, Miss Missouri USA 2007]] Miss Missouri USA and Miss USA 2004]] The Miss Missouri USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Missouri in the Miss USA pageant. In 1993, Missouri joined the Vanbros group of state pageants for the Miss USA and Teen USA system.

Missouri has had only one Miss USA, Shandi Finnessey, who placed as 1st Runner-up to Jennifer Hawkins of Australia in the Miss Universe 2004 pageant.

Three Miss Missouri USAs have competed at Miss America, including Finnessey who is one of only two Miss USA winners since 1980 to win the Miss USA title. Six former Miss Teen USA delegates have also won the title, equalling Indiana and Virginia for the most crossovers, although both Indiana and Missouri have had titleholders who competed in a different state at Miss Teen USA.

Results summary

Placements

Miss USA's: Shandi Finnessey (2004)

2nd runners-up: Carolyn Carlew (1952), Sandra Lee Marlin (1963), Melanie Breedlove (1998)

3rd runners-up: Nancy Rebecca (1971), Sandy Percival (1984), Dawn Fonseca (1987)

4th runners-up: Karen Hendrix (1967), Larissa Meek (2001)

Top 10: Amy Ruth Coverdale (1985), Amber Seyer (2007), Candice Crawford (2008), Ashley Strohmier (2010)

Top 12: Dorothy Ann McElven (1974), Nancy LaRose (1975), Donna Hibbitts (1976), Shelly Lehman (1994), Britt Powell (1995)

Top 15: Marilyn Jean Stalcup (1960)

Winners

¹ Age at the time of the Miss USA pageant

References

External links

Official website

Missouri Category:Missouri culture

Name	Shandi Finnessey
Photo
Title	Miss Missouri 2002 Miss Missouri USA 2004 Miss USA 2004
Nationalcompetition	Miss America 2003 Miss USA 2004 (winner) Miss Universe 2004 (1st runner-up)
Birth place	Florissant, Missouri, United States
Birth name	Shandi Ren Finnessey
Height
Birth date	June 09, 1978
Eye color	Blue
Hair color	Blonde
Nationality	American
Ethnicity	White/Caucasian
Homepage	http://www.shandi.info

Shandi Ren Finnessey (born June 9, 1978; Florissant, Missouri, U.S.) is an American beauty queen, model and television hostess. She is best known for winning the Miss USA title, as Miss Missouri USA. She previously held the title of Miss Missouri 2002 and competed in Miss America where she won a preliminary award.

In 2002, Finnessey authored a children’s book, The Furrtails, which helps children appreciate individuality and understand their peers who have disabilities. She became Chuck Woolery's co-host on the game show Lingo in August 2005 at the start of the show's fourth season until the show went on hiatus in 2008. In April 2006, she began appearing on the interactive series PlayMania, another GSN original. On February 23, 2007, PlayMania broke into two shows, 100 Winners and quiznation; Finnessey became the co-host of quiznation, a revised but similar version of the original PlayMania. She remained a co-host until October 21, 2007, several days before the show's finale. Finnessey was also a commentator on the 2006 Miss Universe Pageant and a sideline reporter for the CBS tournament blackjack series Ultimate Blackjack Tour.

Finnessey graduated from Incarnate Word Academy in 1996 and completed a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from Lindenwood University in 1999. She has credits toward a masters degree in counseling from the same university.

Pageants

Participation

Finnessey first competed in the Miss Missouri USA 2000 pageant in 1999 where she finished first runner-up. She competed the following year and placed second runner-up to Larissa Meek in the 2001 event. In 2000, Finnessey competed in the Miss Oktoberfest pageant and was a runner-up. The pageant was won by Jenna Edwards, who would later hold the Miss Florida and Miss Florida USA titles.

In 2002, Finnessey won the Miss St. Louis Metro local title in the Miss Missouri system and went on to win the Miss Missouri title. She represented Missouri in the Miss America 2003 pageant, where she won an evening gown preliminary award but did not place.

Less than a year after giving up her title, Finnessey won the Miss Missouri USA pageant on her third attempt. She represented Missouri in the nationally televised Miss USA 2004 pageant. In the nationally televised pageant, she became the first woman from Missouri to win the Miss USA title.

During her six-month reign as Miss Missouri USA, Finnessey was involved in such charities as the Variety Club Telethon, St. Louis Cardinals Winter Warm Up for local charities, AIDS Foundation, Special Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri and Gilda's Club

As Miss USA Finnessey went on to represent the United States at the international Miss Universe competition held in Quito, Ecuador in May 2004. She placed first runner-up in the internationally broadcast competition, behind winner Jennifer Hawkins of Australia.

During her reign as Miss USA, Finnessey became an advocate for breast cancer and ovarian cancer awareness and research. Finnessey resided in a luxury riverside apartment in New York City provided by the Miss Universe Organization and pageant co-owner Donald Trump.

As Miss USA, Finnessey represented the Miss Universe Organization. Her "sister" 2004 titleholders were Jennifer Hawkins (Miss Universe, of Australia) and Shelley Hennig (Miss Teen USA, of Louisiana).

Hosting

Finnessey provided color commentary at the Miss USA 2005 pageant, where she was the outgoing titleholder. On July 23, 2006 she also co-hosted the Miss Universe 2006 Pageant live from Los Angeles, California as a commentator with Carson Kressley. The show's main hosts were Carlos Ponce and Nancy O'Dell. Finnessey has also co-hosted subsequent Miss Missouri USA pageants.

Post pageants

After completing her reign as Miss USA, Finnessey became a co-host of Lingo and PlayMania on GSN. Her GSN career continued to flourish until late 2007 and early 2008 when both her shows stopped filming. She also has appeared in several documentaries produced by GSN. She has also appeared on the NBC reality show The Apprentice, in the 20 Sexiest Men and 20 Sexiest Women specials on CMT, and as Grand Marshal in the 2004 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans of 2006 by the Jaycees. She also appeared alongside Chris Myers as part of the coverage of the New Year's Eve 2007 Festivities for Fox. On March 19, 2007, Finnessey debuted on the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars. Her professional dance partner was Brian Fortuna, and she was the second celebrity voted off the show. On October 31, 2007, she appeared as a guest celebrity on NBC's Phenomenon. She also hosted Hollywood Fast Track, a web based show about movies, music, and trends in Hollywood. She is also the host/co-host of several TV Guide Network specials. On September 2, 2008, Shandi was on the season finale of Wanna Bet? on ABC, where she made a record for the biggest successful bet on the show betting $20,000 in the 1st best. Shandi lost in the end betting $40,000 and guessing incorrectly. In August, 2010, she appeared on a special "Girls of Summer" week airing of NBC's Minute to Win It on an episode called "Last Beauty Standing." The episode featured 10 beauty pageant winners competing for $100,000 towards their chosen charities along with a chance to win a $1,000,000 challenge.

References

External links

Official

Shandi.info - Her official site

Shandi - Her official Twitter

Articles

Miss USA 2004

Interviews

Ability Magazine - Interview

Stimmung Stunde Radio - Audio Interview

Adam Carolla Radio Show - Audio Interview

PageantCast Episode #4 - Audio Interview

Other

NetGlimpse biography

Shandi Finnessey Fan Club

Category:1978 births Category:American Christians Category:American female models Category:American game show hosts Category:Dancing with the Stars (US TV series) participants Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Living people Category:Lindenwood University alumni Category:Miss America 2003 delegates Category:Miss Universe 2004 delegates Category:Miss USA winners Category:Miss USA 2004 delegates Category:American people of Norwegian descent Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from St. Louis County, Missouri Category:Poker commentators Category:Missouri Republicans

Name	Larissa Meek
Photo
Title	Miss Missouri Teen USA 1997 Miss Missouri USA 2001
Nationalcompetition	Miss Teen USA 1997 Miss USA 2001 (4th runner-up)
Birth place	St. Louis, Missouri U.S.
Birth name	Larissa Meek
Birth date	August 29, 1978
Height
Eye color	Green
Hair color	Brown
Homepage	http://www.larissameek.com/

Larissa Meek (born August 29, 1978 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former beauty queen who has competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants and a model who was the star of the television show Average Joe: Hawaii.

Pageants

In 1996 Meek won the Miss Missouri Teen USA 1997 title and competed in the Miss Teen USA 1997 pageant held at South Padre Island, Texas. She did not place but did earn an Honorable Mention (for placing between 11th and 15th place).

In 2000 she competed in the Miss Missouri USA pageant for the first time and won the title. Meek represented Missouri at the Miss USA 2001 pageant telecast live from Gary, Indiana in March 2001, and made the semifinals. Meek won both the swimsuit and evening gown competitions with scores of 9.45 and 9.39 respectively and advanced to the top five but failed to make the top three after finishing last in the interview competition. She placed fourth runner-up to Texas' Kandace Krueger.

Reality television

In 2003 she appeared as the star of the reality television show Average Joe: Hawaii, succeeding fellow Miss Missouri Teen USA and Miss Missouri USA titleholder Melana Scantlin for this role. When the show started she went on dates with "average Joes". Partway through the show, however, a bunch of "hunks" were brought in to compete against the Joes, a twist also used on the first edition of the show. When down to the final two men, Meek chose Gil Hyatt over average Joe Brian Worth, only to have Hyatt reject her after finding out that she previously had dated male supermodel Fabio.

Personal life and career

Meek is an accomplished artist and web designer. Since 2006 she has worked at Agencynet in Florida, and in 2008 started serving as an associate creative director. In 2009 she moved to Los Angeles, still working for Agencynet.

Meek and fiance Jason Chambers are expecting twins, a girl and a boy, at the end of 2010.

References

External links

Miss Missouri USA & Miss Missouri Teen USA official website

Blog of Larissa Meek

Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:Miss Teen USA 1997 delegates Category:Miss USA 2001 delegates Category:Participants in American reality television series

Name	Chace Crawford
Caption	Crawford at the 10th Annual Angel Ball, October 29, 2007.
Birth date	July 18, 1985
Birth place	Lubbock, Texas, U.S.
Birthname	Christopher Chace Crawford
Yearsactive	2006-present
Occupation	Actor Model (former)

Christopher Chace Crawford (born July 18, 1985) is an American actor best known for his role as Nate Archibald in Gossip Girl on The CW.

Personal life

Crawford was born in Lubbock, Texas, and raised in Plano, Texas. His father, Chris, is a dermatologist, and his mother, Dana, is a teacher. He also has a younger sister, Candice Crawford, who was Miss Missouri USA 2008. He lived in Bloomington, Minnesota for four years and then graduated high school from Trinity Christian Academy. After high school, he moved to Malibu, California, to attend Pepperdine University, where he studied broadcast journalism. He struggled to identify a career path, vacillating among advertising, business, and communications majors. Midway through his second year, Crawford's mother encouraged him to pursue acting, calling it "a practical move" based on a career aptitude test he had taken in high school that revealed he was best suited for a career in the performing arts. He was signed by the first talent agent who interviewed him..

Crawford and singer Carrie Underwood started dating in October 2007. They decided to break up in April 2008 via text message.

On June 11, 2010, Crawford was charged in Texas with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Crawford insisted he was innocent and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but, if convicted, he could face up to 6 months in jail.

Career

In 2007, Crawford landed the role of Nate Archibald on The CW's Gossip Girl.

Crawford played British singer Leona Lewis's boyfriend in the video for her song "I Will Be". The video was released in January 2009. The same year, Crawford was named "Summer's Hottest Bachelor" by People. He has also done a public service announcement for Do Something's Teens for Jeans campaign.

Crawford signed on to play a lead role as a drug dealer named White Mike in the upcoming film Twelve, directed by Joel Schumacher. The film, based on Nick McDonell's novel of the same name, premiered at Sundance Film Festival on January 31, 2010.

Crawford was scheduled to play the lead in the remake of Footloose but dropped out. Zac Efron was also tied to the project at one point before dropping out as well.

In June 2010, it was confirmed that Crawford will join the indie flick Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding alongside Jane Fonda and Catherine Keener. He will portray a war-protesting butcher, Cole, who is a love interest of Jane Fonda's character's daughter.

Filmography

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year !! Film !! Role !! Notes |- | 2006 | The Covenant | Tyler Simms | |- | rowspan="2"| 2008 | Loaded | Hayden Price | |- | The Haunting of Molly Hartley | Joseph Young | |- | 2010 | Twelve | White Mike | |- | 2011 | Peace, Love, and Misunderstanding | Cole | Post-production |- |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | 2006 | Long Lost Son | Matthew Williams / Mark Halloran | Made-for-television film |- | 2007–present | Gossip Girl | Nathaniel "Nate" Archibald | Main cast (Seasons 1-present)
Teen Choice Award for Choice TV: Male Breakout Star (2008)
Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Drama (2009, 2010)
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Drama (2008)
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Male Hottie (2008, 2009) |- | 2008–2010 | Family Guy | Various | Voice only; 3 episodes |- | 2009 | Robot Chicken | John Connor (Voice only) | |- |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Music videos |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year !! Song !! Role !! Artist |- | 2009 | "I Will Be" | Boyfriend | Leona Lewis |}

Awards and nominations

{| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Result ! Award ! Category ! Nominated Work |- |rowspan="2" | 2008 | |rowspan="2" | Teen Choice Award |Choice TV Actor: Drama |rowspan="2" | Gossip Girl |- | |Choice TV: Male Breakout Star |- |rowspan="2" | 2009 | |rowspan="2" | Teen Choice Award |Choice Male Hottie | |- | |Choice TV Actor: Drama |rowspan="2" |Gossip Girl |- |2010 | |Teen Choice Award |Choice TV Actor: Drama |}

References

External links

Details magazine profile of Chace Crawford

Chace Crawford cast bio at The CW

Category:1985 births Category:Actors from Texas Category:American film actors Category:American male models Category:American television actors Category:Living people Category:People from Lubbock, Texas