Justus Kelley Is the First Miss USA Who’s a Married Mom. Before a Rule Change, a Woman Was Stripped of Her Title for That Reason, Almost 70 Years Ago
Justus Kelley Is the First Miss USA Who’s a Married Mom. Before a Rule Change, a Woman Was Stripped of Her Title for That Reason, Almost 70 Years Ago
Angela AndaloroFri, August 28, 2026 at 10:00 PM UTC
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Justus Kelley (left), Leona GageCredit: Ivan Apfel/Getty; Bettmann Archive/Getty -
Justus Kelley was crowned Miss USA 2026 on Aug. 27 in Miami
Kelley, 31, is the first married mom to hold the title of Miss USA, nearly 70 years after another woman was disqualified for the same reason
Leona Gage was stripped of her crown in 1957, and married mothers wouldn’t get another chance at the pageant until a 2023 rule change
Justus Kelley‘s spot as Miss USA brings forth a new chapter.
The 31-year-old, Miss Virginia USA 2026, enjoys a historic win as the first-ever mother of two foster children to hold the Miss USA title, a win made possible by the organization’s 2023 rule changes, which ended the age cap on contestants and allowed mothers to compete. Kelley will also be the first married woman and the first woman in her 30s to hold the Miss USA title.
“This opportunity means the world to me,” Kelley said in an Instagram video shared to the Miss USA account shortly after she was crowned. “Not only are we celebrating the 75th anniversary, but we made history tonight. I’m the first married woman, first mom and first woman in her 30s. So, it’s a great night.”
Kelley’s moment comes almost 70 years after another contestant won the title, but lost her crown after it was discovered she was a wife and mother. In July 1957, Leona Gage competed in the Miss USA competition as Miss Maryland. She went on to win the title, making it the first time a Miss Maryland had won Miss USA.
After Gage’s win, however, rumors about her past surfaced. Reporters asked her directly about the incidents, and she skirted the questions. Gage was hiding that she had first married at 14 and had her first child later that year. She welcomed her second child at 16, per The Baltimore Sun.
Gage had also lied about her age, telling pageant officials she was 21 when she was actually 18. After an official investigation, she was disqualified and stripped of her Miss USA crown. The runner-up, Charlotte Sheffield, Miss Utah, assumed the crown and was awarded the prizes.
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Leona Gage and familyCredit: Bettmann Archive/Getty
There was one thing that Sheffield could not do. As Gage had already begun the process of competing in Miss Universe, Sheffield could not take her place. Gage had already been announced as one of the Top 15 semifinalists for the competition, but was disqualified upon losing her Miss USA crown.
Gage’s son, Rob Kaminer, spoke to the Los Angeles Times about Gage at the time of her death in 2010. He said her pageant wins were “both an accomplishment and a tragedy” throughout her life.
Kaminer said Gage struggled with health problems and several failed marriages throughout her life, which is what made her become private in addition to the pageant controversy.
“When you’re 18 years old and you’re the most beautiful girl in the room ... and then you’re 50 and you’re on oxygen and you haven’t taken the time to develop yourself in other areas, what are you left with?” Kaminer said. He added that he believed his mother was “really preyed on by men from an early age,” he said.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
