Story at a glance
- The world’s oldest living Miss America died in late October at the age of 97.
- Jo-Carroll Dennison was crowned Miss America in 1942.
- Dennison caused a stir when, following her crowning, she refused to appear onstage in a bathing suit again.
The world’s oldest living Miss America died in late October at the age of 97, her book editor Evan Mills confirmed to CNN on Monday.
Jo-Carroll Dennison was crowned Miss America in 1942.
“The Miss America Organization is saddened to hear of the passing of Miss America 1942, Jo-Carroll Dennison,” the Miss America Organization wrote on Instagram. “We thank her for her year of service and will miss her dearly.”
Dennison was born in 1923 and grew up in Florence, Ariz., where she performed alongside her parents in a traveling medicine show, singing, dancing, and riding trick horses. She was 18 years old when she was crowned Miss America.
Dennison caused a stir when, following her crowning, she refused to appear onstage in a bathing suit again, detailed in her memoir, “Finding My Little Red Hat,” which was published in September 2021.
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“Back in 1942, the pageant was supposed to be about looks,” she said in a pre-recorded message for this year’s 100 anniversary gala for the pageant, which got rid of its swimsuit portion of the competition in 2018.
“Yet, I never thought I had won (Miss America) because of the way I looked, but rather because of the way I felt about myself. With this in mind, I flat out refused to wear my bathing suit onstage after the pageant,” she said.
Mills told CNN that Dennison should “serve as a model for young women — and men — in a world where many are tempted to bend to social expectations rather than trusting and following their own moral compass.”
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