Miss USA has crowned a historic new winner: mother and wife Justus Kelley.
Kelley, 31, who represented Virginia, won Miss USA 2026 on August 27 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. She is the first mother and first married woman to ever hold the Miss USA title. Her win follows rule changes introduced in 2023, which removed the age cap and allowed mothers to compete.
The pageant marked Miss USA’s 75th anniversary and came after a turbulent period for the organization. At the 2025 crowning ceremony, 2024 winner Alma Cooper chose not to return to crown her successor, saying she wanted to stand by her “values, work, and resolve.” She did not explain further, but the decision came after leadership changes and previous titleholder resignations had put the organization under scrutiny.
While Kelley’s win made history for positive reasons, beauty pageants have long been surrounded by drama, scandal, lawsuits, and public embarrassment. Click through the following gallery to see the most controversial moments in beauty pageant history.