A new Miss USA has been crowned.
Miss Virginia Justus Kelley was named the winner of the 75th Miss USA pageant on Thursday at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, becoming Virginia's first winner since 1970. She was crowned by Miss USA 2025 Audrey Eckert.
Kelley, 31, is a foster mom of two, a nonprofit founder, and a children's book author. She's also the first married woman, first mother, and first woman in her 30s to win Miss USA. The pageant only began allowing married women and mothers to compete in 2023, and 2024 was the first year that all women 18 and over were eligible. The previous cutoff age was 28.
Kelley will represent the United States at the Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico in November.
A historic pageant
Fifty-one women competed for the Miss USA crown, taking part in swimsuit, evening gown, and interview rounds during the preliminary competition earlier this week in Miami.
The top 20 competed in an onstage swimsuit round, while the top 10 also competed in an evening gown round.
Those who made the top five were asked to answer a final question. For Kelley, that question was: "For 75 years, Miss USA has reflected the changing face of American women. If you become the 75th Miss USA, what do you hope your year will say about women in America today?"
"We are here tonight celebrating the 75th anniversary of Miss USA, but we also have an opportunity to make history tonight," Kelley responded. "I'm 31 years old, I'm married to my college sweetheart of nine years, and we are proud foster parents of two adorable siblings that absolutely have my heart."
"What my year as Miss USA would mean and look like is no longer questioning if we have to choose between our ambitious careers, our families, and our wildest dreams," she continued. "I'm standing on this stage embracing every part of who I am, and I believe that I can be your next Miss USA."
She addressed her history-making win at a press conference after the pageant, saying it was "a huge honor."
"I look at this like a responsibility to know that I was trusted to be the first," she said about being the first mother and married woman to win the title, adding that she "won't be the last."
Kelley, a big fan of thrifting, also dressed in secondhand clothing for the pageant.
"I had gone into the competition weekend wearing an all-thrifted wardrobe for each phase," she said. "I loved one of my first USA state pageants, walking in with a really special suit that I found in Goodwill, and as soon as I walked in, the judges said, 'Oh, you look stunning,' and I said, 'Thank you, $9.99 at Goodwill.'"
Though she fell in love with the thrill of "the hunt" while thrifting, she said she realized it was a way to show people you "don't have to spend a million dollars" to be up on the pageant stage.
A new category, a new judge
This year, the Miss USA contestants were also judged on a brand-new category called "commercial appeal," which evaluated how they might attract sponsorships.
"When it comes to commercial appeal, Miss USA shouldn't only look incredible wearing that crown, they should make the rest of the world want to work with the woman wearing it," Miss USA host and actor Ian Ziering said about the category during the live show.
Ziering's co-host, Miss USA 1993 Kenya Moore, added that the pageant was "putting emphasis" on the winner's "ability to connect with a camera, with major brands, with beauty campaigns, and more" by adding the new criteria.
"Commercial appeal" was judged based on a portfolio of non-pageant images that were submitted to this year's judges, who were present for all rounds of the competition, including the preliminary rounds.
On Tuesday, Miss USA announced on its Instagram page that the audience would also have a say in the top 10 during the finals. "Your vote can have a real impact on who advances," the Instagram caption read.
Fans watching from home were given a 12-minute window to cast their votes on a website. They were combined with the judges' scores, though it was unclear how much weight the fan votes held. By the end of the 12 minutes, Miss Montana was leading, but she didn't make it to the top 10.
A new reign
Miss USA has undergone several changes following a tumultuous few years. The pageant has had three different leaders since 2020 amid scandals that included rigging accusations, lawsuits, and queens relinquishing their crowns.
This year's final show was originally supposed to air on The CW, but, as Business Insider first reported, the network dropped the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA finals from its schedule on August 20.
"After careful consideration and conversations with the Miss USA Organization, The CW Network has decided to forego next week's broadcasts of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants," a spokesperson for the network said in a statement.
In an Instagram story posted the same day, the Miss USA organization said it had identified a "contractual issue with our production arrangements that could not be resolved within the necessary timeframe."
"Since then, our team has worked diligently to explore options that would allow us to continue with a live broadcast on The CW," it added. "Unfortunately, we were unable to reach mutually agreeable terms for this year's event."
The final competition for both pageants was available to watch live on the Queen Beauty Network, a streaming service focused on the pageant industry, as it was in 2025.
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Anneta Konstantinides is a lifestyle correspondent at Business Insider, with a focus on food and travel. She loves taking readers inside Michelin-starred kitchens and exploring the world of fine-dining, and she's always trying to find the best Ina Garten and Gordon Ramsay recipes. Her second home is LAX, where she's often catching a flight and reviewing airlines.Anneta has also been reporting on the pageant industry for the last six years and has interviewed every Miss USA and Miss Universe winner since 2019. She was a finalist at the LA Press Club Awards for her investigation into the 2022 Miss USA scandal and was featured in The New York Times Presents episode "How to Fix a Pageant" on Hulu in September 2023. After graduating from UCLA with a B.A in English Literature and a minor in film & television, Anneta worked as a journalist in London, Sydney, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. You can reach Anneta at [email protected].
