Miss USA 2000 was the 49th Miss USA pageant, held at The Grand Palace, in Branson, Missouri on February 4, 2000. At the conclusion of the final competition,
At the end of the event, Kimberly Pressler of New York crowned Lynnette Cole of Tennessee as Miss USA 2000. It is the first victory of Tennessee in the pageant's history. Cole later competed at Miss Universe and was one of the five finalists.
Contestants from 51 states and cities competed in this year's pageant. Carson Daly hosted the event for the only time, and color commentary was added for the third time by Miss USA 1996 Ali Landry and Julie Moran. Entertainment was provided by Christina Aguilera, Lou Bega, Brian McKnight and Mark Wills.
Results
Placements
PlacementContestant Miss USA 2000Tennessee – Lynnette Cole 1st runner-upNew Hampshire – Bridget Jane Vezina 2nd runner-upAlabama – Jina Mitchell Top 5Georgia – Patti Dunn Kansas – Tiffany Meyer Top 10Colorado – Tiani Jones Iowa – Jensie Grigsby Michigan – Jill Dobson New York – Carrie Tucker South Carolina – Lisa Rabon Special awards Award Contestant Miss CongenialityHawaii – Michelle Kaplan Miss PhotogenicMinnesota – Paige Swenson Style AwardFlorida – Kristen Ludecke Best in SwimsuitTennessee – Lynnette Cole Final competition scores
State Interview Swimsuit Evening Gown AverageFinalistsTennessee9.81 (1)9.64 (1)9.78 (2)9.74 (1)9.66 (1)New Hampshire9.58 (2)9.32 (6)9.27 (6)9.39 (5)9.40 (3)Alabama9.54 (3)9.51 (4)9.93 (1)9.66 (2)9.45 (2)Kansas9.36 (6)9.53 (2)9.63 (3)9.51 (3)9.36 (4)Georgia9.29 (7)9.52 (3)9.41 (4)9.40 (4)9.14 (5) Colorado9.21 (8)9.26 (7)9.33 (5)9.27 (6) Michigan9.44 (5)9.07 (8)9.24 (8)9.25 (7) New York9.47 (4)9.06 (9)8.93 (10)9.16(8) South Carolina8.74 (10)9.39 (5)9.24 (7)9.12 (9) Iowa9.10 (9)8.95 (10)9.02 (9)9.02 (10)
Winner First Runner-Up Second Runner-Up Top 5 Finalist (#) Ranking in the competition
Contestants 51 contestants competed for the title. State/CityContestantAgeHometownNotesAlabamaJina Mitchell22TrussvilleAlaskaLaurie Ann Miller21PalmerPreviously Miss Alaska Teen USA 1997ArizonaHeather Keckler26ScottsdalePreviously Miss Arizona Teen USA 1992ArkansasWhitney Lea Moore22CabotCaliforniaRebekah Ann Keller25LakewoodFormer Miss California 1997Fourth runner-up at Miss America 1997Colorado Tiani Jones23AuroraConnecticut Sallie Toussaint25HartfordUS representative to Miss World in 1997Top 10 semi-finalist at Miss World 1997DelawareJennifer Behm23WilmingtonDistrict of Columbia Juel April Casamayor26Washington, D.C.FloridaKristin Ludecke23EustisPreviously Miss Florida 1995GeorgiaPatti Dunn24DuluthHawaiiMichelle Kaplan23KonaIdahoBrooke Jennifer Gambrell26BoisePreviously Miss Idaho 1995IllinoisConstance Renee Stoetzer26AbingdonIndianaKristal Michelle Wile23AndersonIowaJensie Grigsby26West Des MoinesKansas Tiffany Meyer23Previously Miss Missouri Teen USA 1994KentuckyJolene Youngster18GlasgowLouisiana Jennifer Dupont18PlaqueminePreviously Miss Louisiana Teen USA 1998Later became Miss Louisiana 2004 MaineJennifer Lyn Hunt21RumfordPreviously Miss Maine Teen USA 1994Maryland Christie S. Davis21Silver SpringMassachusettsRosalie M. Allain25LeominsterMichigan Jillian Susan Dobson22QuincyMinnesotaPaige Swenson24FridleyPreviously Miss Minnesota Teen USA 1994Mississippi Angie Michelle Carpenter22GreenwoodPreviously Miss Mississippi Teen USA 1994Missouri Denette Roderick24Montana Brandi Bjorklund20BonnerNebraskaValarie Cook22OmahaNevadaAlicia Denyse Carnes22Las VegasPreviously Miss Nevada Teen USA 1995New HampshireBridget Jane Vezina19ManchesterNew JerseyMichelle Graci21JamesburgNew MexicoChristina I. Ortega23Las CrucesNew YorkCarrie Tucker25NesconsetNorth CarolinaPortia Lyndell Johnson20GreensboroNorth DakotaAmie Hoffner18MinotOhioCheya R. Watkins22CincinnatiPreviously Miss Ohio 1998OklahomaAmanda Rochelle Penix21ShawneePreviously Miss Oklahoma Teen USA 1997OregonElizabeth Heitmanek19MedfordPennsylvaniaAngela Patla26Sweet ValleyRhode Island Heidi St. Pierre23HarrisvilleSouth Carolina Lisa Rabon24Myrtle BeachSouth Dakota Vanessa Short Bull21Rapid CityLater Miss South Dakota 2002TennesseeLynnette Marie Cole21ColumbiaPreviously Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1995TexasHeather Ogilvie22HoustonUtah Keri Hatfield22BountifulVermont Katie Bolton22ColchesterVirginia Crystal Marie Jones26Virginia BeachWashington Jamie Marie Kern22Des MoinesContestant on season 1 of Big Brother, finished in fourth place.Co-founder and CEO of It Cosmetics.West VirginiaTara Shae Wilson22SistersvilleWisconsinSamantha Jo Picha20VeronaWyoming Rebecca Smith20Jackson Hole
Notes
References
External links Miss USA official website