7 celebrities who competed at Miss USA, including Olivia Culpo and Halle Berry

By Anneta Konstantinides

Berry represented Ohio at Miss USA in 1986. She was first runner-up to Miss Texas, Christy Fichtner, who was the first runner-up at Miss Universe. If Fichtner had won, Berry would have inherited the Miss USA crown. 

That same year, Berry was the first African-American woman to represent the USA at the Miss World competition. She finished in sixth place. 

While Berry didn't take home the Miss USA or Miss World crowns, she continued to make history in Hollywood. In 1999, Berry took on the title role in "Introducing Dorothy Dandridge," a biopic about the first Black woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for best actress. The role won Berry both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. 

Three years later, it was Berry who became the first Black woman to win the coveted best actress Oscar. She took home the trophy for her role in the 2001 film "Monster's Ball."  

Moore took home the Miss USA crown while representing Michigan in 1993. She placed in the top six at Miss Universe. 

Moore's pageant success kicked off a Hollywood acting career that included stints on TV shows like "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Living Single," and "Girlfriends"; films like "Waiting to Exhale" and "Deliver Us from Eva"; and music videos with Nas and Tupac. 

Moore went on to become a Bravo star, appearing on "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" from 2012 to 2024. She has also appeared as a contestant on "The Apprentice," "Dancing With the Stars," and "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test." 

Moakler represented New York at Miss USA 1995. She was first runner-up to Miss Texas, Chelsi Smith, but assumed the title of Miss USA after Smith won Miss Universe. 

Like many of her predecessors, Moakler ventured into Hollywood after her pageant career came to an end, appearing on shows including "Pacific Blue" and "Entourage." Moakler was married to Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker for four years, briefly starring in the E! reality show "Meet the Barkers." The couple, who divorced in 2008, share two children. Moakler also shares a daughter with boxer Oscar De La Hoya. 

Moakler has appeared as a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars" and "Celebrity Big Brother." She also remains active in the Miss USA organization, currently serving as the executive director for both the Miss Utah USA and Miss Nevada USA state pageants.

Landry took home the pageant's top prize in 1996 while representing Louisiana in the competition, and she went on to place in the top six in the Miss Universe pageant in the same year.

She transferred her pageant success into a career in entertainment, notably starring in a series of Doritos ads, including a spot that aired during the Super Bowl in 1999. 

Landry's biggest role was as Rita Lefleur on UPN's "Eve," which she appeared in from 2003 to 2006, according to her IMDb page. She most recently appeared in the controversial 2023 film "Sound of Freedom."

Landry was married to Mario Lopez — but only very briefly. The pair dated for six years before saying "I do" in 2004, but their marriage was annulled two weeks later after Landry found out Lopez had cheated on her, according to Yahoo! Entertainment. 

After becoming Miss USA and Miss Universe, the Rhode Island native amassed a huge social media following and established a career as an influencer. She currently has 5.5 million Instagram followers.

Culpo dipped her toe into acting after her streak of pageant wins, appearing in "I Feel Pretty" with Amy Schumer and "The Other Woman" with Cameron Diaz, as her IMDb page states. She also starred in one season of the TLC reality series "The Culpo Sisters" with her family. 

She is married to San Francisco 49ers player Christian McCaffrey. The couple announced the birth of their daughter in July 2025.

Brown did not place in the top 15 of the Miss USA pageant but went on to compete on season 23 of "The Bachelor" with Colton Underwood in the same year. She placed seventh and was named the next star of "The Bachelorette" in 2019.

Brown gave her final rose to Jed Wyatt and accepted his proposal at the end of the series, but their engagement ended a few months later after she found out he was dating someone else up until the day he left to film the show.

After her time on "The Bachelorette" ended, Brown went on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," ultimately winning season 28 of the series.

In 2021, Brown published a memoir, "God Bless This Mess," which became a New York Times bestseller. She married entrepreneur Adam Woolard in July.

Miller-Keyes represented North Carolina in the 2018 Miss USA pageant. 

Like Brown, Miller-Keyes went on to compete for Colton Underwood's heart in season 23 of "The Bachelor," placing fourth.

She appeared on the spin-off series "Bachelor in Paradise" in 2019, where she met Dean Unglert. He briefly left the show without her, but he then returned and asked her to leave with him, which she did. The couple wed in September 2023.

Today, Miller-Keyes is an influencer with over 1 million Instagram followers.