Justus Kelley has broken new ground at Miss USA, becoming the first married woman and mother to win the title, nearly seven decades after another contestant lost the crown for being both.
According to People, the 31-year-old Miss Virginia USA 2026 became the first mother of two foster children to hold the Miss USA title. She also became the first woman in her 30s to win the crown. Her victory came after the organisation changed its rules in 2023, removing the age limit and allowing mothers to compete.
“This opportunity means the world to me,” Kelley said in an Instagram video shared on the Miss USA account shortly after her victory. “Not only are we celebrating the 75th anniversary, but we made history tonight. I’m the first married woman, first mom and first woman in my 30s. So, it’s a great night.”
Kelley’s victory recalls the extraordinary story of Leona Gage, who won Miss USA in 1957 as Miss Maryland but lost her crown after officials discovered she was married and had two children.
Gage competed in the Miss USA competition in July 1957 and became the first Miss Maryland to win the title. Soon after her victory, rumours about her past surfaced. Reporters questioned her about them, but she avoided giving direct answers.
Gage had married at 14 and gave birth to her first child later that year. She had her second child at 16, according to The Baltimore Sun. She had also lied about her age, telling pageant officials she was 21 when she was actually 18.
An official investigation led to her disqualification and the removal of her Miss USA crown. Runner-up Charlotte Sheffield of Utah then assumed the title and received the prizes.
Sheffield, however, could not replace Gage in the Miss Universe competition. Gage had already begun the process of competing and had been named among the Top 15 semifinalists. Her disqualification from Miss USA also removed her from that competition.
Gage’s son, Rob Kaminer, later reflected on his mother’s pageant career in an interview with the Los Angeles Times after her death in 2010. He described her pageant victories as “both an accomplishment and a tragedy”.
Kaminer said Gage faced health problems and several failed marriages throughout her life. He believed the pageant controversy, along with those experiences, contributed to her becoming a private person.
“When you’re 18 years old and you’re the most beautiful girl in the room … and then you’re 50 and you’re on oxygen and you haven’t taken the time to develop yourself in other areas, what are you left with?” Kaminer said.
He also said he believed his mother was “really preyed on by men from an early age”.
