347-
    New Jersey9.3149.2319.4249.323-
    Oklahoma9.0549.2849.1499.162-

    Delegates

    The Miss USA 1997 delegates were:
    Ten delegates had previously competed in either the Miss Teen USA or Miss America pageants.
    Delegates who had previously held a Miss Teen USA state title were:
    Delegates who had previously held a Miss America state title were: