Heather French Henry

Heather Renee French Henry (born December 29, 1974) is a Miss America title holder, personality, fashion designer and veterans advocate.

Biography

Raised in Augusta, Kentucky, French Henry graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. She competed in pageants through her teens, including the Miss Ohio pageant. She competed in the Miss Kentucky Pageant four times before winning the title on her fifth attempt in 1999. She won the 2000 Miss America pageant in September 1999, the first Kentuckian to do so. Her platform for her reign was raising awareness of homeless veterans; her father was a wounded veteran of the Vietnam War. She has received numerous awards for her work with veterans.

On October 27, 2000, she married Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry, 21 years her senior, in Louisville, Kentucky. The couple have two daughters, Harper Renee (born 2001) and Taylor Augusta (born 2003).

In October 2003, French Henry struck and subsequently killed Karola Stede, 44, a native of Germany and mother of four who was crossing against the traffic light in a Louisville intersection. French said that the accident deeply affected her, and she subsequently recounted her story in venues such as The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Heather

Heather may refer to:

Plants

Name

Other meanings

French

French may refer to:

See also

Henry

Henry may refer to:

People

Royalty

See also List of rulers named Henry.

Miss America

Miss America is a scholarship pageant that is held annually and is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 24. Originating in 1921, the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews in addition to their physical appearance. It is run by the Miss America Organization, a not-for-profit corporation based in Linwood, New Jersey, which has developed the "Miss America Scholarship Program", which awards educational scholarships to successful competitors. The stated purpose of the contest is that it "provides young women with a vehicle to further their personal and professional goals and instills a spirit of community service through a variety of unique nationwide community-based programs". Miss America travels about 20,000 miles a month, changing her location every 24 to 48 hours, touring the nation and promoting her particular platform of interest.

The current title-holder, Miss America 2016, is Miss Georgia 2015, Betty Cantrell who was crowned on September 13, 2015, by her predecessor Kira Kazantsev (Miss America 2015).