New Yorker Kira Kazantsev has won the coveted 2015 Miss America Pageant crown on Sunday. Her win marked New York’s third consecutive Miss America title. The crown was handed to Kazantsev by Nina Davuluri, a New Yorker and the first Indian-American winner. Davuluri was the successor to Mallory Hagan from New York.
The title comes with a $50,000 scholarship.
As part of the competition, Kazantsev, 23, sang Pharrell William’s song “Happy,” keeping time by tapping a red plastic cup. She said in a question-and-answer segment that sexual assault in the US military was a problem that needed to be addressed by US lawmakers.
Wearing a long-sleeved, backless white gown and clutching red roses, the newest Miss America walked the runway with a wide smile and waved to a cheering crowd in Atlantic City, where the 94-year-old beauty pageant returned last year after eight years in Las Vegas.
Kira’s platform is focused on protecting women from domestic violence, and the Miss America Organization said she regularly spoke at homeless and domestic violence shelters.
Pageant judges scored contestants from the 50 US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands based on a talent competition, a personal interview, their answers to an on-stage question, and their appearance in gowns and swimsuits.
