| Miss Alabama | |
| Type: | Beauty pageant |
| Headquarters: | Birmingham |
| Location: | Alabama |
| Membership: | Miss America |
| Language: | English |
The Miss Alabama competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alabama in the annual Miss America Competition.
Alabama has won three Miss America titles: Deidre Downs in 2005, Heather Whitestone (the first deaf woman to win the Miss America crown) in 1995, and Yolande Betbeze in 1951. Betbeze is also known as the contestant who refused to pose in a swimsuit, causing swimsuit sponsor Catalina Swimwear to pull out and ultimately start the Miss USA pageant.
Abbie Stockard of Vestavia was crowned Miss Alabama 2024 on June 29, 2024, at Samford University's Wright Center in Birmingham, Alabama. She will compete for the title of Miss America 2025.
The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss Alabama titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.
| Year | Name | Hometown | Age | Local Title | Miss America Talent | Placement at Miss America | Special scholarships at Miss America | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Abbie Stockard | Vestavia | 21 | Miss Hoover | Dance | TBA | TBA | |
| 2023 | Brianna Burrell[1] | Mobile | 25 | Miss Baldwin County | Vocal | Preliminary Evening Gown Award | ||
| 2022 | Lindsay Fincher | Wedowee | 22 | Miss University of Alabama | Jazz Dance, "Bossa Nova Baby" | Jean Bartel Social Impact Initiative 1st runner up | ||
| 2021 | Lauren Bradford[2] | Gulf Shores | 21 | Miss Jefferson County | Violin | 1st runner-up | Jean Bartel Social Impact Initiative Winner South Dakota University STEM Scholarship Top Fundraiser 2nd Place Women in Business Finalist | Previously Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2017 after Jessica Baeder was crowned Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2018[3] |
| 2019–20 | Tiara Pennington[4] | Helena | 20 | Miss University of Alabama | Classical Vocal, “Nessun Dorma" from Turandot | Top 7[5] | Previously Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2016[6] Top 11 at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2017 pageant[7] | |
| 2018 | Callie Walker[8] | Birmingham | 20 | Miss Tuscaloosa | Ballet en Pointe, "Hoe-Down" from Rodeo | Top 10[9] | CMN Miracle Maker Award 2nd runner-up | Daughter of Miss Alabama 1985, Angela Tower Walker[10] Previously Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2012 |
| 2017 | Jessica Procter[11] | Tuscaloosa | 21 | Miss Leeds Area | Vocal, "Over the Rainbow" | Top 7[12] | Quality of Life Award Winner[13] | Previously Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2013 2nd runner-up at Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2014 pageant[14] |
| 2016 | Hayley Barber[15] | Pelham | 22 | Miss Shelby County | Tap Dance, "Big Noise from Winnetka" | Quality of Life Award Winner[16] [17] STEM Scholarship Award CMN Miracle Maker Award | Contestant at National Sweetheart 2013 pageant | |
| 2015 | Meg McGuffin[18] | Ozark | 22 | Miss Phenix City | Jazz Ballet en Pointe, "Enigma Variation" from The Matrix | 4th runner up | Quality of Life Award 2nd runner-up | Previously Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2007 |
| 2014 | Caitlin Brunell[19] | Tuscaloosa | 22 | Miss Leeds Area | Dance, "Let It Go" from Frozen | Top 10[20] | Quality of Life Award Winner[21] | Daughter of former NFL quarterback, Mark Brunell[22] Previously Miss Virginia's Outstanding Teen 2007[23] Previously Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2008[24] |
| 2013 | Chandler Champion[25] | Leeds | 20 | Miss Leeds Area | Jazz Ballet en Pointe, "Top Secret" | Non-finalist Talent Award | Older sister of Zoe Champion, Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2019[26] | |
| 2012 | Anna Laura Bryan[27] | Decatur | 22 | Miss Hoover | Vocal, "Sempre Libera" from La Traviata | Top 12 | Quality of Life Award Winner Duke of Edinburgh Silver Medal | |
| 2011 | Courtney Porter[28] | Clay | 24 | Miss Leeds Area | Tap Dance, "I Got Rhythm" | Top 13 | Chosen by fellow contestants as the "Wild Card," earning her a spot in the Top 13[29] | |
| 2010 | Ashley Davis[30] | Dothan | 21 | Miss West Central Alabama | Vocal, "If I Had My Way" | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
| 2009 | Liz Cochran[31] | Helena | 20 | Miss Hoover | Dance, "He Lives in You" | Quality of Life Award Finalist[32] | ||
| 2008 | Amanda Tapley[33] | Birmingham | 20 | Miss Samford University | Classical Piano | Top 15 | Quality of Life Award 2nd runner-up | Was awarded a "Golden Sash" on Miss America: Countdown to the Crown, earning a spot in the Top 15 at the Miss America 2009 pageant[34] |
| 2007 | Jamie Langley[35] | Wadley | 24 | Miss Painted Rock | Vocal, "Listen" | CMN Miracle Maker Award 2nd runner-up Quality of Life Award Finalist | ||
| 2006 | Melinda Toole[36] | Birmingham | 23 | Miss Samford University | Vocal, "Time to Say Goodbye" | 4th runner-up | Miss Congeniality Quality of Life Award 2nd runner-up | |
| 2005 | Alexa Jones[37] | Andalusia | 24 | Miss Mobile | Ballet en Pointe, "Fuego" | 2nd runner-up | Quality of Life Award 2nd runner-up | |
| 2004 | Shannon Camper[38] | Gadsden | Miss West Central Alabama | Vocal | colspan=3 | |||
| Deidre Downs[39] | Birmingham | 24 | Miss Leeds Area | Vocal, "I'm Afraid This Must Be Love" | Winner[40] | Quality of Life Award Winner | ||
| 2003 | Catherine Crosby[41] | Brewton | 23 | Miss Homewood Area | Flute, "Riverdance" | Top 15 | Quality of Life Award Winner Active International For Business & Marketing | |
| 2002 | Scarlotte Deupree[42] | Birmingham | 22 | Miss Camellia | Vocal, "Holding Out for a Hero" | 1st runner-up | Quality of Life Award 1st runner-up | |
| 2001 | Kelly Jones[43] | Birmingham | 24 | Miss Homewood Area | Classical Piano, "Ballade No. 1 in G Minor" | |||
| 2000 | Jana Sanderson[44] | Gadsden | 21 | Miss Samford University | Vocal, "I'm a Woman" | Top 10 | ||
| 1999 | Julie Smith[45] | Birmingham | 23 | Miss Chattahoochee Valley | Marimba, "Flight of the Bumblebee" & Csárdás" medley | Top 10 | Quality of Life Award 2nd runner-up | Competed with her younger twin sisters, Jill and Jennifer, at Miss Alabama 1997 pageant[46] |
| 1998 | Ashley Halfman[47] | Birmingham | 23 | Miss Cullman Area | Ballet en Pointe, "Everybody Says Don't" | Previously Alabama's Junior Miss 1993[48] | ||
| 1997 | Beth Stomps[49] | Mobile | 20 | Miss Alabama Music Hall of Fame | Vocal, "Love Changes Everything" from Aspects of Love | |||
| 1996 | Alison McCreary | Florence | 22 | Miss Samford University | Vocal, "How Great Thou Art" | 3rd runner-up | Quality of Life Award Winner | |
| 1995 | Leigh Sherer | Jasper | 22 | Miss Walker County | Piano / Vocal Medley from Carmen | Top 10 | Quality of Life Award Finalist | Current Mu Alpha Sigma Alumni (Former State and Local Contestants) coordinator of the Miss Alabama pageant under married name, Leigh Seirafi[50] |
| 1994 | Amie Beth Dickinson | Miss Samford University | colspan=3 | |||||
| Heather Whitestone | Birmingham | 21 | Miss Cullman Area | Ballet en Pointe, "Via Dolorosa" | Winner[51] | Preliminary Swimsuit Award Preliminary Talent Award Quality of Life Award 1st runner-up | First deaf woman crowned Miss Alabama and Miss America[52] | |
| 1993 | Kalyn Chapman | Mobile | 22 | Miss Leeds Area | Modern Dance, "The River" | Top 10 | First African-American Miss Alabama[53] | |
| 1992 | Kim Wimmer | Mobile | 21 | Miss Point Mallard | Vocal, "Hold On" from The Secret Garden | Quality of Life Award Winner | Previously Alabama's Junior Miss 1989 | |
| 1991 | Wendy Neuendorf | Birmingham | 22 | Miss Auburn University | Vocal Comedy, "They Can't Take That Away From Me" | Previously Miss Georgia Teen USA 1986[54] | ||
| 1990 | Resha Riggins | Trussville | 24 | Miss Alabama Music Hall of Fame | Vocal, "Cry" | Non-finalist Interview Award Quality of Life Award Finalist | ||
| 1989 | Julie Coons | Birmingham | 20 | Miss Hope | Vocal, "For Once In My Life" | |||
| 1988 | Jenny Jackson | Auburn | 21 | Miss Auburn University | Classical Piano, "Warsaw Concerto" | 4th runner-up | ||
| 1987 | Kym Williams | Birmingham | 22 | Miss All-American Bowl | Vocal, "If We Only Have Love" | Assumed title after Hitt resigned[55] | ||
| Julie Hitt | 25 | Miss Classic | N/A | Resigned because she felt she would not be able to fulfill responsibilities of the title | ||||
| 1986 | Angela Callahan | Birmingham | 20 | Miss All-American Bowl | Piano, "The Windmills of Your Mind" | Top 10 | ||
| 1985 | Angela Tower | Birmingham | 25 | Miss Jefferson County | Ballet en Pointe, "Chariots of Fire" | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Toured with 1986 Miss America Gillette Show Troupe Mother of Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2010, Scarlett Walker, and Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2012 and Miss Alabama 2018, Callie Walker |
| 1984 | Tammy Little | Section | 23 | Miss Hoover Area | Vocal, "Hit Me With a Hot Note" from Sophisticated Ladies | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
| 1983 | Pam Battles | Muscle Shoals | 21 | Miss Dixie | Piano, Medley of George Gershwin pieces | 2nd runner-up | ||
| 1982 | Yolanda Fernandez | Troy | 19 | Miss Troy State University | Classical Piano, "Fantasie Impromptu" | 3rd runner-up | Previously Florida's Junior Miss 1980 Reporter for WFLA-TV Channel 8[56] | |
| 1981 | Phoebe Stone | Huntsville | 22 | Miss Eastwood | Ballet, "Mame" | |||
| 1980 | Paige Phillips | Leeds | 17 | Miss Leeds Area | Double Ventriloquism / Vocal, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody," "Swanee," & "Mame" | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| 1979 | Kathy Pickett | Mulga | 26 | Miss Birmingham | Classical Vocal, "Sempre Libera" from La Traviata | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
| 1978 | Teresa Cheatham | Wellington | 20 | Miss Point Mallard | Semi-classical Vocal, "And This Is My Beloved" | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award Preliminary Talent Award | |
| 1977 | Julie Houston | Heflin | 22 | Miss Oak Mountain | Banjo, "Beverly Hillbillies Theme" | |||
| 1976 | Denise Davis | Russellville | 18 | Miss Mannequins | Popular Vocal | Toured with Miss America USO Troupe | ||
| 1975 | Susie Vaughn | Florence | 21 | Miss University of North Alabama | Classical Vocal, "Vilja" from The Merry Widow | |||
| 1974 | Pam Long | 20 | Miss Florence State University | Ventriloquism | Screenwriter of soap opera Guiding Light | |||
| 1973 | Jane Rice | Huntsville | 21 | Miss Jacksonville State University | Vocal, "Tapestry" & "I Will Never Pass This Way Again" | |||
| 1972 | Freita Fuller | Opelika | 19 | Miss Lake Eufala | Hula & Tahitian Dance | |||
| 1971 | Ceil Jenkins | Birmingham | 21 | Miss Northeast Alabama | Vocal / Dance, "But Alive" from Applause | |||
| 1970 | Suzanne Dennie | 20 | Popular Vocal, "Alfie" | Preliminary Talent Award | ||||
| 1969 | Ann Fowler | 21 | Vocal, "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" from Fiddler on the Roof | Previously Alabama's Junior Miss 1966 | ||||
| 1968 | Dellynne Catching | Birmingham | 19 | Piano Medley, "Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum," "America the Beautiful," & "This Is My Country" | Top 10 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
| 1967 | Becky Alford[57] [58] [59] [60] [61] | Birmingham | 20 | Vocal, "Ain't This a Pretty Night" from Susannah | ||||
| 1966 | Angie Grooms | Birmingham | 21 | Folk Vocal & Guitar, "Today" & "If I Had a Hammer" | Top 10 | |||
| 1965 | Linda Folsom | New Brockton | 20 | Classical Vocal, "Caro Nome" from Rigoletto | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| 1964 | Vickie Powers | Mobile | 19 | Classical Vocal, "Habanera" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | Featured performer on the Miss America 1966 pageant | |
| 1963 | Judy Short | Birmingham | 18 | Marimba, "Horst Toccata" | Top 10 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award Preliminary Talent Award | Previously Alabama's Junior Miss 1962 | |
| 1962 | Patricia Bonner | Camden | 22 | Classical Vocal, "O Luce di Quest'Anima" from Linda di Chamounix | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| 1961 | Patricia Ellisor | Assumed the title when Delores Hodgens resigned in November after competing in Miss America in September. | ||||||
| 1961 | Delores Hodgens | Bessemer | 23 | Classical Piano, "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12" | Top 10 | |||
| 1960 | Teresa Rinaldi | Birmingham | 20 | Classical Vocal, "Addio" from La bohème | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| 1959 | Betty Lindstrom | Birmingham | 19 | Dramatic Reading, "Miss Quiss" | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
| 1958 | Lee Thornberry | Birmingham | Vocal / Dance, "Honey Bun"' from South Pacific | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| 1957 | Anna Stange | Birmingham | Monologue from Mourning Becomes Electra | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||||
| 1956 | Anne Stuart Ariail | Birmingham | Vocal / Dance, "Ado Annie" from Oklahoma | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| 1955 | Patricia Huddleston | Clanton | 21 | Classical Vocal, "Pace, Pace Mio Dio!" from La Forza del Destino | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| 1954 | Marilyn Tate | Haleyville | 21 | Ventriloquism / Classical Piano | Top 10 | |||
| 1953 | Virginia McDavid[62] | Birmingham | 18 | Monologue, "Tara"' from Gone With the Wind | 3rd runner-up | |||
| 1952 | Gwen Harmon | 19 | Vocal, "A Heart That's Free" | 3rd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | |||
| 1951 | Bettye Burson | Assumed title after Jeanne Moody resigned after competing at Miss America. | ||||||
| 1951 | Jeanne Moody | Cherokee | 21 | Dramatic Skit, "Sorry Wrong Number" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| 1950 | Yolande Betbeze | Mobile | 21 | Classical Vocal, "Caro Nome" from Rigoletto | Winner | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Betbeze's refusal to pose in a swimsuit lead to the pull-out of swimsuit sponsors Catalina and ultimately the creation of the Miss USA pageant. [63] The Miss Alabama title was not assigned to a runner-up after Yolande Betbeze won the title of Miss America. | |
| 1949 | Freida Roser | Birmingham | Classical Vocal | |||||
| 1948 | Martha Ann Ingram | Tarrant | Classical Vocal, "Quando me'n vo'" | 2nd runner-up | Multiple Alabama representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||
| Marjorie Orr | Birmingham | Miss Birmingham | ||||||
| 1947 | Peggy June Elder | Gadsden | Vocal, "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" | 3rd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | Previously "Miss Dixie 1947" Peggy June Elder Butler passed away at age 93 on April 30, 2023 at home in Gadsden, Alabama. | ||
| 1946 | Dale Nunnally | Preliminary Talent Award | Multiple Alabama representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||||
| Sue Donegan | Birmingham | Miss Birmingham | ||||||
| 1945 | Frances Dorn | Birmingham | Miss Birmingham | Tap Dance | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | Competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |
| 1944 | Betty Jane Rase | Vocal Medley, "My Hero" from The Chocolate Soldier & "Lover, Come Back to Me" | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award Preliminary Talent Award | ||||
| 1943 | Toula Hagestratou | Birmingham | Miss Birmingham | Miss Congeniality | ||||
| 1942 | Marie Duncan | Birmingham | Miss Birmingham | Vocal, "I Met Him On Monday" | Top 10 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||
| 1941 | Virginia McGraw | Tap Dance with Rope Jumping | Top 15 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||||
| 1940 | Evelyn Motlow | Birmingham | Miss Birmingham | Vocal | Multiple Alabama representatives Contestants competed under local title at Miss America pageant | |||
| Carolyn Foreman | Montgomery | Miss Montgomery | ||||||
| 1939 | Florine Holt | Birmingham | Miss Birmingham | Vocal, "Moonglow" & "A Little Bit of Heaven" | Top 15 | |||
| Louise Robertson | Montgomery | Miss Montgomery | ||||||
| 1938 | Mildred Oxford | Birmingham | Miss Birmingham | Tap Dance / Toe Ballet | Top 15 | |||
| Patricia McDaniel | Montgomery | Miss Montgomery | ||||||
| 1937 | Josephine Beall | Samson | Miss Birmingham | |||||
| Ingram Starkey | Montgomery | Miss Montgomery | ||||||
| 1936 | Tommy Marie Peck | Florence | Miss Alabama | Won a tri-state competition held in Tupelo, Mississippi, and was awarded the title of "Miss Alabama" | Top 15 | |||
| Gloria Levinge | Birmingham | Miss Birmingham | Tap Dance | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| 1935 | Adelynn Owen | Birmingham | 23 | Miss Birmingham | Recited 2 poems and sang a song in French and English | Competed under local title at Miss America pageant | ||
| 1934 | No national pageant was held[64] | |||||||
| 1933 | No Alabama representative at Miss America pageant | |||||||
| 1932 | No national pageants were held | |||||||
| 1931 | ||||||||
| 1930 | ||||||||
| 1929 | ||||||||
| 1928 | ||||||||
| 1927 | No Alabama representative at Miss America pageant | |||||||
| 1926 | Vivian McDowell | Miss Mobile | [65] | |||||
| 1925 | Nellie Kincaid | Birmingham | Miss Birmingham | |||||
| 1924 | Mildred Adams | Birmingham | ||||||
| 1923 | Louise Newman[66] | Birmingham | ||||||
| 1922 | Elise Sparrow[67] | 24 | Competed under local title at national pageant Married Boston Red Sox owner, Tom Yawkey, in 1925 and later divorced in 1944[68] | |||||
| 1921 | Lois Wilson |