Five years after Amber Uhler says a doctor warned that she was “on a path to an early grave,” she is entering the Miss USA competition as the oldest contestant in the 2026 field.
The 41-year-old wife and mother of three told PEOPLE that she weighed nearly 300 pounds in early 2021, was prediabetic and struggled to climb the stairs in her home. Uhler says she went on to lose 170 pounds over approximately three and a half years through diet and exercise.
Her goal at the beginning was not to lose a particular amount of weight. On Jan. 1, 2021, Uhler wrote down that she wanted to compete in a beauty pageant, an ambition she considered nearly impossible at the time. She entered her first pageant in 2024 and was appointed Miss Michigan USA through the organization’s open-casting process in July 2026.
Uhler is scheduled to represent Michigan during the 75th Miss USA final Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. The competition begins at 8 p.m. ET and will stream on the Queen Beauty Network after The CW dropped its planned broadcast.
A Doctor’s Warning Was Followed by a Trampoline-Park Ordeal
Uhler recalled being told at a doctor’s appointment that she was morbidly obese, prediabetic and “on a path to an early grave.” According to her account, the doctor also warned that she probably would not live long enough to see her children graduate from high school.
That same weekend, Uhler took her children to a trampoline park and jumped into a foam pit. She told PEOPLE that she became stuck and that three men formed a chain trying unsuccessfully to pull her out, leaving staff considering whether they would have to call the fire department.
Uhler described the experience as the most humiliated she had ever felt. Everyday movement had also become difficult, she said she could not walk up the stairs in her own home and felt she was living “a half-life.”
She responded by writing down the beauty-pageant goal. Uhler said she initially focused on becoming healthier and promised herself that competing in a pageant would be the reward when she felt ready.
The Pageant Goal Came Before the 170-Pound Number
Uhler told PEOPLE that beginning with a goal of losing 170 pounds would have felt like trying to climb Mount Everest. She instead concentrated on gradually changing her health and fitness habits over the next three and a half years.
In an earlier interview with Tampa Bay Parenting, Uhler described focusing on smaller, sustainable changes involving balanced nutrition, daily movement and her mental health.
She reached the pageant stage in 2024, winning Mrs. Florida Universe. Uhler subsequently won Mrs. Universe USA 2025, but Miss USA remained the competition she said had always been “in my heart and mind.”
At 41, Uhler Is the Oldest Contestant in the 2026 Field
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Uhler did not win the Michigan title through a conventional state pageant. She was appointed after entering Miss USA’s official Open Casting process, which allows contestants in selected states to compete for state titles without a traditional state competition. Published 2026 state results list Uhler as the Miss Michigan USA winner and note that no Michigan pageant was held.
Her participation follows major changes to Miss USA eligibility. Married women and mothers became eligible beginning in 2023, and the organization later removed its upper age limit. Earlier rules generally required contestants to be unmarried, without children and between 18 and 28.
Uhler told PEOPLE that she initially expected to feel insecure competing alongside women in their 20s. Instead, she said the younger contestants had rallied behind her during preliminary events and that her confidence was “soaring.”
She now views her age and experience as assets. Uhler said she believes she could become the oldest Miss USA winner and the first mother to take the national title, adding that she brings “wisdom” and “maturity” to the competition.
Her Miss USA Platform Is Drowning Prevention
She told Spectrum News that she survived a nonfatal drowning when she was 5 and later rescued a drowning child in 2022. Uhler has since worked to promote layers of drowning prevention including active adult supervision, pool barriers and alarms, swimming lessons, Coast Guard-approved life jackets and CPR training. She also helped create a Water Watcher card intended to identify the adult responsible for actively monitoring children around water.
Her advocacy has extended to efforts to expand access to swimming instruction. Uhler told Spectrum that she worked in support of Florida legislation providing free swim lessons for eligible young children and said she plans to use the larger pageant platform to continue spreading the water-safety message.