Miss USA 2026 is Justus Kelley of Virginia


Justus Kelley of Virginia edged out 50 other contestants to win Miss USA 2026 on Thursday, August 27 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida.

The 31-year-old senior philanthropic advisor and model also bagged the Best in Swimsuit award. She was crowned by her predecessor Audrey Eckert of Nebraska.

Aileen Cerchiara of Florida was named first runner-up while Elizabeth Voight of Pennsylvania, Madeline Erickson of Iowa, and Alayzia Christopher of Utah were the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively.

The rest of the Top 10 finalists were the contestants from Colorado, Jordyn Owen, Connecticut, Jaeden Hamelly, Nebraska, Emily Lenser, Nevada, Natalie Bode, and New York, Jenna Dykstra.

Completing the Top 20 were from Arizona, Kaitlyn Humphrey, California, Acacia McBride, Indiana, Eniolá Oke, Kansas, Madilynn Becker, Kentucky, Brijet Finister, Louisiana, Ella Clark, Minnesota, Rachel Betterley, Montana, Lisbeth Fernández, New Mexico, Cara Rgnonti, and South Carolina, Victoria Vesce.

Former Miss Universe Michelle McLean from Namibia, former Miss USA Deshauna Barber, and former Miss Universe Puerto Rico Madison Anderson were among the distinguished panel of judges.

The 75th Miss USA pageant was hosted by American actress and TV personality Kenya Moore alongside American actor Ian Ziering.

The new Miss USA has made history as the fist married mother and woman in her 30's to win the prestigious title. She is also the third woman from Virginia to become Miss USA following Wendy Dascomb in 1969 and Deborah Shelton in 1970.

Justus was born and raised in Arlington, Virginia and has a bachelor's degree in community health and master's in public health administration from the Indiana University.

She will now prepare to represent the USA at the 75th Miss Universe (Miss Universe 2026) pageant in Puerto Rico this November.

Photo: April Maroshick / Miss USA

Popular posts from this blog

Miss World 2026: Meet the winners of the talent competition

Image
The Miss World 2026 Talent competition was held in Nha Trang, Vietnam where 23 finalists showcased their music, dance and art talents to an esteemed panel of judges. Grace Richardson of England emerged the winner for her incredible singing performance of "Over the Rainbow" and she has now earned a place in the Top 40. Another singer Annaelle Ibo of Guadeloupe and dancer Asia Rose Simpson of the Philippines were announced the second and third placers, respectively. The 73rd Miss World will be crowned during the final and coronation show on September 5 in Nha Trang, Vietnam. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Miss World (@missworld) Photos: Miss World / Instagram
Read more

Tharina Botes is the new Miss Universe Thailand

Image
Tharina Botes, representing Bangkok, was crowned Miss Universe Thailand 2026 on Sunday, August 23 at MGI Hall in Bangkok. The 29-year-old beauty beat over 70 other contestants to win the national title and she will now represent Thailand at Miss Universe 2026 in Puerto Rico this November. Suttida Aiadpu of Phuket was named first runner-up while Helena Sarakan of Udon Thani, Sasiwararin Atsawahirankarn of Chiang Mai, and Manatsawee Nilbuala of Ubon Ratchathani were the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. Last year's winner who finished first runner-up at Miss Universe 2025, Praveenar Singh of Saraburi, relinquished her reign at the end of the event. The new Miss Universe Thailand was born to a Thai mother and South African father. She was raised in Johannesburg and holds a degree in commerce and economics. "Thank you to my amazing team, my fans, and everyone who believed in me. I could not have done this without all of you. We finally did it," she shared on...
Read more

Miss World 2026: Meet the continental winners of the Head-to-Head Challenge

Image
The Head-to-Head Challenge for Miss World 2026 took place on August 22 and 24 at the Khanh Hoa Children's Palace in Nha Trang, Vietnam. During the event, all contestants presented themselves and shared speeches about their initiatives. From each continental group, five contestants were selected to move on to the second round, where four continental winners were determined. The continental winners were Romanda Hombir from South Africa, Georgia-Lee Gill from Trinidad and Tobago, Asia Rose Simpson from the Philippines, and Julia Kühnle from Germany. By winning their respective continental groups, they have already earned their spots in the Top 40. Based on their answers during the final round, one of them will be declared the overall challenge winner and will automatically progress to the Top 20. The grand finale and coronation of the 73rd Miss World will take place on September 5 in Nha Trang, Vietnam. Photo: Miss World
Read more

Miss Universe Australia 2026 is Caity Worthington from Brisbane

Image
Caitlin Worthington was declared the winner of Miss Universe Australia 2026 at the national final on Wednesday, August 26, held at the Crown Melbourne. The 28-year-old radiographer and model from Brisbane succeeds her predecessor Lexie Brant. She will represent Australia at the Miss Universe 2026 pageant in Puerto Rico this November. Georgia Van Zaanen was awarded first runner-up, while Rowan Brent-White, Uma Dawson, and Kristabella Leembruggen took the second, third, and fourth runner-up positions, respectively. The remaining Top 10 finalists included Paige Bentley, Audrey Panagopoulos, Lilli Sauerwald, Sophie Trayner, and Jess Davis. The event was hosted by Australian stage and screen actor Rob Mills, alongside actress and former titleholder Maria Thattil. A total of 28 national finalists from around the country were chosen to compete for the crown. Australia has claimed the Miss Universe title on two occasions, first with Kerry Anne Wells in 1972 and then with Jennifer Hawkins in 20...
Read more

Miss World 2026: Meet the continental winners of the Top Model competition

Image
The Miss World 2026 Top Model competition took place on Thursday, August 27, at the DO Theater in Nha Trang, Vietnam. Sixty finalists, chosen from the initial round of the competition, graced the runway, displaying creations from local designers representing their countries. Four continental winners were revealed, earning them a spot in the Top 40. They are Tamunosoye Karibi-George of Nigeria, Joheirry Mola of the Dominican Republic, Bao Ngoc Le Nguyen of Vietnam, and Indira Ampiot of France. The overall Top Model winner, who will be announced during the Miss World final, will secure a direct entry into the Top 20. The next Miss World will be crowned on September 5 in Nha Trang, Vietnam. Photo: Luiz Henrique Azevedo / MWO
Read more

Spain wins second Mister Supranational title

Image
Pedro Cordero, a 23-year-old model from Cártama (Málaga), was announced the winner of Mister Supranational 2026 during the pageant's 10th edition, which took place on Saturday, August 1, in Nowy Sącz, Poland. He became the second Spanish representative to claim the international male beauty title, following Iván Álvarez Guedes, who won in 2023. Marcél Roux from South Africa secured the first runner-up position, while Daniel Jiawei Li from China, Ramón Alcántara from the Dominican Republic, and Gabriel Castañeda from Mexico took the second, third, and fourth runner-up spots, respectively. The remaining Top 10 contestants included Danton Miguel from Brazil, Leonardo Leça from Curacao, Christopher Chidubem from Nigeria, Jack Titus from Thailand, and Luay Latif Kalisilira from Zambia. The Top 20 were from Cambodia, Chile, the Czech Republic, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Turkey, Venezuela, and Vietnam. Contestants from Zambia, Brazil, Thailand, Curacao, and the Czech R...
Read more

Aslihan Morali crowned Miss Universe Canada 2026

Image
Aslihan Morali, from Ancaster, Ontario, was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2026 on Saturday, August 8 at the Chrysler Theatre in Windsor. The Turkish-Canadian advocate, entrepreneur, model and actor succeeds last year's winner Jaime VandenBerg and will represent Canada at the Miss Universe 2025 pageant in Puerto Rico this November. First runner-up Jabili Kandula was named Miss Cosmo Canada 2026 and will head to Vietnam for the Miss Cosmo 2026 competition later this year. Emilie Vos, Patricia Seward and Naomi Colford were announced the second, third and fourth runners-up, respectively. No stranger to pageantry, the new Miss Universe Canada has previously competed in Miss Supranational 2025 in Poland and bagged the Miss Congeniality award. Aslihan is a passionate humanitarian who founded the Leap Global Voices, an empowerment initiative dedicated to helping young girls recognize their potential and rewrite their own stories. "I believe deeply in the mission of the Miss Universe Or...
Read more

Meet the newly crowned Reina Filipinas 2026 queens

Image
The inaugural edition of the Reina Filipinas beauty pageant was held on Friday, August 7 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Pasay City. Palawan's Angelica Lopez, former Miss International Philippines, was crowned Reina Filipinas Grand International 2026 and will represent the Philippines at Miss Miss Grand International 2026 pageant this October. Alexie Caimoso Brooks, former Miss Eco International winner, from Iloilo and Anne Patricia Lorenzo Diaz, former Miss International Queen Philippines, from Manila were both crowned Reina Filipinas MGI All Stars 2026. They will compete in the second edition of MGI All Stars later this year. Cleopatra Barrera of Zambales, Isabela Ortega of Camarines Sur, Zeah Nestle Pala of Mandaluyong, and Luisa Benavides of Caloocan were first, second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. Reigning Miss Grand International Emma Mary Tiglao and MGI All Stars Vanessa Pulgarin were among the special guests who graced the glittering event. Meet the...
Read more

Miss Universe India 2026 is Kaziah Liz Mejo from Kerala

Image
Kaziah Liz Mejo, a 19-year-old law student from Kerala, was crowned Miss Universe India 2026 on Sunday, August 23, at the Zee Studios in Jaipur, Rajasthan. She takes over the title from last year's winner, Manika Vishwakarma, and is now gearing up to represent India at the Miss Universe 2026 pageant in Puerto Rico this November. Vaishnavi Ganesh was named first runner-up and is expected to represent India at Miss International 2026, which will take place in Tokyo, Japan, also this November. Anushri Satavlekar, Tejaswini Shrivastava, and Anubha Vashisth were announced as the second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. A total of 52 contestants from all over the country were selected to compete for this prestigious national title. The selection committee included former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen, reigning Miss Charm Anna Blanco from Venezuela, and previous Miss Universe India winners Celina Jaitly, Urvashi Rautela, and Rhea Singha. The new Miss Universe India is also model, ...
Read more

Kiran Reddy of Georgia crowned Miss Teen USA 2026

Image
The 44th Miss USA beauty pageant was held on Wednesday, August 26 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida. Kiran Reddy, 18, from Georgia bested 50 other contestants to be crowned Miss Teen USA 2026. She is expected to represent the USA at Miss Teen Universe 2026 in Cambodia this October. Raquel Olea of Arkansas was named first runner-up while Elisa Akin of New York, Kiersten Alvarado of Indiana, and Chloe Bella Dietz of Texas finished second, third, and fourth runners-up, respectively. The contestants from California, Ava Grace Nichols, Iowa, Avery Bradley, Missouri, Vegas Turner, Oregon, Reagan Strazzeri, and Virginia, Madyson Blizzard made the Top 10. The Top 20 were from Arizona, Ella Hansen, Connecticut, Maggie Peterson, Idaho, Shayleena Wijerathna, Louisiana, Kadie Sumbler, Michigan, Mia Vanessa Prom, New Mexico, Olivia Biggs, Ohio, Emma Fossum, South Carolina, Isabella Brandt, West Virginia, Gracia Knight, and Wyoming, Joie Kennedy. The glittering f...
Read more