When the new Miss Alabama is crowned, she’ll be following in the footsteps of nearly 100 women who’ve represented the state at the Miss America pageant.
Miss Alabama’s roots date back to 1921, although it took some time for the Miss Alabama/Miss America organization to be formally established, and the pageant’s early history includes a gap of several years during the Great Depression.
Fast forward to 2023, and you’ll discover a long list of Miss Alabamas who’ve held the title proudly over the past century, including three who went on to become Miss America: Yolande Betbeze (1950), Heather Whitestone (1994) and Deidre Downs (2004).
The name of Miss Alabama 2023 will be announced July 1 during the Saturday finals of the pageant at Samford University’s Wright Center in Birmingham.
RELATED: Miss Alabama 2023: Meet 42 women competing for this year’s crown
As the Miss Alabama competition approaches, let’s take a look back at 72 women who’ve taken the crown, cradled the roses and shed happy tears, 1950-2023.
(NOTE: This list was updated on June 26, 2023, to add Miss Alabama winners from 2021 and 2022.)
Name: Lindsay Gaines Fincher
Hometown: Wedowee
Local title: Miss University of Alabama
Talent: Jazz dance, “Bossa Nova Baby”
Name: Lauren Bradford
Hometown: Gulf Shores
Local title: Miss Jefferson County
Talent: Violin solo, “My Heart Will Go On” from the 1997 movie “Titanic”
Name: Tiara Pennington
Hometown: Helena
Local title: Miss University of Alabama
Talent: Classical Vocal, “Nessun Dorma” from “Turandot”
FYI: Pennington won the title in 2019 and kept her crown for an extra year, because the state pageant was canceled in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.
Name: Callie Walker
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Tuscaloosa
Talent: Ballet en Pointe, “Hoe-Down” from “Rodeo”
Name: Jessica Procter
Hometown: Tuscaloosa
Local title: Miss Leeds Area
Talent: Vocal, “Over the Rainbow”
Name: Hayley Barber
Hometown: Pelham
Local title: Miss Shelby County
Talent: Tap Dance, “Big Noise from Winnetka”
Name: Meg McGuffin
Hometown: Ozark
Local title: Miss Phenix City
Talent: Jazz Ballet en Pointe, “Enigma Variation” from “The Matrix”
Name: Caitlin Brunell
Hometown: Tuscaloosa
Local title: Miss Leeds Area
Talent: Dance, “Let It Go” from “Frozen”
Name: Chandler Champion
Hometown: Leeds
Local title: Miss Leeds Area
Talent: Jazz Ballet en Pointe, “Top Secret”
Name: Anna Laura Bryan
Hometown: Decatur
Local title: Miss Hoover
Talent: Vocal, “Sempre Libera” from “La Traviata”
Name: Courtney Porter
Hometown: Clay
Local title: Miss Leeds Area
Talent: Tap Dance, “I Got Rhythm”
Name: Ashley Davis
Hometown: Dothan
Local title: Miss West Central Alabama
Talent: Vocal, “If I Had My Way”
Name: Liz Cochran
Hometown: Helena
Local title: Miss Hoover
Talent: Dance, “He Lives in You”
Name: Amanda Tapley
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Samford University
Talent: Dance, Classical Piano
Name: Jamie Langley
Hometown: Wadley
Local title: Miss Painted Rock
Talent: Vocal, “Listen”
Name: Melinda Toole
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Samford University
Talent: Vocal, “Time to Say Goodbye”
Name: Alexa Jones
Hometown: Andalusia
Local title: Miss Mobile
Talent: Ballet en Pointe, “Fuego”
Name: Deidre Downs
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Leeds Area
Talent: Vocal, “I’m Afraid This Must Be Love”
FYI: Shannon Camper, first runner-up, assumed the title when Downs won Miss America 2005.
Name: Catherine Crosby
Hometown: Brewton
Local title: Miss Homewood Area Area
Talent: Flute, “Riverdance”
Name: Scarlotte Deupree
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Camellia
Talent: Vocal, “Holding Out for a Hero”
Name: Kelly Jones
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Homewood Area
Talent: Classical Piano, “Ballade No. 1 in G Minor”
Name: Jana Sanderson
Hometown: Gadsden
Local title: Miss Samford University
Talent: Vocal, “I’m a Woman”
Name: Julie Smith
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Chattahoochie Valley
Talent: Marimba, “Flight of the Bumblebee” and “Csárdás” medley
Name: Ashley Halfman
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Cullman Area
Talent: Ballet en Pointe, “Everybody Says Don’t”
Name: Beth Stomps
Hometown: Mobile
Local title: Miss Alabama Music Hall of Fame
Talent: Vocal, “Love Changes Everything” from “Aspects of Love”
Name: Alison McCreary
Hometown: Florence
Local title: Miss Samford University
Talent: Vocal, “How Great Thou Art”
Name: Leigh Sherer
Hometown: Jasper
Local title: Miss Walker County
Talent: Piano/Vocal Medley from “Carmen”
Name: Heather Whitestone
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Cullman Area
Talent: Ballet en Pointe, “Via Dolorosa”
FYI: Whitestone went on to win the Miss America pageant in 1995. She was the first deaf woman to win Miss Alabama and Miss America. Amie Beth Dickinson, the first runner-up, assumed the title of Miss Alabama when Whitestone became Miss America.
Name: Kalyn Chapman
Hometown: Mobile
Local title: Miss Leeds Area
Talent: Modern Dance, “The River”
FYI: Chapman was the first Black woman to win the Miss Alabama title.
Name: Kim Wimmer
Hometown: Mobile
Local title: Miss Point Mallard
Talent: Vocal, “Hold On” from “The Secret Garden”
Name: Wendy Neuendorf
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Auburn University
Talent: Vocal Comedy, “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”
Name: Resha Riggins
Hometown: Trussville
Local title: Miss Alabama Music Hall of Fame
Talent: Vocal, “Cry”
Name: Julie Coons
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Hope
Talent: Vocal, “For Once in My Life”
Name: Jenny Jackson
Hometown: Auburn
Local title: Miss Auburn University
Talent: Classical Piano, “Warsaw Concerto”
Name: Kym Williams
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss All-American Bowl
Talent: Vocal, “If We Only Have Love”
FYI: Williams, the first runner-up, assumed the Miss Alabama title after the original winner, Julie Hitt, resigned the day after the pageant. According to the Associated Press, Hitt’s mother said her daughter never expected to win and was simply competing for scholarship money. In a letter to pageant director Nora Chapman, the AP said, Hitt explained that she didn’t want to give up a year of her life for the duties that come with being Miss Alabama.
Name: Angela Callahan
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss All-American Bowl
Talent: Piano, “The Windmills of Your Mind”
Name: Angela Tower
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Jefferson County
Talent: Ballet en Pointe, “Chariots of Fire”
Name: Tammy Little
Hometown: Section
Local title: Miss Hoover Area
Talent: Vocal, “Hit Me With a Hot Note” from “Sophisticated Ladies”
Name: Pam Battles
Hometown: Muscle Shoals
Local title: Miss Dixie
Talent: Piano, Medley of George Gershwin pieces
Name: Yolanda Fernandez
Hometown: Troy
Local title: Miss Troy State University
Talent: Classical Piano, “Fantasie Impromptu”
Name: Phoebe Stone
Hometown: Huntsville
Local title: Miss Eastwood
Talent: Ballet, “Mame”
Name: Paige Phillips
Hometown: Leeds
Local title: Miss Leeds Area
Talent: Double Ventriloquism/Vocal, “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody,” “Swanee” and “Mame”
Name: Kathy Pickett
Hometown: Mulga
Local title: Miss Birmingham
Talent: Classical Vocal, “Sempre Libera” from “La Traviata”
Name: Teresa Cheatham
Hometown: Wellington
Local title: Miss Point Mallard
Talent: Semi-classical Vocal, “And This Is My Beloved”
Name: Julie Houston
Hometown: Heflin
Local title: Miss Oak Mountain
Talent: Banjo, “Beverly Hillbillies Theme”
Name: Denise Davis
Hometown: Russellville
Local title: Miss Mannequins
Talent: Popular Vocal
Name: Susie Vaughn
Hometown: Florence
Local title: Miss University of North Alabama
Talent: Classical Vocal, “Vilja” from “The Merry Widow”
Name: Pam Long
Hometown: Florence
Local title: Miss Florence State University
Talent: Ventriloquism
Name: Jane Rice
Hometown: Huntsville
Local title: Miss Jacksonville State University
Talent: Vocal, “Tapestry” and “I Will Never Pass This Way Again”
Name: Freita Fuller
Hometown: Opelika
Local title: Miss Lake Eufala
Talent: Hula and Tahitian Dance
Name: Ceil Jenkins
Hometown: Birmingham
Local title: Miss Northeast Alabama
Talent: Vocal / Dance, “But Alive” from “Applause”
Name: Suzanne Dennie
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Popular Vocal, “Alfie”
Name: Ann Fowler
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Vocal, “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” from “Fiddler on the Roof”
Name: Dellynne Catching
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Piano Medley, “Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum,” “America the Beautiful” and “This Is My Country”
Name: Becky Alford
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Vocal, “Ain’t This a Pretty Night” from “Susannah”
Name: Angie Grooms
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Folk Vocal & Guitar, “Today” and “If I Had a Hammer”
Name: Linda Folsom
Hometown: New Brockton
Talent: Classical Vocal, “Caro Nome” from “Rigoletto”
Name: Vicki Powers
Hometown: Mobile
Talent: Classical Vocal, “Habanera”
Name: Judy Short
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Marimba, “Horst Toccata”
Name: Patricia Bonner
Hometown: Camden
Talent: Classical Vocal, “O Luce di Quest’Anima” from “Linda di Chamounix”
Name: Delores Hodgens
Hometown: Bessemer
Talent: Classical Piano, “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12”
FYI: Patricia Ellisor assumed the title of Miss Alabama when Hodgens resigned after competing in the Miss America pageant.
Name: Teresa Rinaldi
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Classical Vocal, “Addio” from “La boheme”
Name: Betty Lindstrom
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Dramatic Reading, “Miss Quiss”
Name: Lee Thornberry
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Vocal/Dance, “Honey Bun” from “South Pacific”
Name: Anna Stange
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Monologue from “Mourning Becomes Electra”
Name: Anne Stuart Ariail
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Vocal/Dance, “Ado Annie” from “Oklahoma”
Name: Patricia Huddleston
Hometown: Clanton
Talent: Classical Vocal, “Pace, Pace Mio Dio!” from “La Forza del Destino”
Name: Marilyn Tate
Hometown: Haleyville
Talent: Ventriloquism/Classical Piano
Name: Virginia McDavid
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Monologue, “Tara”' from “Gone With the Wind”
Name: Gwen Harmon
Hometown: Birmingham
Talent: Vocal, “A Heart That’s Free”
Name: Jeanne Moody
Hometown: Cherokee
Talent: Dramatic Skit, “Sorry Wrong Number”
FYI: Bettye Burson assumed the title when Moody resigned after competing in the Miss America pageant.
Name: Yolande Betbeze
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Hometown: Mobile
Talent: Classical Vocal, “Caro Nome” from “Rigoletto”
FYI: Betbeze went on to win Miss America; the Miss Alabama title was not assigned to a runner-up. During her reign as Miss America, Betbeze refused to pose in a swimsuit, saying that she was “an opera singer, not a pinup.” As a result, Catalina, primary sponsor of the swimsuit competition, exited Miss America and founded the Miss USA pageant.
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