Noelia Voigt of Utah crowned Miss USA 2023
Noelia Voigt of Utah has been crowned Miss USA 2023.
The 23-year-old interior designer received the crown from Miss USA 2022, North Carolina’s Morgan Romano, on Sept. 29. Miss Hawaii USA 2023 Savannah Gankiewicz was 1st runner-up.
Just 30 minutes before the final pageant, Voigt expressed gratitude for her supporters and her journey so far in a video shared to her Instagram story.
“Regardless of the outcome tonight, I’m just genuinely so grateful to be here,” she said.
The outcome made history. Voigt is the first Venezuelan-American woman to hold the Miss USA title.
Voigt celebrated her background with how she answered her final question: As the brand ambassador for Miss USA, what will be your contribution to the organization?
The “Maddie the Brave” author responded “I believe the ability to connect with people is an incredibly important asset that a Miss USA should have.”
She continued, “As a bilingual Venezuelan-American woman, I plan to connect with that community of people because the United States of America is a diverse country and a Miss USA needs to be able to represent every community no matter their background, their race, their ethnicity, anything, and I would like to be that Miss USA.”
Voigt was born in Florida, the daughter of Venezuelan-American parents. As a result, she champions immigration rights, according to her contestant bio.
“Her bilingual background as a Venezuelan-American woman enriches her cultural perspective,” her bio reads.
Voigt is a licensed esthetician who began her modeling career at 16 and has collaborated with a multitude of notable brands. Since then, Voigt has become an interior design student and authored a children’s book, “Maddie the Brave.” She attended the University of Alabama.
The road to the crown for Voigt started before her move to Utah in April of this year. In a July Instagram post celebrating her Miss Utah win, Voigt wrote, “I took the biggest risk of my life thus far by moving across the country to chase this dream of mine and it paid off in the best way.”
Her previous pageant titles include 4th and then 1st runner up at the Miss Florida Teen USA in 2017 and 2018. In 2020, she was crowned Miss Alabama Collegiate. Following that title she won 1st runner up at Miss Alabama USA for two consecutive years, in 2022 and 2023.
Voigt will go on to represent the United States at the Miss Universe 2023 pageant in El Salvador on Nov. 18.
Romano signed off her Miss USA 2022 title in an Instagram post.
Romano, who won 1st runner-up at last year’s Miss USA pageant, received the crown from R’Bonney Gabriel after she won Miss Universe 2022 in January.
Gabriel’s Miss USA win in October 2022 was shrouded in controversy after contestants accused the pageant of giving her preferential treatment throughout the competition.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
