Miss California

For the state pageant affiliated with Miss USA, see Miss California USA. For the song by Dante Thomas, see Miss California (song).
Miss California
Formation1924
TypeScholarship pageant
HeadquartersVisalia
Location
Membership
Miss America
Official language
English
Key people
Russ Gladden (CEO)
WebsiteOfficial website

The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America competition.

The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Miss California pageant was held, the competition was primarily in San Francisco and Venice, California. In 1947, it returned to Santa Cruz and was held there annually until 1985, after which it moved to San Diego in response to years of protests and a "Myth California" counter pageant organized by local feminist activists led by Ann Simonton and Nikki Craft.[1][2][3][4] It has been held in Visalia, California since 2023.[5][6]

Kimberly Vernon of Santa Clara was crowned Miss California 2024 on June 15, 2024, at the Visalia Convention Center Visalia, California. She will compete for the title of Miss America 2025.

  1. ^ Clemens, Samuel (2020). Pat: A Biography of Hollywood's Blonde Starlet. Sequoia Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0578682822.
  2. ^ "Police Arrest 11 Demonstrators in Protest of Pageant", Associated Press in Oxnard Press-Courier, June 17, 1986.
  3. ^ Bacon, Amity (2005-05-22). "Miss California Pageant united the community and served as a platform for protest". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
  4. ^ Kirsten Anderberg, "Radical body politics for women", KirstenAnderberg.com 2004
  5. ^ Hoagland, Doug (2007-07-01). "Pageant crowns San Diego woman". Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  6. ^ "Miss California History". Miss California. Archived from the original on October 13, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2014.