SLIDESHOW: Meet newly crowned Miss USA Olivia Jordan

Olivia Jordan of Oklahoma was crowned Miss USA at the 64th edition of the annual pageant held on Sunday (Monday in Manila).

Jordan, an actress and graduate of Boston University, will represent the United States in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant.

Here are some photos of Jordan during the just-concluded Miss USA contest.

Mobile users can view the desktop version of the slideshow here.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

 

 

Fil-Am beauty is Miss USA 1st runner-up

REDWOOD CITY, California – Three Filipino-American contestants walked the Miss USA stage on Sunday night and one nabbed a top spot.

Miss North Dakota 2014, Filipina-American Audra Mari finished as first runner-up behind Miss Nevada Nia Sanchez.


Mari’s grandfather is originally from Pangasinan and came to the United States to become a doctor.

She’s a Dean’s List student at North Dakota State University in Fargo where she studies public relations.

She also holds the Miss Teen USA first runner-up title.

Filipino blood was also represented by Miss New York Candace Kendall and Miss Kansas Audrey Banach.

Both Kendall and Banach failed to make the top 20.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Fil-Dutch-American model wins Miss New York 2014

NEW YORK - Filipino-Dutch-American Candace Kendall was crowned the 2014 Miss New York on Sunday night at the Performing Arts Center in Purchase, New York.

The Rochester, New York native will represent New York in Donald Trump's Miss USA pageant this summer.

If she wins the Miss USA pageant, she will go on to represent the United States at the 2014 Miss Universe competition.

Kendall, whose father is Filipino-Dutch, was also crowned Miss Teen New York in 2006.

The 25-year-old Kendall was a student accounting assistant at the St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York.

After graduating in 2011, she has been working as a professional model.

In a previous ABS-CBN News interview, Kendall talked about her Filipino-Dutch roots.

"My father is Dutch and Filipino, my last name Kuykendall is Dutch, but my grandparents were from the Philippines, and I heard a little bit of Tagalog from them but I don't now how to speak it myself," Kendall said.

She said she dreams of being crowned Miss USA and then Miss Universe eventually.

Proud of her Filipino roots, Kendall said her unique mixed ethnicity is an advantage as a beauty queen and fashion model. It paved the way for a modeling gig in Singapore.

"I'm fortunate to have a Filipino background. It really helped me in Singapore... It kinda gives a look where a lot more people can relate to it. It helps me in being in Asia to model there," she said.

Kendall said if given the chance she would like to visit and possibly model in the Philippines in the near future.

"I would definitely consider that. I just wanna pursue my dream first of becoming Miss USA. In the future i think that would be a great opportunity," she said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Arab-American crowned 2010 Miss USA

LAS VEGAS — A 24-year-old Arab American from Michigan beat out 50 other women to take the 2010 Miss USA title Sunday night, despite nearly stumbling in her evening gown.

Rima Fakih of Dearborn, Mich., won the pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip after strutting confidently in an orange and gold bikini, wearing a strapless white gown that resembled a wedding dress and saying health insurance should cover birth control pills.

Miss Michigan Rima Fakih reacts as she is crowned Miss USA 2010 in Las Vegas on Sunday (Monday in Manila). AP-Isaac Brekken


When asked how she felt about winning the crown, she said, "Ask me after I've had a pizza."

Fakih, a Lebanese immigrant, told pageant organizers her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths. She moved to the United States as a baby and was raised in New York, where she attended a Catholic school. Her family moved to Michigan in 2003.

Pageant officials said historical pageant records were not detailed enough to show whether Fakih was the first Arab American, Muslim or immigrant to win the Miss USA title. The pageant started in 1952 as a local bathing suit competition in Long Beach, Calif.

Fakih told reporters she sold her car after graduating college in Michigan to help pay for her run in the Miss Michigan USA pageant.

She said she believed she had the title on Sunday after glancing at pageant owner Donald Trump as she awaited the results with the first runner-up, Miss Oklahoma USA Morgan Elizabeth Woolard.

"That's the same look that he gives them when he says, 'You're hired,'" on Trump's reality show "The Apprentice," she said.

"She's a great girl," said Trump, who owns the pageant with NBC in a joint venture.

In a moment that was replayed during the broadcast, Fakih nearly fell while finishing her walk in her gown because of the length of its train. But she made it without a spill and went on to win.

"I did it here, I better not do it at Miss Universe," she said. "Modeling does help, after all."

Fakih replaces Miss USA 2009 Kristen Dalton and won a spot representing the United States this summer in the 2010 Miss Universe pageant. She also gets a one-year lease in a New York apartment with living expenses, an undisclosed salary, and various health, professional and beauty services.

During the interview portion, Fakih was asked whether she thought birth control should be paid for by health insurance, and she said she believed it should because it's costly.

"I believe that birth control is just like every other medication even though it's a controlled substance," Fakih said.

Woolard handled the night's toughest question, about Arizona's new immigration law. Woolard said she supports the law, which requires police enforcing another law to verify a person's immigration status if there's "reasonable suspicion" that the person is in the country illegally.

She said she's against illegal immigration but is also against racial profiling.

"I'm a huge believer in states' rights. I think that's what's so wonderful about America," Woolard said. "So I think it's perfectly fine for Arizona to create that law."

"The Office" actor Oscar Nunez was booed as he asked the question and asked the audience to wait until he finished the question before they reacted. The panel of judges came up with the questions themselves.

Miss Virginia USA Samantha Evelyn Casey was the second runner-up, Miss Colorado USA Jessica Hartman was third runner-up, and Miss Maine USA Katherine Ashley Whittier was the fourth runner-up.

Most of the field of contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia were eliminated just after the pageant began and the entire group danced onstage to "TiK ToK" by Ke$ha.

A panel of eight judges, including NBA star Carmelo Anthony, Treasure Island casino-hotel owner Phil Ruffin and Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, were judging the girls throughout the night.

After 15 contestants strutted in swimsuits, five were eliminated. Another five were eliminated after the evening gown competition.

Miss Nebraska USA Belinda Renee Wright won the Miss Congeniality award, roughly one week after her father was killed in a farm accident. Miss Alabama USA Audrey Moore won Miss Photogenic after an online fan vote.

The competition, which is not affiliated with the Miss America pageant, was hosted by celebrity chef Curtis Stone and NBC correspondent Natalie Morales. —AP


Source: gmanews.tv