Miss Kentucky


The Miss Kentucky competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Kentucky in the Miss America pageant.
Only once has a Miss Kentucky won the Miss America crown, in 1999 when Heather French Henry of Maysville, Kentucky earned the national Miss America 2000 title. Additionally, Venus Ramey, a native of Somerset, Kentucky, was named Miss America of 1944 while competing as Miss Washington, DC.
Multiple Miss Kentucky titleholders have gone on to make themselves notable:
  • Heather French Henry, Miss Kentucky 1999, is Kentucky's only Miss America winner to date.
  • Mallory Ervin, Miss Kentucky 2010, is most well known for her appearance on the American television show, The Amazing Race.
  • Djuan Trent, Miss Kentucky 2011, was the first Miss America contestant to openly come out as queer.
Ariana Rodriguez of Bardstown was crowned Miss Kentucky 2025 on June 14, 2025, at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky. She competed for the title of Miss America 2026, placing in the Top 11.

Results summary

The following is a visual summary of the past results of Miss Kentucky 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: Heather French
  • 2nd runners-up: Jean Megerle
  • 3rd runners-up: Darlene Compton, Mallory Hudson
  • 4th runners-up: Dorothy Slatten, Chera-Lyn Cook, Whitney Renee Boyles, Mallory Ervin
  • Top 10: Linda Sawyer, Marcia Malone Bell, Gwendolyn Suzanne Witten, Lynn Whitney Thompson, Kelly Lin Brumagen, Laurie Janine Keller, Tawnya Dawn Mullins, Veronica Marie Duka, Djuan Trent
  • Top 11: Ariana Rodriguez
  • Top 12: Emily Cox, Ramsey Carpenter, Laura Jones
  • Top 15: Mary Madeline O'Laughlin, Jean Megerle*, Charlet Hiteman, Dorothy Slatten, Evelyn L. Murray, Jessica Casebolt, Jenna Day
  • Top 16: Patricia Alden Fenton**
  • Top 18: Lucille Rader

    Awards

Preliminary awards

  • Preliminary Lifestyle and Fitness: Dorothy Slatten, Evelyn L. Murray, Tawnya Mullins, Heather French, Whitney Renee Boyles
  • Preliminary Talent: Darlene Compton, Gwendolyn Witten, Chera-Lyn Cook, Ramsey Carpenter

    Non-finalist awards

  • Non-finalist Talent: Jane Brock, Marsha Griffith, Victoria Harned, Melinda Cumberledge, Tonya Virgin, MacKenzie Mayes
  • Non-finalist Interview: Maria Maldonado

    Other awards

  • Miss Congeniality: Hannah Edelen
  • America's Choice: Laura Katherine Jones
  • Dr. David. B. Allman Medical Scholarship: Kelly Lin Brumagen, Mary Catherine Correll
  • Jean Bartel Social Impact Finalists: Hannah Edelen
  • Konica Visual Arts Scholarship: Kristie Hicks
  • Louanne Gamba Instrumental Award: Ramsey Carpenter
  • Quality of Life Award Winners: Emily Cox, Ann Blair Thornton
  • Quality of Life Award 1st runners-up: Heather French, MacKenzie Mayes
  • Quality of Life Award Finalists: Whitney Boyles, Mary Catherine Correll, Mallory Ervin
  • STEM Scholarship Award Winners: Molly Matney
  • Women in Business Scholarship Award Winners: Alex Francke

    Winners