Miss USA 1996


Miss USA 1996, the 45th Miss USA pageant, was held at South Padre Island, Texas culminating in the final competition and crowning on February 2, 1996.
At the conclusion of the final competition, Ali Landry of Louisiana was crowned by outgoing titleholder Shanna Moakler of New York.
Landry is the first former Miss Teen USA state delegate to win the Miss USA title, the third Miss USA from Louisiana and the second Miss Louisiana USA to win both the Photogenic award and Miss USA crown, making Louisiana the only state to complete this feat after California did it in 1992. Landry is also the fifth and last Miss Photogenic to be crowned as Miss USA after winning the award.
The pageant was held on South Padre Island for the third and final time. It was hosted by Bob Goen for the third time, and Maty Monfort offered colour commentary. Aaron Neville provided entertainment during the competition.
This was also the first year that the Miss Universe Organization opened a website dedicated to the pageant, and the first time they instituted an internet vote to choose the winner of the Miss Photogenic award.
It was also the first time since 1989 that there were 10 semifinalists, instead of the usual 12. Also, this was the first year since 1991 in which the delegates wore one-piece bathing suits for the preliminary and final swimsuit competitions.

Results

Placements

Final ResultsContestant
Miss USA 1996
  • Louisiana - Ali Landry
1st Runner-Up
  • Kansas - Danielle Boatwright
    • 2nd Runner-Up
  • Tennessee - Becca Lee
    • Top 6
  • Oklahoma - Heather Crickard
  • Michigan - Natasha Bell
  • North Dakota - Juliette Spier
    • Top 10
  • Utah - Tracy Kennick
  • Indiana - Holly Roehl
  • Texas - Kara Williams
  • Illinois - Bernadette Przybycien

    • Special awards

  • Miss Congeniality - Ku'ualoha Taylor
  • Miss Photogenic - Ali Landry
  • Finesse Style Award - Becca Lee -
  • Best in Swimsuit: - Danielle Boatwright

    Historical significance

  • Louisiana wins competition for the third time.
  • Kansas earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time and reaches its highest placement since 1993.
  • Tennessee earns the 2nd runner-up position for the third time. The last time it placed this was in 1984.
  • Oklahoma finishes as Top 6 for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1991.
  • Michigan finishes as Top 6 for the first time and reaches its highest placement since Kenya Moore won in 1993.
  • North Dakota finishes as Top 6 for the first time and reaches its highest placement since 1983.
  • States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas.
  • Texas placed for the fifth consecutive year.
  • Illinois and Louisiana placed for the third consecutive year.
  • Oklahoma made its second consecutive placement.
  • Kansas and Tennessee last placed in 1994.
  • Michigan last placed in 1993.
  • North Dakota last placed in 1983.
  • Utah last placed in 1982.
  • Indiana last placed in 1981.
  • Minnesota and Missouri break an ongoing streak of placements since 1994.
  • New York breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1993.

    Scores

    • Preliminary scores

    The following is the contestants average scores in the preliminary competition.
    StateAverage
    Alabama8.96
    Alaska8.35
    Arizona8.35
    Arkansas8.75
    California8.74
    Colorado8.49
    Connecticut8.97
    Delaware8.36
    District of Columbia8.96
    Florida8.88
    Georgia8.93
    Hawaii8.78
    Idaho8.52
    Illinois9.04
    Indiana9.17
    Iowa8.73
    Kansas9.47
    Kentucky8.61
    Louisiana9.18
    Maine8.51
    Maryland8.77
    Massachusetts8.86
    Michigan9.08
    Minnesota8.85
    Mississippi8.20
    Missouri8.47
    Montana8.41
    Nebraska8.85
    Nevada8.67
    New Hampshire8.44
    New Jersey8.68
    New Mexico8.84
    New York8.91
    North Carolina8.83
    North Dakota9.07
    Ohio8.56
    Oklahoma9.08
    Oregon8.78
    Pennsylvania8.93
    Rhode Island8.63
    South Carolina8.73
    South Dakota8.37
    Tennessee9.19
    Texas8.98
    Utah9.07
    Vermont8.50
    Virginia8.98
    Washington8.60
    West Virginia8.55
    Wisconsin8.55
    Wyoming8.60

    Semifinal scores

    StateInterviewSwimsuitEvening GownAverageFinals
    Louisiana9.518 9.591 9.766 9.625 9.825
    Kansas9.741 9.839 9.824 9.801 9.800
    Tennessee9.391 9.611 9.836 9.613 9.813
    Oklahoma9.419 9.501 9.776 9.565 9.668
    Michigan9.424 9.619 9.506 9.516 9.634
    North Dakota9.474 9.694 9.666 9.611 9.630
    Utah9.431 9.536 9.580 9.515 -
    Indiana9.511 9.647 9.502 9.493 -
    Texas9.391 9.494 9.585 9.490 -
    Illinois9.405 9.450 9.536 9.464 -

    Delegates

    The Miss USA 1996 delegates were:
    Ten delegates had previously competed in either the Miss Teen USA or Miss America pageants.
    Delegates who had previously held a Miss Teen USA state title were:
    Delegate who had previously held a Miss America state title:
    Delegate who previously held a Miss USA state title: