When to Start? How Long to Win?

When should I begin competing?

But, where, when, and how does that step-by-step process begin, you may ask. At what age should I begin competing? Where do I start? How long will it take to win? The answer is, there is no “one-size-fits-all” blueprint for becoming a pageant winner. Each titleholder’s road to the rhinestones is as unique as the woman who earns that crown.

At what age should I begin?

Let’s consider the question of when to begin competing. It depends on the individual. Some contestants hit the runway as soon as they’re out of diapers. Susan Akin, Miss America 1986, began entering pageants in elementary school, won the Little Miss America title, and later competed in over a hundred pageants. However, her experience is the exception to the rule. The backgrounds of major titleholders reveal that competing in children’s and preteen pageants does not improve a young woman’s chances of winning a major title like Miss America or Miss USA.

In fact, most national and international winners first competed during high school. A girl who enters her first pageant as a high school freshman has years ahead of her to participate in teen pageants, accumulate scholarships for college, and develop as a contestant. Many pageants have been developed especially for high school students, including Miss T.E.E.N., Miss Teen of America, and Miss Teen USA.

Today, most contestants begin their quest for the crown between junior high school and their freshman year of college. Even late bloomers can succeed. Students who enter their first contest as college sophomores still have four to six years to compete in adult pageants like Miss America and Miss USA, which have age cut-offs of twenty-four to twenty-six years. For example, Debra Maffett entered her first pageant as a twenty one-year-old college student and lost for four years before winning the 1983 Miss America title as a twenty-five-year-old college graduate.

Women who missed the pageant experience entirely during their school years can enter events developed especially for older women. Mother-daughter contests and “Mrs.” pageants are two of the most popular pageants for women who once assumed they were past their pageant prime. One recent winner, Sandra Earnest, a mother of ten children, began competing at age forty and won the 1993 Mrs. USA title as a fortyfour-year-old! Pageants like Beauties of America feature multiple age categories for single, married, or divorced women ages twenty to sixty-plus. Others, like Most Glamorous Grandmother and Ms. Senior America, celebrate the beauty of senior citizens.

Pageantry has a place for entrants of every age, advises Kathleen Munson, who quips, “We’ve got cradle-to-death pageants!” So, whatever your stage of life, it’s never too late to embark on your quest for the crown.

How Long Will It Take to Win?

How long it takes to win the crown depends on the individual.

  • Mrs. USA, Sandra Earnest won the title on her third try.
  • Miss Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres won the first year she entered.
  • Miss USA 1988, Courtney Gibbs won the first year she entered.
  • Miss USA 1989, Gretchen Polhemus won the first year she entered.
  • Miss America 1980, Cheryl Prewitt competed and lost for five years before winning.
  • Miss America 1988, Kaye Lani Rae Rafko lost for a half-a-decade before winning.
  • Miss America 1990, Debbye Turner competed and lost for five years before winning.
  • Miss America 1976, Tawny Godin, won on her first try.
  • Miss America 1977, Dorothy Benham won the first year she entered.
  • Miss America 1989, Gretchen Carlson won the first year she competed.
  • Miss America 1994, Kimberly Aiken won the first year she entered.

You can win on your first try. You can win after years of losing.  The time it takes to win is different for every contestant.