Miss USA 2026 is the first mother to win the pageant

Miss USA has crowned its new winner!

On Thursday, Aug. 27, the organization hosted the 75th edition of the national pageant, where 50 contestants competed for the title at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. This year, the pageant was themed “75 Years of Icons” in honor of the pageant’s historic year.

Justus Kelley, 31, who was Miss Virginia USA 2026, took home the title, with last year’s winner, Audrey Eckert, 24, bestowing the crown on her successor. Kelley’s win is historic, as she will be the first-ever mother to hold the Miss USA title, following the organization’s rule changes in 2023, which saw the end of the age cap on contestants and permitted contestants who are mothers. Kelley will also be the first married woman to ever hold the title of Miss USA as well.

The pageant celebrated the women of Miss USA, who have held crowns for the past 75 years. Just before the title was announced, the pageant invited legacy queens to the stage to be thanked for representing the crown. While Justus Kelley was the first legitimate winner of the pageant who is a mother and married woman, back in 1957 Mary Leona Gage was crowned Miss USA, before ultimately having her title stripped after it was revealed that she was, in fact, married and the mother of two sons.

Before Kelley was announced as winner, the hosts of the Miss USA 2026 pageant, Kenya Moore and Ian Ziering, invited some of the legacy queens on stage to announce the top five.

Miss Utah USA Alayzia Christopher placed fourth runner-up. Iowa’s Madeline Erickson placed third runner-up. Miss Pennsylvania USA Elizabeth Voight placed as second runner-up.

In the last two weeks leading up to the pageant, the 51 contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia spent time in Miami, preparing for the preliminary competitions, including the costume competition and preliminary swimsuit competitions.

This year’s Miss USA will walk away with a prize package valued at over $685,000, which includes a $150,000 salary, a Range Rover, a one-year lease in a luxury Miami apartment residence, a Westgate Vacation Home Club, a $30,000 Miss Universe wardrobe, and more.

Yesterday, on Aug. 26, the 44th Miss Teen USA was also crowned. Miss Georgia Teen USA Kiran Reddy, 18, took home the crown, which Miss Teen USA 2025 Mailyn Marsh bestowed on her.

During last year’s Miss USA pageant, Miss Universe 2024, Victoria Kjær Theilvig, crowned Eckert on Oct. 24, 2025, instead, in place of Alma Cooper. Just before the Miss USA 2025 pageant was set to take place, Cooper, the 2024 winner, posted that she would not be returning to the pageant, which took place in Reno, Nev., to crown her successor.

“After much consideration, I’ve made the extremely difficult decision not to attend this year’s Miss USA pageant and crowning ceremony to instead stand in honor of my values, work, and resolve,” the former titleholder wrote in the caption of her post.

“As I close this chapter, I do so with the knowledge that I finished what I started with integrity and my self-worth held high, just like the crown I was honored to wear.”

Before the pageant controversy, the Miss USA organization underwent internal changes, including a leadership shakeup.

In September, pageant coach and judge Thom Brodeur announced on Instagram that he would acquire the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA brands, previously led by Laylah Rose.

-People.com