Shawnae Jebbia

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Shawnae Jebbia
Beauty pageant titleholder
Birth name: Shawnae Jebbia
Birthdate: September 13, 1971 (1971-09-13) (age 36)
Birth location: California, U.S.[1]
Title(s): Miss Massachusetts USA 1998, Miss USA 1998
Major Competition(s): Miss USA 1998 (winner)

Shawnae Jebbia (born September 13, 1971) is an entertainer and former beauty queen from Mansfield, Massachusetts who won the Miss USA title in 1998.

Jebbia won the Miss Massachusetts USA title in 1997, in her first attempt at a pageant title.[2] She went on to represent Massachusetts in the Miss USA 1998 pageant, becoming that state's first Miss USA winner.[3] Whilst Jebbia had little prior experience, her first runner-up Shauna Gambill had previously held the Miss Teen USA 1994 title. Jebbia's "sister" titleholder, Miss Massachusetts Teen USA 1998 Susie Castillo, went on to hold the Miss Massachusetts USA title and became Massachusett's second Miss USA titleholder in 2003.

Jebbia then competed at the Miss Universe 1998 pageant later that year. High scores in evening gown and in the swimsuit competition advanced her to the final 5 but after the interview round she was did not make the final 3 finalists.[4] The winner was Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad and Tobago, who Jebbia lived and made appearances with during her reign.

Jebbia grew up in Sonoma County, California and lived in Sebastopol, California for six years.[5] She received a degree in Communications from Jacksonville University and graduated cum laude on an athletic scholarship.[1] She has appeared on television and film, including a stint on the ESPN2 exercise program Co-ed Training prior to winning Miss USA.[6] After experiencing a hearing impairment Jebbia moved out of the entertainment industry and is currently studying towards a Masters degree in nursing.[7] She has acted as the spokesperson for the Natura hearing aid.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Ryan, Suzanne. "In Defense of our Miss USA", The Boston Globe, 1998-04-16. 
  2. ^ "Mansfield woman wins Miss Massachusetts USA crown", Associated Press, 1997-08-31. 
  3. ^ "Miss Massachusetts crowned new Miss USA", Associated Press, 1998-03-11. 
  4. ^ Ryan, Suzanne. "And the Miss Universe crown goes to. . .", Boston Globe, 1998-05-13. 
  5. ^ Silver, Miriam. "Ex-Local Takes on the Universe", The Press Democrat, 1998-05-04, p. B1. 
  6. ^ Magiera, Mary Anne. "Mansfield woman eyes USA crown", Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 1997-09-01, p. A3. 
  7. ^ Shawnae Jebbia, Miss USA 1998 Dancing With the Stars tape submission. Shawnae Jebbia. Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
  8. ^ Hamilton, Carey. "High-tech hearing aids changed their lives, and users sound off with praise", The Salt Lake Tribune, 2004-04-02, p. B5. 

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Brandi Sherwood
Miss USA
1998
Succeeded by
Kimberly Pressler