Mallory Hagan Biography

Mallory Hytes Hagan (born December 23, 1988) is an American beauty pageant titleholder crowned Miss America 2013 on January 12, 2013. Prior to holding the title of Miss America, she held the titles of Miss New York 2012, Miss New York City 2012, Miss Manhattan 2011 and Miss Brooklyn 2010. She was also a two-time Miss New York first runner-up. She is a native of Alabama, where she had been runner-up in the Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen Program, and non-finalist talent winner at Miss Alabama. She won the Miss America competition on a platform of child sexual abuse awareness and prevention. She also gave a timely response on the issue of gun control in which she opposed fighting violence with violence. She moved to New York after her first year of college at Auburn University, which is the local college near where she was raised. Hagan is the fourth Miss New York to serve as Miss America. She is the second person from New York City and first from Brooklyn to serve as Miss America.

Background

Early life

Hagan is from Opelika, Alabama and is a 2007 graduate of Opelika High School. She was influenced by her formative years spent with a mother who ran a dance studio in the Auburn-Opelika area, where she was raised. Her grandmother had run a dance studio in Tennessee, where Hagan was born. She is a former student at Auburn University, where she spent a year studying biomedical science. She was also a member of the sorority Pi Beta Phi Alabama Gamma chapter, becoming the fourth Pi Beta Phi to become Miss America (Marilyn Van Derbur, Jackie Mayer and Susan Akin).

She moved to the Bedford"Stuyvesant, Brooklyn neighborhood in New York City in October 2008. At the time of her arrival, she had $1000 and a dream of beauty pageant success. Several sources state that Hagan was a Park Slope, Brooklyn resident when she won Miss America. The Wall Street Journal ran a correction (that was corroborated by The New York Times) that she was a resident of Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn at the time. Hagan had lived in six different Brooklyn neighborhoods between her arrival in 2008 and her Miss America victory in 2013, including Sunset Park and Williamsburg.

Pageantry

Hagan won Miss Brooklyn on March 28, 2010. Her prior pageant experience has been reported to include runner-up placements in the Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen and the Miss Alabama competition. However, Hagan stated that in the Miss Alabama 2008 competition, which was her only attempt at that title, "I did get a non-finalist talent award". She competed in the Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen from the ages of 13 to 17. Hagan was also first runner-up at Miss New York 2010 and Miss New York 2011.

At the time of the 2013 Miss America competition, she was a Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) student, where she studied advertising, marketing and communications with aspirations of a profession related to cosmetic and fragrance marketing. At FIT, she is part of the Presidential Honors Program. Her three placements in the Miss New York competition provided her with sufficient scholarship monies to pay for her entire FIT tuition. One of her training elements was CrossFit exercise programs.

Hagan follows Bess Myerson (1945), Tawny Godin (1975), and Vanessa L. Williams (1983) as former Miss New Yorks to win Miss America. Although Williams was the most recent Miss New York to win, Myerson was the last from New York City. Although Hagan follows a few other Miss New Yorks to earn Miss America, she is the first Brooklynite. The 2013 competition was Hagan's final year of Miss America Organization eligibility. Her introductory quip to the Miss America 2013 audience at the beginning of the on-air broadcast was "Sandy may have swept away our shores but never our spirit."

During Hagan's reign as Miss New York 2012, Hagan's cause was child sexual abuse awareness and prevention. Her contest bio stated that "Hagan has chosen to honor the women in her family who have been victims of sexual abuse by sharing their personal stories and encouraging others to take a stand." According to statements made during an Associated Press interview, her mother, Mandy Moore, convinced her to tackle child sexual abuse since it had affected her mother, aunt, grandmother and cousins. Hagan has stated that she has experienced the ripple effects of child sexual abuse. Hagan's mother, father, Phil Hagan, and 32 friends and family members from Opelika attended her crowning. Her grandfather, Stan Hagan, says that Mallory's comments regarding gun control represented most of her family. At the time of her victory, she was also supported by her boyfriend, Charmel Maynard, who is from New York City.

2013 Miss America pageant

During the Miss America 2013 competition, she performed a tap dance routine to James Brown's "Get Up Offa That Thing" while wearing a latex rodeo outfit. Other elements of her winning wardrobe included an asymmetric white gown and a black string bikini. At the time of her Miss America victory, she was 24 years old and a resident of Brooklyn. Part of her prize package is a $50,000 college scholarship. She won the swimsuit and Evening wear portions of the show.

During Good Morning America weatherman Sam Champion asked her the following question: "In the wake of the Newtown tragedy there has been a lot of talk about gun control. One solution being proposed is an armed guard in every school. Do you think that would make our schools safer?" Hagan's response was "I don't think the proper way to fight violence is with violence. I think the proper way is to educate people on guns and the ways we can use them properly. We can lock them up, we can have gun safety classes, we can have a longer waiting period."

Miss America role

Hagan promoted awareness of child sexual abuse and in her first 24 hours as Miss America, she was in communication with United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Her first initiative as Miss America was to become spokesperson for the IHOP's 8th Annual National Pancake Day Celebration in which they hope to raise $3 Million for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. As Miss America, Hagan claimed to travel per month. In her first few months as Miss America, she was derided for weight gain.