Lynnette Cole

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Lynette Cole (born February 9, 1978), won the title Miss Tennessee USA in 2000. She went on to become the first woman from that state to win the Miss USA pageant, which was held in Branson, Missouri on February 4 2000.

Cole hails from Columbia, Tennessee and was twenty-one years old when she won the national crown.

[edit] Family Background

Cole's heritage is Puerto Rican and Caucasian. At ten months old, she was living in foster care with her brother when she was adopted by Gail and Larry Cole, who had to move interstate to get around a law prohibiting adoption of children from a different race. Her adoptive parents had previously been foster parents to over 100 children (not at the same time).

[edit] Pageants

Cole's first major pageant win came in 1995 when she won the title Miss Tennessee Teen USA. She was a finalist at the Miss Teen USA pageant in that year, and also won the Miss Photogenic award.

After winning Miss Tennessee USA and Miss USA 2000, Cole went on to compete at the Miss Universe pageant, held in Nicosia, Cyprus later that year. Her performance was strong enough to secure her a spot among the 5 finalists, and brought the USA back into the semifinals (after Kimberly Pressler had failed to advance the year before, breaking a streak of consecutive placements that had been going on since 1977).

As Miss USA, Cole was a representative of the Miss Universe Organization. Her "sister" 2000 titleholders were Lara Dutta (Miss Universe, of India) and Jillian Parry (Miss Teen USA, of Pennsylvania)

Sadly, Cole does not appear to have been the best example of an ideal titleholder or role model; she was notoriously difficult to work with according to sources both within and outside of the Miss Universe Organization. Many of her fellow competitors and peers reported her to be arrogant and cruel both during her competition days and afterward.

[edit] After the Crown

Since winning Miss USA, Cole has become successful television host for NBC, CMT, ESPN, MTV, VH-1 and made many appearances on As the World Turns. Along with her hosting career she has also appeared in numerous print advertising campaigns and commercials.

Cole recently married Michael O'Nan of Nashville, and now owns a boutique and directs a local preliminary for Miss Tennessee USA.