Tara Conner

Making the semi-finals, she became the 18th woman to place at both Miss Teen USA and Miss USA. She competed in the official BSC Swimwear Thailand for the swimsuit competition and made the top ten, where she competed in the evening gown competition, wearing a specially designed gown by Sherri Hill. Conner then made the top five and completed the final interview round. Prior to the announcement of the winner, Conner and her eventual first runner-up Tamiko Nash shared a long embrace, whilst Conner whispered to Nash. An E! special later revealed that Conner, believing Nash had won, was wishing her luck for her reign as Miss USA and her participation at Miss Universe. The traditional statement read before the announcement of the new titleholder, which declares that "if, for any reason the new titleholder cannot fulfill her reign, the first runner-up will take over", later become pertinent following the scandal surrounding Conner in December. Conner eventually won the Miss USA title, the first woman from Kentucky to do so. She was crowned by previous titleholder Chelsea Cooley, from North Carolina. Conner was the fourth former Miss Teen USA state titleholder to win the Miss USA crown since 2000, one of whom was Cooley, who was Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2000. Read Less

On July 19, 2006, Conner appeared as a guest judge in an episode of the third season of the Bravo! series Project Runway. The contestants on the show competed against each other to create a dress for her to wear in the Miss Universe pageant. The dress was later featured in the evening gown competition of the pageant. Read Less

The following day the website reported that Conner would be stripped of her crown, and that first runner-up Tamiko Nash, who completed her reign as Miss California USA in October, would inherit the Miss USA title. This was neither confirmed nor denied by the Miss Universe Organization. Read Less

Had Conner been dethroned, she would have been the first Miss USA to have her title removed since Mary Leona Gage in 1957. It was announced that Conner would enter Caron Treatment Centers, a Pennsylvania drug rehab facility. Read Less