Regan Hutsell, a former Radio City Rockette and professional ballet dancer representing Texas, has been crowned Miss America 2027.
Hutsell, 25, won the national competition Sept. 6 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Miss America 2026 Cassie Donegan of New York placed the crown on her successor.
The Houston native became the 99th woman to hold the Miss America title and received a $50,000 tuition scholarship. She had already won preliminary awards in both talent and fitness during competition week, adding another $6,000 in scholarships.
Miss Louisiana Shelby Bordelon finished as first runner-up and received $10,000, while Miss Illinois Kate Dimmett placed second and earned $8,000. The national field included 52 contestants representing all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Hutsell Won Talent With a ‘Le Jazz Hot’ Dance
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Hutsell entered the final with momentum from two separate preliminary victories. Her jazz routine to “Le Jazz Hot” earned one of three preliminary talent awards, each carrying a $3,000 scholarship.
She had already collected another $3,000 after winning her group in the Rebel Athletic preliminary fitness competition. Published competition results show Hutsell and Miss New Jersey Kylie Gene Wright were the only Miss contestants to win preliminary awards in both fitness and talent before the final.
She Became a Radio City Rockette at 18
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Hutsell began dancing at 4 and entered her first competition at 7. At 18, she achieved one of her earliest professional ambitions when she was hired as a Radio City Rockette for the 2019 Christmas season.
“My dream came true” when she joined the company, Hutsell told PEOPLE before the Miss America final. She said the job taught her how to connect with an audience both onstage and off, skills she later found unexpectedly useful in pageantry and public service.
The COVID-19 shutdown interrupted that chapter, but not her dance career. Hutsell later moved to England and performed with Birmingham Royal Ballet after also dancing with companies in the United States.
By the time she entered pageantry, Hutsell had years of training across ballet, jazz, lyrical and tap. She has said leaving England eventually created space for a different kind of challenge, one that let her combine performance with community service and leadership.
Her Platform Grew Out of Her Own Eating-Disorder Recovery
Hutsell’s community service initiative, “Your Body Is Your Home,” grew directly from her own history with body image and an eating disorder. In an interview with Texas Lifestyle Magazine, she said her struggles with body image began when she was 8 and were later compounded by the physical pressures and injuries of professional dance.
She told PEOPLE that a coach helped change the way she thought about recovery by telling her that her body was more than an instrument, it was her home. Hutsell says she built a personal “toolbox” of mental strategies around that idea, including reminders to measure her own growth.
Hutsell said she was “really nervous” about entering an environment with such visible attention on appearance, but the Miss America organization’s emphasis on health and an active lifestyle rather than simply being thin helped change her thinking. She now says her goal is to encourage people to find a balance between being happy and healthy and to treat themselves with more kindness. The initiative will continue as part of her year of service as Miss America.
Hutsell Plans to Become a Physical Therapist for Dancers
Hutsell is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in health sciences and plans to become a physical therapist who specializes in treating dancers. The career goal connects directly to the demands and injuries she encountered during her own years as a professional performer.
She came to pageantry comparatively late after spending most of her early life focused on dance. Hutsell has said the communication, discipline and teamwork required of a Rockette translated naturally into interviews, appearances and service work once she began competing.
Her first major state breakthrough came June 27, when she competed as Miss Houston and was crowned Miss Texas at the Eisemann Center in Richardson. Before arriving at the national competition, Hutsell told Texas Lifestyle Magazine that she had already received more than $33,000 in scholarships through the Miss America system.