Miss Teen USA

Miss Teen USA
Type	Beauty pageant
Parent organization	Miss Universe Organization
Headquarters	New York City
Country represented	United States
First edition	1983
Most recent edition	2023
Current titleholder	Vacant
Owners	Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip (2022 – Present); Raul Rocha (2024 – Present);
President and CEO	Laylah Rose
Affiliates	Microsoft; Sony Interactive Entertainment
Language	English
Website	missteenusa.com

Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant that has been run since 1983 by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19 years old as of January 1st of the competition year. They must be US citizens, and cannot have been married, pregnant, or have children. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on JKN18 and like it’s sister pageant Miss USA, it is televised on The CW television network starting in 2024, after being streamed online for several years.^[1] The Miss Universe Organization previously operated Miss Teen USA, as well as Miss USA, until 2020 when the rights to produce both pageants were licensed to Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart prior to her suspension in October 2022, thus returning the said pageants to the Miss Universe Organization.^[2] The parent company of all three pageants and the Miss Universe organization remains the same under the licensing agreement: JKN Metaverse Inc., a subsidiary of JKN Global Group.

Prior to 1983, a beauty contest bestowing the title of Miss Teen USA was first held in 1959 as a mail-in photo contest by Teen magazine.^[3]^[4]

It next became an annual live stage event through the 1960s and in 1983, the pageant began being produced annually as part of the Miss Universe family of pageants.^[5] It was broadcast live on CBS until 2002 and then on NBC from 2003 to 2007. In March 2007, it was announced that the broadcast of the Miss Teen USA pageant on NBC had not been renewed, and that Miss Teen USA 2007 would be the final televised event.^[6]

From 2008 to 2015, the pageant was held at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort, located in Nassau, Bahamas. Since 2016, the pageant has been held in the United States once more, and since 2018, it is held concurrently with its sister Miss USA pageant in a single city a few days before the start of Miss USA final competition.^[7]

Notable pageant winners include actresses Kelly Hu (1985, Hawaii), Bridgette Wilson (1990, Oregon), Charlotte Lopez-Ayanna (1993, Vermont), Vanessa Minnillo (1998, South Carolina) and Shelley Hennig (2004, Louisiana).

The most recent Miss Teen USA was UmaSofia Srivastava of New Jersey who was crowned on September 28, 2023 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada until her resignation on May 8, 2024. After her crowning as Miss Teen USA 2023, UmaSofia Srivastava resigned her title amid allegations of ill-treatment, abuse, and bullying within the Miss USA organization. The revelations came to light when Srivastava's mother, Barbara, addressed the issue on Good Morning America, suggesting her daughter's dream job had turned into a nightmare.^[8]

^ White, Peter (April 25, 2024). "'Miss USA' Stays At The CW In Three-Year Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
^ "Exclusive: Crystle Stewart takes on new leadership role for Miss USA, Miss Teen USA". goodmorningamerica.com. New York City, New York: Good Morning America. December 30, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2021. The Miss Universe Organization is announcing that it is licensing both pageants to the former titleholder, actress and entrepreneur. ... Stewart is the first Black woman and person to ever hold the licensing rights to Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.
^ Cite error: The named reference 1959A was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference 1959B was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference newpageant was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Hall, Sarah (March 29, 2007). "Trump and Miss Universe Stay in Bed with NBC". Retrieved March 29, 2007.
^ "Kansas' Hailey Colborn Crowned Miss Teen USA 2018". PR Newswire. May 21, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
^ Palumbo, Jacqui (May 14, 2024). "Miss USA and Miss Teen USA's mothers speak out: 'They were ill-treated, abused, bullied and cornered'". CNN. Retrieved May 22, 2024.

[broadcast-1] White, Peter (April 25, 2024). "'Miss USA' Stays At The CW In Three-Year Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 26, 2024.

[GMA2020-2] "Exclusive: Crystle Stewart takes on new leadership role for Miss USA, Miss Teen USA". goodmorningamerica.com. New York City, New York: Good Morning America. December 30, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2021. The Miss Universe Organization is announcing that it is licensing both pageants to the former titleholder, actress and entrepreneur. ... Stewart is the first Black woman and person to ever hold the licensing rights to Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.

[1959A-3] Cite error: The named reference 1959A was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1959B-4] Cite error: The named reference 1959B was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[newpageant-5] Cite error: The named reference newpageant was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[eonline-6] Hall, Sarah (March 29, 2007). "Trump and Miss Universe Stay in Bed with NBC". Retrieved March 29, 2007.

[7] "Kansas' Hailey Colborn Crowned Miss Teen USA 2018". PR Newswire. May 21, 2018. Retrieved March 30, 2021.

[8] Palumbo, Jacqui (May 14, 2024). "Miss USA and Miss Teen USA's mothers speak out: 'They were ill-treated, abused, bullied and cornered'". CNN. Retrieved May 22, 2024.

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