Madison Marsh, a 22-year-old US Air Force officer was crowned the Miss America 2024 on Sunday (Monday, January 15 IST). Madison, a second lieutenant in the US Air Force and master’s student at the Harvard Kennedy School’s public policy program, won the beauty pageant in Orlando, Florida. The Miss Colorado 2023 winner is the first-ever active-duty Air Force officer to receive the national title. Meanwhile, Ellie Breaux of Texas is the first runner-up in the beauty pageant. Know who is Madison Marsh and more details inside.
Madison Marsh beat 51 contestants representing the 50 US states, including the District of Columbia, to win the top spot in the Miss America pageant. While Madison won the Miss America crown, Ellie Breaux was the first runner-up, Cydney Bridges of Indiana was the second runner-up, Mallory Hudson of Kentucky was the third runner-up, and Caroline Parente of Rhode Island was the fourth runner-up. Meanwhile, the 2023 Miss America winner Grace Stanke of Wisconsin crowned Madison at the event.
Reportedly, during the questionnaire round, Madison was asked about her goals as Miss America. The Miss America responded by highlighting her military credentials as an embodiment of her commitment to learning and leading “with passion.” She also mentioned her mother, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2018, during the discussion round. Her death motivated Madison to start the Whitney Marsh Foundation to raise money for cancer research.
Meanwhile, Madison won the title of Miss Colorado last year. She graduated in 2023 from the US Air Force Academy. The Miss America winner is pursuing a master’s degree in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. After her win, the US Air Force posted on X, “Congratulations to our very own #Airman, 2nd Lt Madison Marsh, aka Miss Colorado — who was just crowned @MissAmerica 2024! Marsh is the first active-duty servicemember to ever win the title.”