Stephanie Culberson

Stephanie Culberson
Beauty pageant titleholder

Culberson as Miss Tennessee 2001
Born Stephanie Marie Culberson
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Hair color Blonde
Eye color Green
Title(s) Miss Tennessee 2001
Miss Tennessee USA 2004
Major
competition(s)		 Miss America 2002 (2nd runner-up)
Miss USA 2004 (4th runner-up)

Stephanie Marie Culberson is a beauty queen from Knoxville, Tennessee who has competed in the Miss America and Miss USA pageants. She is one of only four women who has placed in the top five in both nationally televised pageants.

Biography

After graduating from Temple Baptist Academy in 1997, Culberson earned a business and piano performance degree summa cum laude at Lee University in 2003.[1] She is a member of the Alpha Chi National Honor Society.

Miss America

Culberson won her first title, Miss Cleveland in 2001 then went on to win Miss Tennessee,.[2] She competed in the Miss America pageant held in Atlantic City, New Jersey in September 2001, where she won evening gown and swimsuit preliminary awards. Culberson placed second runner-up to Katie Harman of Oregon, achieving Tennessee's highest placement in the pageant since 1990.[3]

As Miss Tennessee Culberson served as a spokeswoman for the Safe and Drug-Free Tennessee project.[4]

Miss USA

In 2003 Culberson competed in the Miss Tennessee USA pageant and won the 2004 title on her first attempt. She was crowned by Beth Hood, completing a rare sequence of events. For the first time in the history of the Miss USA and Miss America pageants, three Miss Tennessee titleholders who reigned in consecutive years also won consecutive Miss Tennessee USA titles. The first was Alison Alderson, who was Miss Tennessee 1999 and Miss Tennessee USA 2002 and the second Beth Hood, who held the title Miss Tennessee 2000 and placed 4th runner-up at Miss USA as Miss Tennessee USA.

Culberson represented Tennessee in the Miss USA 2004 pageant held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California in April 2004. She placed fourth runner-up to Shandi Finnessey of Missouri in the pageant, equalling the placement of Beth Hood the year before.[5] This placement earned her the third highest combined placement of any woman who has competed at Miss USA and Miss America.

Personal Life

Culberson is married to Andrew Strand, a 2003 graduate of The Citadel. They have two Jack Russell terriers, Sigmund and Mikey.

References

  1. ↑ Miss Tennessee USA official biography. Retrieved on 2006-09-17
  2. ↑ Associated Press (2001-06-25). "Knoxville woman chosen as new Miss Tennessee". The Oak Ridger. Retrieved 2007-02-25. (Requires free user account).
  3. ↑ Stuever, Hank (2001-09-23). "21-Year-Old Oregonian Is Crowned 81st Miss America". p. A.42. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  4. ↑ Moore, Brenna (2002-06-22). "Culberson heading back to school after year's reign". Jackson Sun. Retrieved 2006-09-17.
  5. ↑ King, Wendy (2004-04-13). "Stephanie Culberson 4th Runner Up At Miss USA". The Chattanoogan. Retrieved 2007-02-25.

External links

Preceded by
Beth Hood		 Miss Tennessee
2001 		Succeeded by
Valli Kugler
Preceded by
Beth Hood		 Miss Tennessee USA
2004 		Succeeded by
Amy Colley