Miss USA 1998


Miss USA 1998, the 47th Miss USA pageant, was held in Shreveport, Louisiana in March, 1998. The preliminary competition was held on March 6, 1998, and the final competition on March 10, 1998. The event was won by Shawnae Jebbia of Massachusetts, who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Brandi Sherwood of Idaho.
The pageant was held in Shreveport, Louisiana for the second consecutive year; unusually Shreveport would also host the Miss Teen USA pageant later the same year. Owner Donald Trump had initially suggested that the event would be moved to New York City, however an agreement was reached in November 1997 for the pageant to stay in Louisiana. During the two weeks that the delegates were in Shreveport the city and local companies benefitted from the extra business generated by the pageant and by the publicity offered by three minutes of promotion during the live broadcast. The expected worldwide audience for the pageant was 300 million people.
The pageant was hosted by The Young and the Restless star J. Eddie Peck for the only time, and Ali Landry, Miss USA 1996 and Julie Moran, co-host of Entertainment Tonight, offered colour commentary. She Moves provided entertainment during the competition. Executive producers Susan Winston and Dan Funk were chosen to produce the live telecast, broadcast on CBS.
During the competition, in a pre-taped segment, Halle Berry, Miss Ohio USA 1986 and first runner-up to Christy Fichtner at Miss USA 1986, was awarded a Distinguished Achievement Award for her achievements in acting.

Results

Placements

Final ResultsContestant
Miss USA 1998
  • Massachusetts - Shawnae Jebbia
1st Runner-Up
  • California - Shauna Gambill
    • 2nd Runner-Up
  • Missouri - Melanie Breedlove
    • Top 5
  • Utah - Melissa Leigh Anderson
  • Texas - Holly Mills
    • Top 10
  • Arizona - Stacey Kole
  • Louisiana - Debbie Delhomme
  • Washington - Natasha Vantramp
  • Michigan - Johnelle Ryan
  • Virginia - Meredith Blankenship

    • Special awards

  • Miss Congenality: Vera Morris
  • Miss Photogenic: Sonja Glenn
  • Style Award: Meredith Blankenship
  • Best in Swimsuit: Shawnae Jebbia

    Scores

    • Final competition

    StateInterviewSwimsuitEvening GownAverageFinalists
    Massachusetts8.909.419.659.329.34
    Missouri9.239.339.119.229.28
    Texas9.069.159.189.139.01
    California9.079.239.089.129.26
    Utah9.128.918.959.009.16
    Arizona8.908.938.868.90-
    Louisiana8.788.809.058.87-
    Washington8.679.048.808.83-
    Michigan8.619.088.668.78-
    Virginia8.538.658.838.67-

    Delegates

    The Miss USA 1998 delegates were:
    Eleven 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 were:
    Delegate who competed at Miss World 1998: