Delegates
The Miss America 1979 delegates:
| State | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Teresa Cheatham | Wellington | Vocal | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award; Preliminary Talent Award | Toured with Miss America USO Troupe | |||||||||
| Alaska | Patty-Jo Gentry | Valdez | |||||||||||||
| Arizona | Susan Kohler | Tempe | |||||||||||||
| Arkansas | Naylene Vuurens | Searcy | |||||||||||||
| California | Christine Louise Acton | Chula Vista | |||||||||||||
| Colorado | Catherine Brown | Littleton | |||||||||||||
| Connecticut | Maryalice Flintroy | Meriden | |||||||||||||
| Delaware | Janice Anne Albro | Claymont | preliminary swimsuit winner | ||||||||||||
| Florida | Carolyn Cline | Brandon | Pianist and Vocalist | 2nd runner-up Preliminary Talent Award* tied w/Miss Nebr. Miss New Mexico Universe 1973 | |||||||||||
| Georgia | Deborah Mosely | Atlanta | |||||||||||||
| Hawaii | Elizabeth Kapu'uwailani Lindsey | Laie | |||||||||||||
| Idaho | Kimberly Jensen | Caldwell | |||||||||||||
| Illinois | Debra Carlson | Ottawa | |||||||||||||
| Indiana | Terry Kaiser | Etna Green | |||||||||||||
| Iowa | Mary England | Davenport | |||||||||||||
| Kansas | Lori Ann Bergen | Salina | Top 10 | preliminary talent winner | |||||||||||
| Kentucky | Marcia Bell | Lexington | Top 10 | ||||||||||||
| Louisiana | Phyllis Kelly | Baton Rouge | Top 10 | ||||||||||||
| Maine | Linda Carroll | Alfred | |||||||||||||
| Maryland | Caroline JoAnn Donnelly | College Park | |||||||||||||
| Massachusetts | Rowena Humphrey | Worthington | |||||||||||||
| Michigan | Suzanne M. Schemm | Essexville | |||||||||||||
| Minnesota | Sue Erickson | Coon Rapids | preliminary swimsuit winner | - | Mississippi | Cheri Brown | Meridian | tied w/Miss Ala. preliminary swimsuit winner | |||||||
| Missouri | Tamara Fister | Poplar Bluff | |||||||||||||
| Montana | Vanessa Ochsner | Missoula | |||||||||||||
| Nebraska | Guylyn Remmenga | Elwood | Top 10 | preliminary talent winner (tied w/ Miss Flordia) | - | Nevada | Megan Anderson | Reno | |||||||
| New Hampshire | Belinda Bridgeman | Merrimack | |||||||||||||
| New Jersey | Laurie Berchtold | Ocean City | |||||||||||||
| New Mexico | Jennifer Leigh Schubert | Hobbs | |||||||||||||
| New York | Paula Pope | Lockport | |||||||||||||
| North Carolina | Deborah Shook | Spruce Pine | Gained national attention by kicking her crown across the stage the next to last night of her reign in a disagreement with pageant sponsors, Raleigh Jaycees | ||||||||||||
| North Dakota | Shelia Lindeman | Linton | |||||||||||||
| Ohio | Sher Lynnette Patrick | Centerville | 3rd runner-up | Toured with Miss America USO Troupe | |||||||||||
| Oklahoma | Kendi Brown | Oklahoma City | |||||||||||||
| Oregon | Amy White | Portland | |||||||||||||
| Pennsylvania | Charmaine Kowalski | State College | |||||||||||||
| Rhode Island | Lori Leyden | Providence | |||||||||||||
| South Carolina | Mary Diane Toole | Aiken | |||||||||||||
| South Dakota | Jennifer Holt | Mitchell | |||||||||||||
| Tennessee | Jill Beshears | Memphis | |||||||||||||
| Texas | Sandi Miller | Mesquite | Top 10 | ||||||||||||
| Utah | Jami Coombs | Tremonton | |||||||||||||
| Vermont | Lisa Volkert | Middlebury | |||||||||||||
| Virginia | Kylene Barker | Galax | Miss America 1979 | ||||||||||||
| Washington | Laurie Nelson | Gig Harbor | 4th runner-up | Toured with Miss America USO Troupe | |||||||||||
| West Virginia | Ivy Meadows | St. Albans | |||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | Carin Kizewic | Racine | |||||||||||||
| Wyoming | Kim Pring | Cheyenne | Non Finalist Talent award | Previously Miss Wyoming USA 1975; brought a libel lawsuit against Penthouse Magazine, book Trial by Fire recounts the case |
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