Miss California
The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America competition. Six women have gone on to win Miss America.
The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Miss California pageant was held, the competition was primarily in San Francisco and Venice, California. In 1947, it returned to Santa Cruz and was held there annually until 1985, after which it moved to San Diego in response to years of protests and a "Myth California" counter pageant organized by local feminist activists led by Ann Simonton and Nikki Craft. It has been held in Visalia, California since 2023.
On January 9, 2026, the Miss California Organization announced that the Miss California competition will return to Fresno, California at the iconic Saroyan Theatre where the pageant was held from 1994-2022.
Rachel Axt of Clovis was crowned Miss California 2025 on June 21, 2025, at the Visalia Convention Center in Visalia, California. She competed for the title of Miss America 2026 in September 2025.
Results summary
The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss California titleholders at the national Miss America pageants/competitions. The year in parentheses indicates the year of the national competition during which a placement and/or award was garnered, not the year attached to the contestant's state title.Placements
- Miss Americas: Fay Lanphier, Rosemary LaPlanche, Jean Bartel, Marilyn Buferd, Lee Meriwether, Debra Maffett
- 1st runners-up: Adrienne Dore, Phyllis Dobson, Claire James, Rosemary LaPlanche, Phyllis Mathis, Suzanne Reamo, Charlene Dallas, Lucianne Buchanan, Kristy Cavinder, Crystal Lee
- 2nd runners-up: Fay Lanphier, Blanche MacDonald, Jeanne Shores, Susan Anton, Janet Carr, Rita Ng
- 3rd runners-up: Lillian Knight, Phyllis Randall , Marguerite Skliris, Lorna Anderson, Sandra Jennings, Susan Bronson, Linda Mouron, Marlise Ricardos, Tiffany Stoker
- 4th runners-up: Lucille Lambert, Laura Emery, Jone Pedersen, Rebekah Ann Keller, Nicole Lamarche, Veena Goel, Noelle Freeman
- Top 7: Jackie Geist
- Top 8: Melissa Chaty
- Top 10: Patricia Johns, Joan Beckett, Susan Henryson, Wendy Douglas, Susan Shipley, Connie Lee Haugen, Jacquelynne Fontaine, Arianna Afsar, Jessa Carmack
- Top 12: Virginia Donham, Shirley Ballard
- Top 13: Polly Ellis
- Top 15: Ruby Smith, Bertha Weizel, Eileen Kim
- Top 16: Joanne Durant
- Top 20: Stephanie Baldwin
Awards
Preliminary awards
- Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Rosemary LaPlanche, Jean Bartel, Marilyn Buferd, Jone Pedersen, Joanne Durant, Jeanne Shores, Patricia Johns, Lee Meriwether, Joan Beckett, Sandra Jennings, Sherri Raap, Charlene Dallas, Carolyn Stoner, Lucianne Buchanan, Janet Carr, Debra Maffett, Lisa Michelle Duncan, Tiffany Stoker, Rebekah Ann Keller, Nicole Lamarche
- Preliminary Talent: Phyllis Dobson, Phyllis Randall, Marguerite Skliris, Jean Bartel, Polly Ellis, Susan Henryson, Charlene Dallas, Debra Maffett, Rita Ng, Veena Goel, Dustin-Leigh Konzelman, Jacquelynne Fontaine, Kristy Cavinder
Non-finalist awards
- Non-finalist talent: Sandra Lynne Becker, Sharon Terrill, Karin Kascher, Christine Acton, Lisa Kahre, Maria Ostapiej, Jennifer Hanson, Danielle Coney, MaryAnne Sapio, Dustin-Leigh Konzelman, Catherine Liang
Other awards
- Miss Congeniality: Susan Henryson
- Final Night Swimsuit: Nicole Lamarche
- Miss America Scholar: Rita Ng
- STEM Scholarship Award Winners: Crystal Lee
- Waterford Business Scholarship: Danielle Coney
- Women in Business Finalists: Catherine Liang
Winners