Miss Alabama: Photos of every winner since 1950 (2024)

When a new Miss Alabama is crowned, she’s following in the footsteps of about 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 today, 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).

Let’s take a look back at women who’ve earned the crown, cradled the roses and shed happy tears, 1950-2024.

(NOTE: This list has been updated to add Miss Alabama winners from 2021 to 2024.)

Name: Abbie Stockard

Hometown: Birmingham

Local title: Miss Hoover

Talent: Contemporary dance, “You Say”

Name: Brianna Burrell

Hometown: Mobile

Local title: Miss Baldwin County

Talent: Vocal, “Alabaster Box”

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”

See Also

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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

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.