1st runner-up Miss New Jersey Teen USA 2013, 2nd runner-up 2012, Semi-finalist 2011, 4th runner-up 2010
A native of Edison, Emily Shah was crowned Miss New Jersey USA 2014 on 20 October 2023 and represented New Jersey at the Miss USA 2014 pageant in Baton Rouge, where she made the top 20. The daughter of famed Bollywood producer Prashant Shah, Emily landed an assistant job to Clint Eastwood on Jersey Boys after high school and then moved on to working with the stunt team on Ed Harris and Liam Neeson’s film Run all Night. She now works as an actress, producer and entrepreneur and will judge the Miss Teen USA 2023 pageant.
Miss New Jersey USA 2014 Emily Shah is currently working as an assistant director on several Hollywood projects. At the age of 2, Shah was immersed into the performing arts as a dancer and actress at Miss Carol’s School of Performing Arts in Piscataway, New Jersey. Emily began intense ballet training at American Repertory’s Princeton Ballet and at the age of 13, was selected in the dance troupe and became a dance teacher at Stage Stars in NJ. Emily took several acting courses in Los Angeles, NYC and India over the years, Weist-Barron, New York Film Academy, Lee Strasberg’s Institute of Film and Theater, and Madumati’s Dance & Acting Academy in Hindi for Bollywood. While pursuing her acting career, Emily managed her high school’s baseball team for three years.
Emily has also committed much time into charity. She has worked with the Kessler Foundation, Make-a-Wish, Joyful Heart, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Susan G Koman, Becca’s Closet, and Autism Awareness just to name a few. One cause that is very important to Emily is the Alicia Rose Victorious Foundation. This specific charity reaches out to pediatric hospitals and build’s teen lounges with technology and entertainment for patients to relax and unwind while undergoing treatment. Emily has been working with this charity since the age of 15 and they recently named her as the official ambassador.
After graduating high school, Emily endured several opportunities in the entertainment industry. After working with the stunt director on Captain America 2, she landed an assistant job to Clint Eastwood on Jersey Boys (based on the musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.) Emily then moved on to working with the stunt team on Ed Harris and Liam Neeson’s film “Run all Night.”
Emily is planning on working on a couple of projects in the near future as an assistant director again. She wants to learn the techniques behind the camera and appreciate the efforts of the production before she gets in front of the camera. She also plans on continuing her college education while gaining creative experience. Emily is planning to attend the adult program at New York Film Academy in 2014 and is determined to become an actress. It is her desire to work in action films and says that her dream job would to become a “James Bond Girl” or even the next Agent Salt. Speaking Hindi and Gujarati fluently, Shah wouldn’t mind having a crossover career in Hollywood and Bollywood.
The on-stage moments, the tension of the final two and the glory of the crowning, here are Emily’s state pageant photos.
Lights, camera, action! Professional photoshoots are one of the perks that comes from winning a title.
There’s nothing better than watching a contestant progress from year to year! Here’s a look back at Emily’s previous pageant photos from her years competing at Miss New Jersey Teen USA.
All beautiful things must come to an end, no matter how bittersweet. See Emily’s farewell walk and other candids from the weekend she crowned her successor Vanessa Oriolo as Miss New Jersey USA 2015.
Winning a state title is a sisterhood for life. Here are Emily’s “after the crown” photos.
