Pianist
From Nebraska Crowned Miss AmericaLas Vegas, Nevada
Teresa Scanlan, the youngest ever, said her age will help the pageant regain some of its relevance in the popular culture as she travels to advocate against eating disorders.
"This just shows that no matter where you come from, you can accomplish anything you want," she said at a post-event press conference. "I'm really excited it doesn't matter how old you are and to get some new girls into the program."
Scanlan's age was clearly an issue for judges as they deliberated, and several of them referred to it.
"I have to say I was skeptical about having a 17-year-old girl as Miss America, but this is a 17-year-old woman who is very knowledgeable about current events, about pop culture, very knowledgeable about her platform," said Marc Cherry, creator of the TV show Desperate Housewives. "I was sold."
Scanlan received a diamond tiara and a $50,000 scholarship she plans to use to help pay for a law degree.
She said she hopes to be a criminal attorney and potentially an elected representative. She hails from a town of 8,000 people where she is one of seven children born to the daughter of Yugoslavian immigrants who fled the Communist takeover.
During the talent portion of the show, she played Whitewater Chopsticks on the piano, the only instrumentalist among the final 10 who performed.
In the question-and-answer portion of the competition that immediately preceded her coronation, the beauty queen was asked her opinion of how the United States should address the release of classified documents by WikiLeaks.
She was vague about what should be done but she referred to WikiLeaks' actions "espionage."
During
the press conference, she said the release of thousands of cables was
"a huge issue of national security. There are areas where free speech
becomes a matter of national security. We have to be very careful with
that."
The gleeful teen is now standard-bearer for a legendary competition that has fallen on hard times in recent years as the public became more interested in the rival Miss USA pageant.
Declining ratings had led the ABC network to dump the pageant in 2005, so it aired to much smaller ratings on pay-television networks. This year, ABC gave it another shot at a mass audience.
The Miss America Organization stresses that it hands out millions in scholarships to young American women and veers away from the sort of sordid tabloid-style controversy for which Miss USA is known.
"America loves a comeback story," said Stan Haskell, chairman of the Miss America Organization. "When you figure out how education and scholarship and talent and service are all put in the forefront, there was nothing to do but comeback."
In honor of the 90th anniversary of the pageant, 47 former Miss Americas gathered on stage before Scanlan's coronation.
The most controversial ones - 1945 winner Bess Myerson, who later
was convicted of tax fraud, and 1984 winner Vanessa Williams, who was
dethroned when nude photos of her emerged following her crowning - were
not in attendance.
In the final question, she was asked about the leaking of confidential government information by website WikiLeaks and whether U.S. security or the people's right to know sensitive information was more important.
Scanlan saw the leaks as a matter of espionage and said: "When it comes to the security of our nation, we have to focus on security first and then people's right to know ... We can't let things like that happen, and they must be handled properly, and I think that was the case."
The first runner-up, who will take Miss America's place in the case Scanlan can't perform her new role, was Miss Arkansas Alyse Eady.
Among
other noteworthy contestants was Miss Delaware, Kayla Martell, who made
it into the semifinals. Martell suffers from a disease, alopecia
areata, that caused her to lose all her hair at age 10, and she
competed in a wig.
This year marked the 90th pageant in the history of Miss America.
The organization runs achievement programs and is a major provider of
scholarship assistance for young women. In 2010, the group and its
state and local affiliates helped give out more than $45 million in
cash and scholarship assistance.
Fifty-three women were chosen from states and territories across the country in local contests before they headed to Las Vegas and the final pageant Saturday.
As Miss America, Scanlan will take the next year to travel the United States and raise awareness about eating disorders.
Miss America 2010, Caressa Cameron from Virginia, 22, was a goodwill ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network, and she spent the year helping raise awareness for HIV/AIDS.
In the week ahead of Saturday's competition, contestants were judged in preliminary events for evening wear, fitness and swimsuits and answer questions in an interview.
From those events, 11 semifinalists were chosen to compete Saturday night. Joining them were four other contestants -- two picked by online voting and two others by the remaining young women in the pageant.
The 15 semifinalists were narrowed Saturday in contests that again include evening wear, fitness and swimsuits, talent and a final on-stage question for the top five women. Then, the top five were ranked to get to the new Miss America.
This year, seven panelists judged contestants in the final round as they answered their question in 20 seconds. The judges -- including TV talk show co-host Joy Behar, "Dancing With the Stars" professional dancer Tony Dovolani, and "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry, among others -- watched for confidence, knowledge and quick thinking in formulating an answer.
Joining Miss Nebraska and Arkansas among the five finalists were women from Hawaii, Washington and Oklahoma.
The show included a rousing opening musical number by all 53 contestants, and it was hosted by TV personalities Brooke Burke and Chris Harrison.
Information from:
Agence France-Presse (AFP); reported by Steve Friess
REUTERS; reported by Bob Tourtellotte