Justus Kelley makes Miss USA history as first mother and married woman to win
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The 31-year-old Miss Virginia won the 2026 title three years after the pageant expanded eligibility to mothers and married women.
Justus Kelley has made Miss USA history in a way that would have been impossible under the pageant’s former eligibility rules.
Kelley, 31, who represented Virginia, was crowned Miss USA 2026 on Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. Her victory came during the competition’s 75th anniversary celebration, where contestants from across the United States and the District of Columbia competed for the national title.
But the significance of Kelley’s victory goes beyond the crown.
According to PEOPLE, Kelley becomes the first mother to win Miss USA and the first married woman to hold the title. Her historic victory follows changes introduced by the Miss USA organization in 2023 that removed the previous age restriction and opened the competition to mothers.
Kelley succeeds Audrey Eckert, who returned to the stage Thursday to crown her successor.
The final results placed Elizabeth Voight of Pennsylvania as second runner-up, Madeline Erickson of Iowa as third runner-up and Alayzia Christopher of Utah as fourth runner-up.
This year’s competition carried the theme “75 Years of Icons,” with the organization using the anniversary to celebrate generations of women who have held the Miss USA title. Legacy titleholders were also brought onto the stage before the final results were announced.
The 2026 contestants had spent the preceding two weeks in Miami preparing for the competition, including preliminary events and the costume competition. The winner also receives a prize package PEOPLE reports is valued at more than $685,000, including a reported $150,000 salary, a Range Rover, a one-year luxury apartment lease in Miami and wardrobe benefits.
Kelley’s win also arrives after a period of change for the Miss USA organization. Leadership and ownership issues have remained part of the pageant’s recent backdrop, following internal disputes and changes involving Laylah Rose and Thom Brodeur.
For Kelley, however, the focus on Thursday night was the crown and what it represents.
Her victory marks a significant shift in the Miss USA competition, showing how changes to eligibility rules have opened the title to contestants whose lives no longer fit the pageant’s traditional definition of who could compete.