Lauren Nelson
Lauren Nelson | |
---|---|
Born |
Lawton, Oklahoma | November 26, 1986
Alma mater |
MacArthur High School University of Central Oklahoma |
Occupation | News Anchor |
Title |
Miss Teen Lawton 2004 Miss Teen Oklahoma 2004 Miss Oklahoma State Fair 2006 Miss Oklahoma 2006 Miss America 2007 |
Predecessor | Jennifer Berry |
Successor | Kirsten Haglund |
Spouse(s) | Randy Faram (m. 2009–present) |
Website | http://www.laurenpnelson.com/ |
Lauren Paige Nelson (born November 26, 1986) is a beauty queen from Lawton, Oklahoma who holds the Miss America 2007 title. Nelson is the second consecutive Miss America and sixth in the history of Miss America to hail from this state.[1]
Nelson was Miss Teen Oklahoma 2004, and in this role, she performed at the 2005 Miss America Pageant.[2] En route to Miss America, she won the Miss Oklahoma State Fair local title and then competed in the Miss Oklahoma pageant for the first time on June 11, 2006, and was crowned Miss Oklahoma 2006, for which she received a $16,000 scholarship. At age nineteen, she was the youngest contestant to become Miss Oklahoma.
Nelson went on to represent Oklahoma in the Miss America 2007 pageant broadcast on CMT from the Theatre for the Performing Arts on January 29, 2007. She won a preliminary swimsuit award on Thursday night, becoming her state's first Swimsuit preliminary award since 1955. At the conclusion of the live telecast, Nelson was crowned the 82nd Miss America. She succeeds Jennifer Berry, of Jenks, Oklahoma, in the first occurrence of consecutive winners from the same state since Mississippi won in both 1959 and 1960.
A graduate of MacArthur High School, Nelson is a student at the University of Central Oklahoma. She is a member of Centenary United Methodist Church in Lawton, Oklahoma. Her goal is to become a Broadway performer. Her Miss America talent was a vocal performance, and her platform issue is "Be NetSmart – Protecting Kids Online". She received a $50,000 scholarship award along with the title.
Nelson recently teamed up with host John Walsh on the FOX television show America's Most Wanted to assist in the apprehension of potential child predators. Initial reports as of May 1, 2007, stated that she did not plan to return to testify against those predators that were apprehended, putting the prosecution's case in jeopardy.[3] However, she appeared to change her mind later that day, and it is reported that she will testify against the perpetrators.[4]
On January 17, 2008, Nelson appeared on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? playing for the Miss America Organization. She won $175,000 before "dropping out". On August 2, 2010 Nelson joined CBS affiliate KWTV in Oklahoma City as a co-anchor of the station's 4 p.m. newscast, which was reformatted on that date from a traditional newscast to a lifestyle-oriented newscast.
References
- ↑ Associated Press (January 30, 2007). "Miss Oklahoma Lauren Nelson Wins Miss America 2007 Pageant". FOX News.com.
- ↑ "Lauren Nelson bio". Miss Oklahoma Pageant Scholarship Funds, Inc. Archived from the original on September 23, 2006. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
- ↑ CNN.com. "Miss America may not testify in sex sting cases". Archived from the original on 2007-05-05. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
- ↑ "Miss America to testify in sex sting".
External links
- Lauren Nelson at the Internet Movie Database
- Lauren Nelson on Twitter
- Official website
- News9's Lauren Nelson
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lauren Nelson. |
- Miss America official website
- Miss Oklahoma 2006
- "Lauren Nelson is the new Miss America!!!". Latest News. Miss Oklahoma Pageant Scholarship Funds, Inc. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
- Miss America Teams Up With America's Most Wanted story
- Miss America Kids website, offering a free child-safe web browser for children featuring Lauren Nelson
Awards and achievements | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Jennifer Berry |
Miss America 2007 |
Succeeded by Kirsten Haglund |
Preceded by Jennifer Warren |
Miss Oklahoma 2006 |
Succeeded by Lindsey Miller |
Preceded by Ashley Hobbs |
Miss Teen Oklahoma 2004 |
Succeeded by Becca Hester |