Miss District of Columbia Kára McCullough is Crowned Miss USA 2017

Meet the new Miss USA!

Dancing With the Stars’ Julianne Hough and Terrence J hosted the competition that featured performances from Pitbull and country star Brett Eldredge where Miss District of Columbia Kára McCullough was crowned Miss USA 2017 last night.

This gorgeous lady was competing against 50 other women, Kára wowed the judges with her beauty, bikini, talents and intelligence at the annual beauty pageant broadcast live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Sunday.

The final moments of the show was tough as the last remaining three ladies went through thorough tasks before a winner was chosen and crowned, but Kara definitely stood out and got to walk away with the crown.

Miss Minnesota Meredith Gould was the second runner-up and fan favorite Miss New Jersey Chhavi Verg was runner-up for the pageant title.

The finalists included the women representing Minnesota, the District of Columbia and New Jersey.

The runner-up was Miss New Jersey Chhavi Verg, a student at Rutgers University studying marketing and Spanish.

The second runner-up was Miss Minnesota Meridith Gould, who is studying apparel retail merchandising at the University of Minnesota.

McCullough, the 65th crowned Miss USA, is a 25-year-old chemist working for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a physical scientist. She graduated from South Carolina State University with a degree in chemistry and a concentration in radio chemistry.

‘I’m extremely thankful for this opportunity,’ she said after the event. ‘I just want to encourage so many women nationwide to find their passion in any subject possible and understand that nothing is difficult if you really, truly put the work in for it.’

This is the second year in a row that the representative of the nation’s capital won the Miss USA title. Last year, District of Columbia resident Deshauna Barber became the first-ever military member to win Miss USA.

The show also featured a performance by Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE as well as Pitbull and Brett Eldridge. Ashley Graham served as the backstage host while Halima Aden, Carson Kressley, Brooke Lee, Nancy Lublin, Jeannie Mai and Janet Mock were on the judging panel. 

Congratulations to all the contestants and the new Miss USA!