Cheryl Salem (née Prewitt) (born 1957), from Ackerman, Mississippi was Miss America 1980. Cheryl Prewitt-Salem grew up in the community of Chester in Choctaw County, Mississippi. She is now married to Harry Salem, (the brother-in-law of televangelist Richard Roberts). She has two sons and a daughter who is deceased. Her daughter lived longer than the doctors predicted, and that just marked one more miracle in Cheryl's life. She is a strong politically conservative, evangelical Christian.
At age 11 a horrifying automobile accident left Cheryl with a scarred face, a body cast and a wheelchair, all of which she overcame to become Miss MSU, Miss Starkville, Miss Mississippi, and Miss America. Cheryl is now proselytizing all around the world. She speaks at many churches, get-togethers, and conferences.