Miss Illinois USA 2023 is Samantha Elliott of Freeport


Miss Freeport, Samantha Elliott, was crowned Miss Illinois USA 2023 in a glittering state competition held on Sunday, May 28 at Braden Auditorium of the Illinois State University.

The runners-up were Grace Rodi of DuPage County, Olivia Santelli of Edison Park, Yolina Lindquist of Southern Illinois, and Abby Foster of East Central.

Samantha succeeds Angel Reyes, last year's winner who placed fourth runner-up and bagged the Miss Photogenic award at Miss USA 2022.

The 22-year-old University of Kansas alumna with degrees in accounting and analytics will now prepare to represent Illinois at Miss USA 2023 in Reno, Nevada this fall.

"Truly honored to be your new Miss Illinois USA. Words cannot express how excited I am to get this year started and to be headed to Miss USA," she wrote on social media.

Sunday's event also crowned Vivica Lewandowski of Gold Coast as Miss Illinois Teen USA 2023 while Sofia Console, Karolina Kozbial, Sophia Xia, and Grace Toomey were announced as the runners-up.

Vivica succeeds Dawn Parks and will now go on to compete in Miss Teen USA 2023 pageant on a date and venue yet to be announced.

Meet the newly crowned Miss Illinois USA and Teen USA:

Photos: Miss Illinois USA, Vanbros and Associates / Instagram

RELATED POSTS:


Popular posts from this blog

Miss USA 2023: Meet the contestants

Image
Miss USA 2023, the highly anticipated 72nd Miss USA pageant will take place on September 29 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada. The upcoming national competition will be the first edition since the Thailand-based JKN Global Group headed by Anne Jakrajutatip became the owner of the Miss Universe Organization. It will also mark the first year since Layla Rose took over as the national director, president, and CEO for both the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Morgan Romano (@officialmorganromano) A total of 51 contestants from across the United States of America will be vying for the national title and the opportunity to represent the country at Miss Universe 2023 in El Salvador. This year's winner will succeed the reigning Miss USA, Morgan Romano , who took over the title when R'Bonney Gabriel was crowned as Miss Universe 2022 last January. Don't forget to vote for your favorites to win the People
Read more

Miss Aura International 2023 is Thailand's Ketwalee Phonbodi

Image
Ketwalee Phonbodi of Thailand was crowned Miss Aura International 2023 in a glittering competition on Friday, September 29 in Antalya, Turkey. The 19-year-old beauty became the first Thai woman to win the international pageant. She succeeds last year's winner  Riskyana Hidayat  from Indonesia. Indonesia's Sahida Sheik Iskandar was named first runner-up while Daniela Ștefan of Romania, Francisca Lavandero of Chile, and Tatiana Gonçalves of Brazil were the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. The representatives from England, Briá-Renee Lawrence, Ghana, Claudia Darlene, the Philippines, Khryss Go, Portugal, Raquel Hurteková Libório, and Tatarstan, Ramina Pronina rounded out the Top 10 finalists. Cambodia, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Germany, India, Iran, the Netherlands, Russia, Türkiye, and Venezuela were the rest of the Top 20 semifinalists. The new Miss Aura International is a model and student pursuing a degree in business administration. She represented t
Read more

LIVE UPDATES: Miss USA 2023 Final Competition Results

Image
The Miss USA 2023 final competition and coronation show is happening tonight at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. This year's national pageant, to be hosted by Emmy award-winning TV personalities Keltie Knight and Adrienne Bailon-Houton, is airing live on The CW network. Miss USA 2022 Morgan Romano of North Carolina and internet personality Jordan Kimball serve as co-hosts and backstage commentators. A distinguished panel of judges who will have the most difficult task of choosing the winner consists of fashion designer Nicole Miller, actress Vivica A. Fox, model Emina Cunmulaj Nazarian, social media influencer Patrick Starrr, and Countess Luann de Lesseps. The next Miss USA will head to El Salvador to participate in Miss Universe 2023 this November. Who will be crowned Miss USA 2023? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Miss USA (@missusa) --- FINAL RESULTS --- TOP 20 Illinois - Samantha Elliot District of Columbia - Cassie Baloue Tex
Read more

Miss America 2024: Meet the contestants

Image
Miss America 2024 will be the 96th edition of the Miss America pageant — the nation's leading provider of scholarships for young women. While the official date and venue of the national final have not yet been announced, all 51 state representatives have already been crowned. Apart from raising the age limits to between 18 and 28, the 2024 competition under the new CEO Robin Ross-Fleming will also see other changes. For the first time since scrapping the swimsuit competition in 2018, there will be a segment that focuses on health and fitness. The CEO clarified, the contestants will not be judged based on their physical appearance. "There is NO SCORE given on appearance, the health & fitness segment is to bring awareness to women's health issues and give a platform to women to inspire and inform all women on best health practices." Those without a performing arts background will have the option of presenting a speech as their talent. Who will succeed Miss America 2
Read more

Miss USA 2023: Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii wins Costume Show

Image
The 51 contestants vying for Miss USA 2023 showcased their glittering state costumes during the Costume Show held on Wednesday, September 27 at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. Miss Hawaii USA 2023 Savannah Gankiewicz bagged the award for the best state costume for her spectacular costume inspired by the banyan tree of Maui. The beautiful creation was made by Patrick Isorena, the same talented designer behind R'Bonney Gabriel's winning costume at last year's Miss USA pageant. In a post on social media, Savannah shared: "It is with immense pleasure and gratitude that I am proud to take home the best costume for Miss USA. This means so much more than a win to me and my home state, as this symbolizes a beacon of hope, overcoming catastrophe and true resilience." "The banyan tree of Maui survived the worst fires in American history in over 100 years. This costume pays tribute to the roots of Hawaii and the everlasting cycle of life showing the
Read more

Miss Universe 2023: Meet the contestants

Image
As of today, September 21, 2023, a total of 70 beauties have already been confirmed as official contestants for the 72nd Miss Universe pageant. With just over two months left until the competition in El Salvador, around 30 more countries have yet to crown their official representatives to the prestigious international beauty event. Apart from Pakistan's debut, over 10 returnees are expected to take part consisting of Bangladesh, Denmark, Egypt, Guyana, Hungary, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Norway, and Zimbabwe. View this post on Instagram A post shared by R’Bonney Nola (@rbonneynola) The current Miss Universe, Filipino-American R'Bonney Gabriel, is set to relinquish her wonderful reign and pass her crown to the next deserving winner on November 18. While the host country, final date, and official broadcasters (The Roku Channel and Telemundo) have already been announced, further details of the competition including the schedules and ve
Read more

Miss Utah USA 2023 is Noelia Voigt

Image
Noelia Voigt bested 19 other competitors to win Miss Utah USA 2023 on Saturday, July 8 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center (Jeanne Wagner Theater) in Salt Lake City. The 23-year-old Venezuelan-American interior designer and author representing Park City will now prepare to represent Utah at Miss USA 2023 in Reno, Nevada this fall. Her runners-up were Mariluz Cook of Salt Lake (first), Hannah Wagner of Greater Salt Lake (second), Kit Widmyer of Nothern Utah (third), Kennedi Sanders of Iron County (fourth), and Collin Vijenandan of South Jordan (fifth). "God’s timing is always right. I still can’t believe that I am Miss Utah USA 2023 and will be competing at Miss USA later this year," she shared online. "I took the biggest risk of my life thus far by moving across the country to chase this dream of mine and it paid off in the best way," she added. No stranger to pageantry, the new Miss Utah USA previously held the titles Miss Teen Florida United States 2018, Mis
Read more

FAVORITES: Miss USA 2023 final Top 20 favorites

Image
In just a few hours, the much-awaited Miss USA 2023 pageant will culminate at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. Fifty-one equally beautiful and empowered women across the United States of America will battle it out to win the highly coveted national title. Only one of them will become Morgan Romano's successor as Miss USA and represent the country at Miss Universe 2023 in El Salvador this November. Based entirely on their performances during the preliminary competition, meet our final Top 20 favorites: (in alphabetical order) California - Tianna Clark Florida - Caroline Dixon Hawaii - Savannah Gankiewicz Idaho - Hannah Menzner Illinois - Samantha Elliot Iowa - Grace Keller Kentucky - Madalyne Kinnett Maryland - Savena Mushinge Massachusetts - Annika Sharma Michigan - Alexis Fagan-Williams Missouri - Autumn Black Nevada - Josie Stephens New York - Rachelle di Stasio North Carolina - Jordyn McKey South Carolina - Kirby Self Texas - Lluvia Alzate Utah - Noelia Voigt
Read more

Miss Suomi 2023: Meet the Top 10 finalists

Image
From the Top 20 semifinalists, only 10 beauties have been announced to continue to the final of Miss Suomi 2023 (Miss Universe Finland 2023) next month. The announcement led by Miss Suomi national director Sunneva Sjögren was held on Tuesday, August 15 at Valo Hotel in Helsinki. This year's 90-minute final competition, to be hosted by Constantinos "Gogi" Mavromichalis and Heidi Willman, will take place on September 9 at Aino Areena in Järvenpää. At the end of the upcoming event, last year's winner Petra Hämäläinen will crown her successor who will represent Finland at Miss Universe 2023 in El Salvador this November. Who will take home the crown? Meet the Top 10 finalists: Anni Seppänen Jenna Rintamäki Lumi Liikanen Maisa Alatalo Paula Joukanen Rimi Riutta Sa Myer Oo Scharliina Eräpuro Serina Suvila Sofia Singh Photos: Laura Iikkanen / Miss Suomi RELATED POST: Miss Suomi 2023: Meet the 20 semifinalists
Read more

Miss Universe Zimbabwe 2023: Meet the contestants

Image
Following rounds of auditions across Zimbabwe, the Top 25 contestants vying for Miss Universe Zimbabwe 2023 have been officially announced. This year's pageant will be the first edition of Miss Universe Zimbabwe under the new national director Tendai Hunda, a former Miss World Zimbabwe and Miss Intercontinental 2015 fourth runner-up. The next Miss Universe Zimbabwe, to be crowned on September 16, will represent the southern African country at Miss Universe 2023 in El Salvador this November. Don't forget to vote for your favorites on the pageant's official website . Who will take home the title of Miss Universe Zimbabwe 2023? Meet the contestants: Allyfina Mwanyali Amanda Mpofu Angela Guta Audrey Ward Ayanda Candice Sibanda Brooke Bruk Jackson Chelsea Dube Chipo Mandiudza Gamuchirai Jonhera Hailey Chawapiwa Kelsie Sithole Krystal Osieki Life Matunzeni Monalisa Kandava Nicole Musiyarira Noliwe Shand Nokutenda Marumbwa Prudence Moyo Ruvimbo Chirunga Stacey Salaman Tariro Katur
Read more