Did you know there will be four past Louisiana contestants competing at Miss USA this year?
In the past it hasn’t been uncommon to see multiple past contestants from states like Texas or California compete at the same Miss USA pageant, but this year adds a cajun twist as the Bayou state takes over the Miss USA pageant. Even more unusually, three of the four Louisianans at Miss USA 2023 were runners-up at the same state pageant – not once, but twice.
The four contestants are:
- Miss Louisiana USA 2023 Sylvia Masters
- Miss North Carolina USA 2023 Jordyn McKey
- Miss Nevada USA 2023 Josie Stephens
- Miss Arkansas USA 2023 Mackenzie Hinderberger
Sylvia, Jordyn and Josie competed with each other for four years in Louisiana, with all three finishing as a runner-up in both the 2021 and 2022 pageants. Mackenzie started her pageant career competing twice in Louisiana, before moving to Arkansas for college and winning the Miss Arkansas Teen USA 2018 title. After two years competing as a Miss contestant she won the Miss Arkansas USA title this year.
At Miss Louisiana USA 2023 Sylvia Masters won the Louisiana crown and Josie Stephens was her first runner-up – her third year finishing one away from the crown. With eligibility rules changed this year to allow competing in more than one state per cycle, Josie established residency in Nevada and won the Miss Nevada USA 2023 title this weekend. Jordyn McKey was third runner-up at Miss Louisiana USA 2022 and later moved to Charlotte, where she won the Miss North Carolina USA 2023 title in her first attempt in that state.