Miss USA vs. Miss America

From hosts to alumni, 5 things to know about the pageants

Miss USA contestants descended on Graceland this week for the 2020 competition. • Those not familiar with the pageant world might think Miss USA and Miss America are the same thing. They aren't — they are separate pageants with several differences, including age range of contestants and areas of competition. • But the history of these two events is one filled with a colorful backstory and assortment of characters from movie stars to U.S. presidents. • Here are five things to know.

History

The senior pageant among the two competitions, Miss America was established in 1921 — originally as the “InterCity Beauty Contest" — and took place on the boardwalk of Atlantic City. Nearly 100 years later the event is still going strong and has been a familiar staple of Americana. As Miss America's official website notes, it has “been one of the country's most recognizable household names and has been at the center of everything from national trends to social movements to the birth of television.”

In 1950, an Alabama woman named Yolande Betbeze won Miss America. Betbeze had been educated in a convent school, and as a result refused to pose in a swimsuit after she won the title. Which was a problem as one of Miss America's big sponsors was Catalina Swimwear. The Miss America pageant organizers, under pressure from Catalina, urged Betbeze to reconsider but she refused and held her ground.

As a result, an enraged Catalina went off and a started a competing event, and thus Miss USA was born — launching its first pageant in 1952 in Long Beach, California. Catalina would also create the Miss Universe pageant, which would would become and remains the world's most watched beauty competition, airing in 190 different countries annually.

Ownership

Originally created by a group of Atlantic City businessmen in the 1920s, the evolution of Miss America would see the event ultimately operated as a nonprofit. The Miss America Organization brands itself as the “nation's leading advocate for women's education and the largest provider of scholarship assistance to young women in the United States, awarding millions of dollars annually in cash awards and in-kind tuition waivers.”

Miss USA, meanwhile, has been owned and operated by a variety of corporate interests since the Catalina company founded the event. Other owners have included Gulf & Western and the ITT Inc. In 1996, Donald Trump purchased rights to the pageant from ITT and operated it — along with the Miss Universe competition — until 2015. Hollywood mega-talent agency WME/IMG acquired the Miss Universe Organization from Trump in 2015 and has run the pageants since then.

Famous alumni

Miss America has been a launching pad for a number of celebrities and media figures over the years. The roll call of winners includes "Catwoman" actress Lee Meriwether (1955), Elvis costar Mary Ann Mobley (1959) and singer/performer Vanessa Williams (1983).

Miss USA has also spawned a few notables including actress Halle Berry (a 1986 runner-up) and model/actress Ali Landry, who won Miss USA 1996.

Hosts

While the two first Miss America hosts, Bob Russell (1940-1954) and Bert Parks (1955-1979) remain the longest-tenured event emcees, other notables who have guided the event include teams like Regis Philbin and Kathie Lee Gifford, Donny and Marie Osmond, as well as solo hosts including actor Tony Danza and comedian Wayne Brady. TV personalities Kit Hoover and Mario Lopez are the most recent duo to serve as hosts.

Meanwhile, Miss USA has seen a few stalwarts host the show including "The Price is Right" fixture Bob Barker, who was on board for two decades (1967-1987) with both the Miss USA and Miss Universe shows. Others, from Alan Thicke to Dick Clark to Bob Goen, have also handled hosting duties. This year's pageant hosts are "NBA on TNT" reporter Allie Laforce, a former Miss Teen USA, and television host Akbar Gbaja-biamila.

2020 events

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers of the Miss America competition — which usually takes place in December — elected to postpone the event this year, pushing the show until 2021.

Meantime, Miss USA organizers decided to push ahead with an event and selected Graceland/ Elvis Presley Enterprises in Memphis as the ideal partner to safely stage both their Miss USA and Miss Teen USA events.

AP Yolande Betbeze, of Mobile, Ala., walks on the runway after she is crowned Miss America 1951 at Atlantic City, N.J., on Sept. 9, 1950. Married in 1954, Yolande Betbeze Fox has donated her Miss America crown, scepter and sash to the National Museum of American History.

DAVE CAULKIN, AP There she is... Halle Berry, Miss USA contestant, is shown in costume at a Variety Club of Great Britain luncheon at the Hilton Hotel in London, on Nov. 7, 1986. The 20-year-old student from Cleveland placed first runner-up in the pageant.

RAUL DE MOLINA, AP Miss Universe 1985 Deborah Carthy-deu, of San Juan, smiles as she is crowned by TV personality Bob Barker after the close of the Miss Universe Pageant in Miami on July 15, 1985.

FILE/THE TIMES Donald Trump talks with Miss USA 1996 Ali Landry during the 1997 Miss USA pageant in Shreveport.