Kristen Johnson

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Kristen Lynn Johnson (born March 16, 1982 in Henderson, Kentucky) is a beauty queen who has represented Kentucky at both Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.

Johnson, who hails from Slaughters, was crowned Miss Kentucky Teen USA in June 2000, winning the crown on her first attempt. Less than a month later she represented her state at the Miss Teen USA pageant held in Shreveport, Louisiana and broadcast live across the United States. Johnson won the Miss Photogenic award at the pageant, and placed second runner-up to Jillian Parry of Pennsylvania. This was only Kentucky's second top-five placement in the seventeen year history of the Miss Teen USA pageant.

Johnson's reign was one of the shortest in the pageant's history, due to changes that allowed the Kentucky pageant contestants to be involved in other events,^[1] and so she passed on her crown to Katherine Faulkner during Thanksgiving weekend 2000, less than six months after being crowned. After her reign Johnson returned to her studies at the University of Kentucky, where she was studying electronic journalism.

Johnson returned to the pageant stage in 2005 when she won the Miss Kentucky USA pageant on her first attempt. Representing Kentucky at the Miss USA 2005 pageant held in Baltimore, Maryland, Johnson again placed second runner-up, this time to Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina, who had also competed in the Miss Teen USA 2000 pageant. This was Kentucky's highest placement at the nationally televised pageant at the time, and the state's first since 1995.

Johnson graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Kentucky in May 2004 with a B.A. in Journalism.

Johnson passed on her Miss Kentucky USA title to Tara Conner in November 2006. Conner, also a former Miss Kentucky Teen USA (2002) had equalled Johnson's second runner-up placement in the Miss Teen USA 2002 pageant won by Vanessa Semrow. Conner would go on to best Johnson's Miss Kentucky USA record by winning the Miss USA crown, the first woman from Kentucky to do so.

After her reign Johnson moved to Chicago, Illinois where she has been involved in modeling and television, appearing on Fear Factor, Spike TV, the NBC News Fashion Segment, the TV Guide Channel and also in various print publications. She made an appearance at the Mint Jubilee Gala Fundraiser on the eve of the 2006 Kentucky Derby, along with Conner, fellow former Miss Kentucky USA Lizzie Arnold and other notable beauty queens.

In April 2006 it was announced that Johnson will compete in the new NBC reality television series Treasure Hunters that will air from June 18 2006. She will team up with fellow Miss USA 2005 delegates Kaitlyn Christopher of Indiana and Melissa Witek of Florida for the competition, which was taped during September and October 2005.