Miss Oklahoma Olivia Jordan was crowned Miss USA 2015 on Sunday night in Baton Rouge, LA.
The 26-year-old Tulsa native earned a B.S. in Health Sciences from Boston University. While in college, Jordan worked as a fitness instructor and started up a self-defense workshop in conjunction with her sorority, Alpha Phi. The new Miss USA has worked both as a model and an actress — she can be seen in “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” — and has been published by Cosmo, Shape and Vogue Japan.
Miss Texas Ylianna Guerra and Miss Rhode Island Anea Garcia were the first and second runners-up, respectively. Miss Nevada Brittany McGowan and Miss Maryland Mame Adjei rounded out the Top 5 of the competition.
Miss USA 2015 was hosted by Todd Newton and former Miss Wisconsin USA 2009 Alex Wehrley and included a performance by former “Voice” contestant Adley Stump. The event aired on Reelz following a fallout between NBC and Donald Trump concerning the politician’s comments about Mexican immigrants during his 2016 presidential bid announcement.
During the pageant, some damage control was attempted with adiversity segment introduced by Wehrley: “Just like the United States, the Miss USA competition is truly multi-cultural. Many of the contestants are first-generation Americans whose parents come from all around the world.”
The Top 5 each had to answer two questions in the interview round — one from the judges and one that was viewer submitted.
“I think we still need to talk about race relations in this country. We have not solved this issue, and we really need to work on being an accepting society where every single person is given the same rights and privileges and opportunities,” Jordan responded when asked what issue she thinks is the next issue that should be tackled on a national level.
And while she wishes Oprah Winfrey were eligible to be the first woman to grace a $10 bill come 2020, she also thinks Harriet Tubman is an excellent choice.
