Nicole Lamarche is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and Miss California 2003. Competing in the Miss San Francisco Pageant in 2003, she won the title and went on to win Miss California 2003 and became the Fourth runner up to the title of Miss America 2004. She was the swimsuit winner and although she decided to wear high heels during this segment of the competition it was erroneously reported by an espn.com columnist that she competed barefoot. This is most likely due to pictures of her competing in the Miss California swimsuit segment not wearing high heels, as the contestants normally do She earned over $26,000 in scholarships.
She earned an MA in theology from the Graduate Theological Union and a Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion.