Heather Renee French Henry (born December 29, 1974) is an American Miss America title holder, personality and fashion designer.
Raised in Maysville, Kentucky, Heather French Henry graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. She competed in pageants through her teens, including the Miss Ohio pageant. She competed in the Miss Kentucky Pageant four times before winning the title on her fifth attempt in 1999. She won the 2000 Miss America pageant in September 1999, the first Kentuckian to do so. Her platform for her reign was raising awareness of homeless veterans; her father was a wounded veteran of the Vietnam War. She has received numerous awards for her work with veterans.
On October 27, 2000, she married Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry in Louisville, Kentucky. The couple have two daughters, Harper Renee (born 2001) and Taylor Augusta (born 2003).
In October 2003, French Henry struck and subsequently killed Karola Stede, 44, a native of Germany and mother of four who was crossing against the traffic light in a Louisville intersection. French said that the accident deeply affected her, and she subsequently recounted her story in venues such as The Oprah Winfrey Show.
On December 13, 2006, a California book publishing company filed a lawsuit against French Henry, claiming that she did not fulfill her contractual obligations regarding a children's book venture. The lawsuit seeks over $350,000 in damages.
Heather French Henry participated in Don't Forget the Lyrics episode that aired on December 12, 2008, appearing with Susan Powell (Miss America 1981) and Kirsten Haglund (Miss America 2008).
On June 26, 2010, Heather French Henry hosted the Miss Virginia pageant in Roanoke, Virginia.
Famous quotes containing the words heather and/or french:
“Yet know I how the heather looks”
—Emily Dickinson (1830–1886)
“The Persians are called the French of the East; we will call the Arabs Oriental Italians. A gifted noble people; a people of wild strong feelings, and of iron restraint over these: the characteristic of noblemindedness, of genius.”
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)