Miss USA 2005
Miss USA 2005 Chelsea Cooley
Date	April 11, 2005
Presenters	Nancy O'Dell Billy Bush
Venue	Hippodrome Theatre, Baltimore, Maryland
Broadcaster	NBC WBAL-TV
Entrants	51
Placements	15
Winner	Chelsea Cooley North Carolina
Congeniality	Melissa Young Wisconsin
Photogenic	Tyler Willis Texas
← 2004 2006 →

Miss USA 2005 was the 54th Miss USA pageant, held in Baltimore, Maryland on April 11, 2005. It was won by Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina.

Fifty-one state titleholders competed for the title of Miss USA in the Hippodrome Theatre on April 11, 2005. The hosts were Access Hollywood stars Nancy O'Dell and Billy Bush.

This was the first of two years the pageant was held in Maryland, as it was held in Los Angeles, California in 2004. The new location was announced in October 2004.^[1]

Competition

After the delegate introductions and opening number, the top fifteen contestants were announced. These girls went on to compete in the evening gown competition, where they displayed an evening gown of their choice and were judged in poise and grace. This year's gown competition was notable for two daring gowns, that of Brenda Brabham, Miss Pennsylvania USA, and Meaghan Jarensky, Miss New York USA. Brabham's gold gown featured a bra-style top connected to a flowing skirt with high slit, revealing most of her top half like a swimsuit, and Jarensky's silver Graecan gown also was an unusual cut.

The second cut followed, with the delegates being narrowed down to ten. The finalists then competed in the swimsuit competition, wearing specially designed floral swimsuits from Endless Sun. Brittany Hogan, Miss California USA dropped her cloth as she walked in swimsuit, but despite this went on to place as 1st runner up. Miss New York USA, Meaghan Jarensky almost tripped on the fallen cloth.

The final five were then announced, and the delegates competed in interview with the "final question". The questions were all written by Miss USA 2004, Shandi Finnessey and the top 5. Finally, the runners-up were announced, and Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina was crowned Miss USA.

Miss USA 2005 Titlecard

Results

Placements

Map showing placements by state

Special awards

Historical significance

• North Carolina wins competition for the first time and surpasses its previous highest placement from the last year. Also becoming in the 29th state who does it for the first time.
• California earns the 1st runner-up position for the fifth time. The last time it placed this was in 1998.
• Kentucky earns the 2nd runner-up position for the first time and surpasses its previous highest placement in 1965, becoming its highest placement of the state.
• Illinois earns the 3rd runner-up position for the third time. The last time it placed this was in 1979.
• Florida earns the 4th runner-up position for the third time. The last time it placed this was in 1966.
• States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
• Texas placed for the fifth consecutive year.
• Oklahoma placed for the third consecutive year.
• Florida and North Carolina made their second consecutive placement.
• Michigan last placed in 2003.
• California and New York last placed in 2002.
• Utah last placed in 1998.
• Illinois last placed in 1996.
• Kentucky and Maryland last placed in 1995.
• Pennsylvania last placed in 1993.
• Mississippi last placed in 1990.
• West Virginia last placed in 1987.
• Arkansas last placed in 1982.
• New Mexico and Tennessee breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 2003.
• Alabama and South Carolina break an ongoing streak of placements since 2002.

Judges

The celebrity panel of final competition judges was announced on 10 March 2005.^[2] The judges were:

• Michael Phelps – Olympic gold medalist swimmer
• Molly Sims – Star of NBC show Las Vegas
• Sugar Ray Leonard – Boxer
• Frederic Fekkai – Beauty expert
• Pamela Dennis – Fashion designer
• Raj Bhakta – The Apprentice contestant
• Ksenia Maksimova – Model
• Brody Hutzler – Actor on Days of Our Lives

Delegates

The Miss USA 2005 delegates were:

Contestant notes

• In a record at the time, seven contestants had previously competed in the Miss America pageant, outnumbering those who had previously competed at Miss Teen USA. Four of the contestants had competed together at Miss America 2003.
• Delegates who had previously competed at Miss America were:
  • Mariana Loya (Arizona) - Miss Washington 1998
  • Jennifer Adcock (Mississippi) - Miss Mississippi 2002 (top ten at Miss America 2003)
  • Jennifer Pitts (Virginia) - Miss Virginia 2002
  • Sarah Elizabeth Langford (District of Columbia) - Miss District of Columbia 2002
  • Tanisha Brito (Georgia) - Miss Connecticut 2002 (top ten at Miss America 2003)
  • Candace Glickman (New Hampshire) - Miss New Hampshire 2003 (top ten at Miss America 2004)
  • Marina Harrison (Maryland) - Miss Maryland 2003 (third runner-up at Miss America 2004)
• Contestants who had previously competed at Miss Teen USA were:
  • Chelsea Cooley (North Carolina) - Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2000
  • Kristen Johnson (Kentucky) - Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2000 (second runner-up at Miss Teen USA 2000)
  • Sarah Medley (South Carolina) - Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2001
  • Candice Stewart (Louisiana) - Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2002
  • Jessica Fjerstad (South Dakota) - Miss South Dakota Teen USA 2002
  • Marin Poole (Utah) - Miss Utah Teen USA 2002
• Kristen Johnson (Kentucky), Melissa Witek (Florida) and Kaitlyn Christopher (Indiana) later competed at "Miss Team USA" on NBC's reality television show Treasure Hunters.
• Amanda Kimmel (Montana) appeared on Survivor: China, Survivor: Micronesia and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. She placed 3rd, 2nd and 9th respectively. She represented United States at Miss Earth 2005, where she placed as a finalist.
• Jana Murrell (Nebraska) went on to represent the United States at Miss Earth 2008, where she placed as a semi-finalist.
• Candice Stewart (Louisiana) will be appearing on Big Brother 15.

Pre-pageant special

Six Miss USA contestants competed in a special edition of Fear Factor.

• The contestants involved were:

Miss Fear Factor: Sarah-Elizabeth Langford (Miss District of Columbia USA 2005)

2nd place tie: Brittany Hogan (Miss California USA 2005),

3rd place: Meaghan Jarensky (Miss New York USA 2005)

4th place: Laci Scott (Miss Oklahoma USA 2005)

5th place: Cristina Nardozzi (Miss Massachusetts USA 2005)

6th place: Kristen Johnson (Miss Kentucky USA 2005)

• Stunts^[11]

Stunt #1 (Water beams): Contestants had to work their way around a square-shaped beam structure and collect up to ten flags before jumping into the water below. The beams were rigged with high-pressure jets that sprayed water during the stunt. The four contestants who completed the stunt in the fastest time or those that collected the flags the fastest before falling advanced to the next round.

Stunt #2 (Triple Dump Tunnel) Contestants fought a high pressure water hose to make their way through an acrylic glass tunnel while attempting to pull down three chains and collect a key from each. The hose stopped after the retrieval of the second key. Each time they retrieved a key, a bucket containing 55 gallons of disgusting contents would be dumped on them. The first bucket contained dead fish and fish guts, the second bucket contained fish oil, and the third bucket contained red worms and super worms. At the end of the tunnel the contestants had to use the keys to open three locks, open a door, and grab a flag. The three that completed this stunt the fastest advanced to the finals.

Stunt #3 (Helicopter net-cage) Contestants had to work their way around the outside of a square-shaped cage made of cargo netting suspended under a helicopter, attempting to release 5 flags from the sides of the cage and 1 flag from the bottom of the cage. The one who released the most flags the fastest before falling into the water below won the competition.