Miss USA 1994


Miss USA 1994, the 43rd Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the South Padre Island Convention Centre on South Padre Island, Texas on February 11, 1994. At the conclusion of the final competition, Lu Parker of South Carolina was crowned by outgoing titleholder Kenya Moore of Michigan.
The pageant was hosted by Bob Goen for the first of three years replacing Dick Clark, with color commentary by Arthel Neville and a special guest appearance by Laura Harring, Miss USA 1985. Entertainment was provided by Doug Stone. During the live broadcast, the organizers of that year's Miss Universe pageant held in Manila, Philippines were introduced during the show along with that country's representative to said international competition, Charlene Bonin Gonzales, Miss Philippines 1994.

Host city

This was the first of three consecutive years that the pageant was held on South Padre Island. The announcement that the pageant would be held there was made on August 11, 1993.
Contestants arrived on January 27 for two weeks of events and preliminary competitions before the final telecast. This included a dinner event in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, put on by the mayor and city officials, which became an issue when rebel activity on the United States-Mexican border led to fears for the contestants' safety. The city had contributed more than $100,000 to South Padre's bid to host the pageant, fundraising that was mirrored by other cities in the Rio Grande Valley.

Results

Placements

Final resultsContestant
Miss USA 1994
  • South Carolina - Lu Parker
1st runner-up
  • Virginia - Patricia Southall
    • 2nd runner-up
  • North Carolina - Lynn Jenkins
    • Top 6
  • Louisiana - Shirelle Lea Hebert
  • Texas - Christine Friedel
  • New York - Jennifer Gareis
    • Top 12
  • Illinois - Kathleen Farrell
  • Missouri - Shelly Lehman
  • Tennessee - Leah Hulan
  • Minnesota - Jolene Stavrakis
  • Kansas - Carol Hovenkamp
  • Hawaii - Nadine Tanega

    • Special awards

  • Miss Congeniality: Denise White
  • Miss Photogenic: Patricia Southall

    Historical significance

  • South Carolina wins competition for the third time.
  • Virginia earns the 1st runner-up position for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1954.
  • North Carolina earns the 2nd runner-up position for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1975.
  • Louisiana finishes as Top 6 for the first time and reaches its highest placement since 1989.
  • Texas finishes as Top 6 for the first time and reaches its highest placement since Gretchen Polhemus won in 1989.
  • New York finishes as Top 6 for the first time and reaches its highest placement since Mary Therese Friel won in 1979.
  • States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Hawaii, Kansas, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
  • Kansas placed for the fourth consecutive year.
  • South Carolina and Texas placed for the third consecutive year.
  • Hawaii, New York and Tennessee made their second consecutive placement.
  • Louisiana, North Carolina and Virginia last placed in 1992.
  • Illinois last placed in 1991.
  • Missouri last placed in 1987.
  • Minnesota last placed in 1985.
  • Georgia breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1992.
  • California breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1991.

    Scores

    • Preliminary competition

    The following are the contestants' scores in the preliminary competition.
    StateInterviewSwimsuitEvening GownAverage
    Alabama8.818.788.878.820
    Alaska8.518.017.988.167
    Arizona8.988.288.498.583
    Arkansas8.998.658.698.777
    California9.188.128.368.553
    Colorado8.738.488.598.600
    Connecticut8.968.328.808.693
    Delaware9.078.639.128.940
    District of Columbia9.238.458.918.863
    Florida8.898.428.698.667
    Georgia9.498.518.888.960
    Hawaii9.168.949.049.047
    Idaho8.837.968.288.357
    Illinois9.448.649.119.063
    Indiana9.078.508.448.670
    Iowa9.308.168.718.723
    Kansas9.259.038.999.090
    Kentucky9.018.138.708.613
    Louisiana9.409.179.349.303
    Maine9.048.308.538.623
    Maryland9.088.628.668.787
    Massachusetts8.848.348.598.590
    Michigan8.918.388.468.583
    Minnesota9.139.089.179.127
    Mississippi9.118.498.668.753
    Missouri8.748.989.268.993
    Montana8.768.418.568.577
    Nebraska8.958.268.538.580
    Nevada8.848.508.638.657
    New Hampshire8.468.548.868.620
    New Jersey8.638.808.948.790
    New Mexico8.628.838.768.737
    New York9.149.239.259.207
    North Carolina9.368.888.989.073
    North Dakota8.837.958.228.333
    Ohio8.628.218.448.423
    Oklahoma8.718.838.878.803
    Oregon9.028.048.248.433
    Pennsylvania9.008.528.948.820
    Rhode Island8.798.778.828.793
    South Carolina9.689.309.409.460
    South Dakota8.718.358.378.477
    Tennessee9.208.829.269.093
    Texas9.368.879.239.153
    Utah9.188.308.698.723
    Vermont8.968.248.578.590
    Virginia9.539.049.209.257
    Washington8.678.048.528.410
    West Virginia8.958.528.948.803
    Wisconsin9.009.058.748.930
    Wyoming8.997.978.498.483

    Final competition

    StateInterviewSwimsuitEvening GownAverageFinalists
    Virginia9.8439.6359.8519.7769.813
    North Carolina9.4549.3019.5699.4419.763
    South Carolina9.6269.4609.8709.6529.675
    Louisiana9.5399.6139.6839.6129.650
    Texas9.4899.3549.6999.5149.575
    New York9.5619.5489.6269.5789.225
    Illinois9.4609.2889.4849.411-
    Missouri9.3209.3189.5089.382-
    Tennessee9.3009.2349.4399.324-
    Minnesota9.2909.2419.4219.317-
    Kansas9.1919.1769.3759.247-
    Hawaii9.2299.0969.3459.223-

    Historical significance

    The Miss USA 1994 delegates were: