Miss USA 1998 (Jayverse)

Miss USA 1998, the 47th Miss USA pageant, was held in Shreveport, Louisiana in March, 1998. The preliminary competition was held on March 6, 1998, and the final competition on March 10, 1998. The event was won by Shawnae Jebbia of Massachusetts, who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Brandi Sherwood of Idaho.

The pageant was held in Shreveport, Louisiana for the second consecutive year; During the two weeks that the delegates were in Shreveport the city and local companies benefitted from the extra business generated by the pageant and by the publicity offered by three minutes of promotion during the live broadcast. The expected worldwide audience for the pageant was 300 million people.

The pageant was hosted by Wheel of Fortune's David Sidoni for the second time, and Ali Landry, Miss USA 1996 and Julie Moran, co-host of Entertainment Tonight, offered color commentary with backstage reporter Lesley Visser from UBC's Monday Night Football. She Moves provided entertainment during the competition which was broadcast on UBC.

During the competition, in a pre-taped segment, Halle Berry, Miss Ohio USA 1986 and first runner-up to Christy Fichtner at Miss USA 1986, was awarded a Distinguished Achievement Award for her achievements in acting.

Placements
Map showing placements by state

Special awards

 * Miss Congenality: Vera Morris (North Carolina)
 * Miss Photogenic: Sonja Glenn (South Carolina)
 * Style Award: Meredith Blankenship (Virginia)
 * Best in Swimsuit: Shawnae Jebbia (Massachusetts)

Delegates & Troupe
The Miss USA 1998 delegates were:

Historical significance

 * Massachusetts wins competition for the first time and surpasses its previous highest placement in 1978. Also becoming in the 26th state who does it for the first time.
 * California earns the 1st runner-up position for the fourth time. The last time it placed this was in 1988. Also it reaches the highest placement since Shannon Marketic won in 1992.
 * Missouri earns the 2nd runner-up position for the third time. The last time it placed this was in 1963.
 * Texas finishes as Top 5 for the third time and repeats the same placement as the last year 1997.
 * Utah finishes as Top 5 for the second time and repeats the same placement as the last year 1997.
 * States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Texas and Utah.
 * Texas placed for the seventh consecutive year.
 * Utah placed for the third consecutive year.
 * Louisiana and Michigan last placed in 1996.
 * Massachusetts and Missouri last placed in 1995.
 * Virginia last placed in 1994.
 * California last placed in 1993.
 * Arizona last placed in 1992.
 * Washington last placed in 1983.
 * Oklahoma breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1995.
 * Tennessee breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1996.
 * For the second time since 1984, the pageant featured three former Miss Teen USA titleholders. Miss Teen USA 1983 and 1984 competed in the Miss USA 1984 pageant as "Miss Teen USA" plus the year that they won the title. This time, the two Miss Teen USA winners had to win their state titles first. This became the first time that two former Miss Teen USAs represented their states at Miss USA after the rule change took place in 1985.
 * Miss Teen USA 1994 Shauna Gambill, as Miss California USA 1998, placed 1st runner-up.
 * Miss Teen USA 1993 Charlotte Lopez, as Miss Vermont USA 1998, placed in the Top 10
 * Miss Teen USA 1992 Jamie Solinger, as Miss Iowa USA 1998, did not place.

Crossovers
Eleven delegates had previously competed in either the Miss Teen USA or Miss America pageants.

Delegates and Troupe Members who had previously held a Miss Teen USA state title and went on to win a Miss USA state title the following year were:


 * Melissa Leigh Anderson (Utah) - Miss Utah Teen USA 1990
 * Catherine Bliss (New York) - Miss New York Teen USA 1990
 * Nicole Llewellen (Indiana) - Miss Indiana Teen USA 1992 (Semi-finalist at Miss Teen USA 1992)
 * Jamie Solinger (Iowa) - Miss Iowa Teen USA 1992, Miss Teen USA 1992
 * Carissa Blair (Troupe Member) - Miss Texas Teen USA 1992, Miss Texas USA 1999
 * Tammie Rankin (Nevada) - Miss Nevada Teen USA 1993
 * Melanie Breedlove (Missouri) - Miss Missouri Teen USA 1993
 * Kelli Paarz (New Jersey) - Miss New Jersey Teen USA 1994 (Semi-finalist at Miss Teen USA 1994)
 * Shauna Gambill (California) - Miss California Teen USA 1994, Miss Teen USA 1994
 * Allison Nesemeier (North Dakota) - Miss North Dakota Teen USA 1994
 * Kimberly Pressler (Troupe Member) - Miss New York Teen USA 1994, Miss New York USA 1999, Miss USA 1999
 * Anne-Marie Dixon (Oklahoma) - Miss Illinois Teen USA 1995 (Finalist at Miss Teen USA 1995)

Delegate who had previously held a Miss America state title were:


 * Michelle Stanley (Colorado) - Miss Colorado 1996

Delegate who competed at Miss World 1998:


 * Shauna Gambill (California)

Judges
The 1998 Miss USA Judges who judged the Preliminaries (which weren't televised) and FInals were


 * Donna Curtis - Executive Director of Shreveport Green
 * Pamela Dennis - Fashion Designer
 * John Elkington - Real Estate Developer
 * Howard Fine - Acting Coach
 * Andre Harrell - CEO of Harrell Entertainment
 * Nancy Kerrigan - Figure Skater
 * Andrew Krasny - Entertainment Writer
 * Jon Landau - Producer of the Movie Titanic
 * Mary Lyon - AP West Coast Entertainment Reporter
 * Dr. Karen Pendleton - Lifestyle Physician
 * Russell Simmons - Head of Def Jam Records
 * Frederique van der Wal - Victoria's Secret Model