Miss USA 2017 is the 66th Miss USA pageant. It will be held on May 14, 2017 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show will be hosted by Julianne Hough and Terrence J, reprising their 2016 hosting roles. Model and body activist Ashley Graham also returns as backstage host. Brett Eldredge, Pitbull, and the cast of Michael Jackson: One by Cirque du Soleil will perform.
Deshauna Barber of the District of Columbia crowned her successor Kára McCullough of the District of Columbia at the end of the event. The winner will represent the United States at the Miss Universe 2017 competition. Entertainment reporter Alex Wehrley, a former Miss Wisconsin USA, and Barber hosted the preliminary competition held on 11 May 2017.
★Kára Deidra McCullough (born September 9, 1991) is an American beauty pageant titleholder and a physical scientist at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
On May 14, 2017, she represented District of Columbia at Miss USA 2017 and was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder Deshauna Barber, also of the District of Columbia. She will represent the United States at the Miss Universe 2017 pageant.
Born
Kára Deidra McCullough
September 9, 1991 (age 25)
Naples, Italy
Hometown
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma mater
South Carolina State University
Height
5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Hair color
Black
Eye color
Brown
Title(s)
Miss District of Columbia USA 2017
Miss USA 2017
Major
competition(s)
Miss District of Columbia USA 2017
(Winner)
Miss USA 2017
(Winner)
Miss Universe 2017
(TBA)
◆Life and career
Early life and education
McCullough was born in Naples, Italy to Betty Ann Parker and Artensel E. McCullough Sr. Her mother was a member of the United States Navy for 23 years, and she thus lived in various places such as Sicily, South Korea, Japan, and Hawaii.
She was later raised and completed high school in Virginia Beach, Virginia. McCullough attended South Carolina State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry with a concentration in radiochemistry and served as the school's 75th Miss South Carolina State University.
While a student, she was a member of the American Chemical Society, the Health Physics Society, and the American Nuclear Society.[8] She has been inducted into the Golden Key International Honour Society and the National Society of Black Engineers.
McCullough works as an emergency preparedness specialist in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response.
◆Pageantry
Prior to winning Miss District of Columbia USA 2017, she was the first runner-up for Miss District of Columbia USA 2017 twice, in 2015 and 2016. In 2017, she was crowned Miss District of Columbia USA 2017 by outgoing titleholder Deshauna Barber. On May 14, 2017, McCullough competed in the Miss USA 2017 pageant in Las Vegas. She went on to win the competition, beating out first runner-up Chhavi Verg of New Jersey and second runner-up Meridith Gould of Minnesota.
During her time at Miss USA, McCullough received media attention and praise for deciding to compete with her natural hair, which was seen as support for the natural hair movement.
McCullough was both criticized and praised for her conservative question answers, stating that health care was a privilege for the working and not a right, in addition to calling herself an "equalist" as opposed to a feminist.
She is the seventh Miss USA titleholder born outside the United States
