Michelle Banzer

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Michelle Banzer Beauty pageant titleholder
Birth name:	Michelle Stephanie Banzer
Alias(es):	Michelle Zen
Birthdate:	December 2, 1982 (1982-12-02) (age 25)
Birth location:	Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Eye color:	Brown
Hair color:	Dark Brown
Title(s):	Miss Kentucky USA 2007
Major Competition(s):	Miss USA 2007

Michelle Stephanie Banzer (born December 2, 1982) also known as Michelle Zen is a model and beauty queen from Louisville, Kentucky who competed in the Miss USA pageant in 2007.

Banzer won the Miss Kentucky USA 2007 title in a state pageant held in Somerset, Kentucky in November 2006 and was crowned by current Miss USA Tara Conner, who held the Miss Kentucky USA 2006 title. This was Banzer's fourth attempt at the title, as she was a semi-finalist in the 2004 event, placed first runner-up to Kristen Johnson in 2005 and third runner-up to Tara Conner in 2006. Johnson placed second runner-up at Miss USA 2005 and Conner won the Miss USA 2006 title. Banzer is half-Asian, and the first minority to win this pageant.^[1]

Banzer represented Kentucky in the Miss USA 2007 pageant that was held in the spring of 2007 in the Kodak Theater. She will attempt to become the third consecutive Kentuckian to place in the top five in the nationally televised pageant. Her sister titleholder is Katrina Giannini, Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2007.

Banzer also represented the United States in the 33rd annual Miss Intercontinental Pageant held in China the summer of 2005. She won the title in a competition produced by www.pageantcrown.com. At the international finals, she was named second runner-up to Miss Swimsuit and placed in the top 20. She was also one of three delegates chosen to participate in a special episode of the NBC game show Identity to be broadcast prior to the pageant on March 23.

She is also known in the import modeling community as Michelle Zen. She does a variety of modeling work including print, commercial, promotional, and some runway. Banzer also competes in events like Miss Hot Import Nights and Miss Hawaiian Tropic.

Banzer is half Vietnamese and half German^[2]. And she is also the second Vietnamese descent woman after Elyzabeth Pham Pham was crowned Miss Wisconsin USA 1999.