Kelley Johnson
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
| Born |
Kelley Johnson circa 1993 (age 22–23) Fort Collins, Colorado |
|---|---|
| Education |
Colorado Mesa University Grand View University |
| Title(s) |
Miss Liberty 2014 Miss Northern Colorado 2015 Miss Colorado 2015 |
| Major competition(s) | Miss America 2016 |
Kelley Johnson (born c. 1993)[1] is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Windsor, Colorado, who was crowned Miss Colorado 2015. She competed for the Miss America 2016 title in September 2015 and was named second runner-up for the national title.
Early life and education
Johnson was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, and spent her later childhood in Windsor, Colorado.[2][3] Her mother is Julie Johnson Haffner and her stepfather is Gene Haffner.[3] Johnson also has two older sisters. She is a 2010 graduate of Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins.[2]
Johnson attended Colorado Mesa University from 2010 through 2012. She is a 2015 graduate of Grand View University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and was the valedictorian of her nursing class.[2][4] Johnson is a registered nurse.[3]
Pageant career
Early pageants
On March 30, 2014, while a student at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, Johnson won the Miss Liberty 2014 title.[2][5] She competed as one of 15 finalists in the 2014 Miss Iowa pageant on a platform of "Raising Awareness About the Importance of Early Cancer Detection" and piano playing as her talent.[1][6] She was a top-10 finalist for the statewide title.[7]
Miss Colorado 2015
In November 2014, returning to her home state, Johnson was crowned Miss Northern Colorado 2015 which made her eligible to compete at the Miss Colorado 2015 pageant.[8] She entered the state pageant at Denver's Ellie Caulkins Opera House in June 2015 as one of 26 qualifiers.[2] Johnson's competition talent was a monologue about nursing, inspired by her experiences with a patient with Alzheimer's disease.[4] Her platform is "The Health Initiative PLUS: Prevent, Live, Uncover, Study".[3]
Johnson won the competition on Saturday, June 20, 2015, when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Colorado titleholder Stacey Cook.[4] As Miss Colorado, her activities included public appearances across Colorado.[3]
Vying for Miss America
Johnson was Colorado's representative at the Miss America 2016 pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2015.[2][8] In the televised finale on September 13, 2015, she performed an original monologue inspired by a patient she encountered as a nurse during the talent portion of the competition.[9] In the interview portion, she was asked what woman should appear on the ten-dollar bill and answered "Ellen Degeneres".[10] Johnson's personal platform was "The Health Initiative PLUS".[9] She was named second runner-up to Betty Cantrell, Miss Georgia 2015, and awarded a $20,000 scholarship prize.[11]
Reactions to Nursing Monologue
On the September 14, 2015 episode of The View, co-hosts Joy Behar and Michelle Collins poked fun at Johnson, a registered nurse, for her Miss America monologue in which she wore a nurse's uniform and stethoscope while speaking about her profession. Their comments sparked a social-media backlash, particularly by nurses, and some advertisers pulled their ads from the show.[12][13]
On September 17, 2015, Johnson appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to discuss her on-stage question and answer, suggesting DeGeneres should be on the ten-dollar bill and her decision to perform a monologue about nursing for her talent. After her interview, Johnson received $10,000 from Shutterfly to help pay for her tuition for nurse anesthetist school.[14]
References
- 1 2 Geyer, Thomas (June 9, 2014). "15 women vie for Miss Iowa 2014 crown". Quad-City Times. Davenport, Iowa. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
Kelley Johnson, 21...
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Harding, Todd (June 21, 2015). "Windsor Resident Crowned Miss Colorado 2015". Windsor, Colorado: KUAD-FM. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Miller, Nate A. (June 21, 2015). "Windsor woman crowned Miss Colorado, will compete in Miss America". Greeley Tribune. Greeley, Colorado: Swift Communications. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015.
- 1 2 3 Udell, Erin (June 24, 2015). "Windsor woman crowned Miss Colorado". Fort Collins Coloradoan. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- ↑ Johnson, Kelley (March 30, 2014). "I WON!". Archived from the original on June 27, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "State Contestants: Iowa – 2014". Miss America. 2014. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
Miss Liberty: Kelley Johnson
- ↑ "2014 Miss Iowa Scholarship Awards". Miss Iowa. Archived from the original on April 4, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
- 1 2 "State Contestants: Colorado – 2015". Miss America. 2015. Archived from the original on June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
- 1 2 "The 2016 Miss America Competition Scholarships & Awards" (Press release). Miss America. September 16, 2015. Archived from the original on October 21, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ↑ Johnson, Zach (September 17, 2015). "Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson Defends "Just a Nurse" Monologue After Joy Behar Mocked Her on The View". E! Online. Archived from the original on October 21, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ↑ "Miss America Show Scholarships 2016". Miss America. Archived from the original on October 21, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
- ↑ Respers, Lisa (September 16, 2015). "After #NursesUnite, 'View' hosts says comments about nurse misconstrued". CNN. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ↑ Bowerman, Mary (September 18, 2015). "Advertisers pull ads from 'The View' following nurse comments". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 21, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ↑ "Miss Colorado Kelley Johnson addresses her Miss America monologue on Ellen". Entertainment Weekly. September 17, 2015.
External links
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Stacey Cook |
Miss Colorado 2015 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |