Mary Leona Gage

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Leona Gage (born Mary Leona Gage in 1939, Longview, Texas), won the title of Miss USA in 1957, representing the state of Maryland. The next day, she was stripped of her crown when it was revealed that she was married and the mother of two children. She had also lied about her age and was only 18, not 21.

At the time, the Miss USA and the Miss Universe pageants took place at the same time in Long Beach, California. Gage had competed in the Miss Universe preliminary and had been already announced as a Miss Universe semifinalist when she was deposed. Her successor, Charlotte Sheffield of Utah, failed to qualify for semi-finals because she did not take part in the preliminary judging. The vacant spot went to Miss Argentina Monica Lamas.

The Miss Universe title ultimately was won by Peru's Gladys Zender. Coincidentally, Zender also nearly lost her crown when her age was revealed to be only 17, and therefore under the minimum age requirement. Pageant officials, however, allowed her to retain her title.

[edit] Aftermath and later life

When news of Gage's story broke, she was showered with television appearances. Back in Maryland, Gage revealed at a press conference that she was married once before; that first marriage, at age 14, had been annulled after a week. Her subsequent appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was one of CBS's highest rated shows at the time.

After several other appearances, Gage went to Las Vegas as a featured showgirl at the Hotel Tropicana. An attempt at an acting career in the 1960s never took off; Gage enrolled in hairdressing school. She also turned to performing at strip clubs, worked as a model and did commercials. After six failed marriages, she now lives alone in North Hollywood, on a fixed income, uses an oxygen tank and is ill with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.