Kirsten Haglund Biography

Kirsten Lora Haglund (born September 14, 1988) is a beauty queen from Farmington Hills, Michigan who was Miss America 2008.

Biography

Haglund graduated from Walled Lake Western High School in 2006 and spent one year pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio. She took time off to fulfill her duties as Miss Michigan and prepare for the Miss America pageant. After completing her year of service, Kirsten continued to travel and speak on body-image issues and eating disorders, also having begun her own Foundation (the Kirsten Haglund Foundation) to provide treatment scholarships for women struggling with the illness. Kirsten lived for one year in Los Angeles, California, and will now be finishing her education (using over $60,000 in scholarships from the MAO) at Emory University. On Saturday, July 28, 2012, she married Ryan E. Smith.

Pageants

Miss Michigan

After winning the Miss Oakland County local title Haglund competed in the Miss Michigan pageant for the first time, in June 2007. She won a preliminary swimsuit award and at the conclusion of the final competition was crowned Miss Michigan. For her state talent she performed "Adele's Laughing Song" from the operetta Die Fledermaus.

Miss America

Competition

Haglund went on to represent Michigan in the Miss America 2008 pageant broadcast on TLC from the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on January 26, 2008. She won a preliminary swimsuit award on Wednesday night, becoming her state's first Preliminary Swimsuit award since 1987. For her talent she sang "Over the Rainbow". At the conclusion of the live telecast, Haglund was crowned the 83rd Miss America. She succeeds Lauren Nelson, of Lawton, Oklahoma and is Michigan's fifth Miss America and her state's first for twenty years. At 19, Haglund was the youngest girl in the competition, and the youngest Miss America winner since Kimberly Clarice Aiken took the title in 1993. Haglund's grandmother Iora Hunt represented Detroit, Michigan at Miss America 1944.

Her platform is eating disorder awareness, as she suffered from anorexia that began at age twelve. In fact, her body mass index was 16.29 (BMIs <18.5 suggest a person is underweight) at the time she was crowned.

Reign

During her first week as Miss America, Haglund appeared on Live with Regis and Kelly, ABC News Now, Inside Edition and Fox and Friends As part of her support of the Children's Miracle Network, the official platform of Miss America, Haglund was named spokesperson of IHOP's third annual National Pancake Day.