Miss Virginia Justus Kelley became the first married woman with children to be crowned Miss USA on Thursday in Miami, Florida.
It was a night of firsts: Justus made history as the first woman in her 30s to win the title. And it was the first Miss USA title for the state of Virginia in 56 years.
Justus, 31, will represent the United States at the 2026 Miss Universe pageant in Puerto Rico in November.
She serves as the regional development officer for the Make-A-Wish Foundations’ Blue Ridge division.
Justus, of Arlington, Virginia, has 2 foster children with her husband, Tyler. They married in 2017 and have raised 7 foster children over the years.
“From the beginning, we knew we wanted to be a safe, loving and welcoming home for children of any age, race, orientation or background. We wanted every child who came through our doors to know that they were safe, valued and worthy of being loved exactly as they are,” she said.
The Miss USA pageant famously excluded married women and mothers for much of its history. Officials even stripped the 1957 winner of her title after it was revealed she was married with children.
The 2000 movie “Beautiful,” starring Minnie Driver, tackled the subject of beauty pageants excluding married women with children.
In the movie Beautiful, Minnie plays Mona, a beauty contestant who gives her baby daughter (Hallie Eisenberg) to her best friend to raise.
They live under the same roof and the little girl grows up to despise Mona. She doesn’t discover Mona is her bio mom until the end of the movie.