How US air force pilot, physics graduate and AI expert smashed beauty queen stereotype to become Miss America
SHE is an US air force pilot, physics graduate, AI expert – and now Miss America.
Real-life wonder woman Madison Marsh has smashed the beauty queen stereotype with her grit, determination and adventurous spirit.
And as the stunning second lieutenant began her title reign in the States, she vowed: “Here’s to showing the world that women can do anything.”
Madison, 22 — who holds a black belt in taekwondo and made her debut solo flight aged 16 — is the first active military member ever to win the century-old pageant.
Air force chiefs were among the first to praise their wannabe Top Gun after she was crowned at a glitzy bash in Orlando, Florida on Sunday.
They wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Congratulations to our very own airman — who was just crowned Miss America 2024!”
READ MORE WORLD NEWS
Madison — whose day job involves training at the controls of an F-16 fighter jet — beat 50 other contestants to the top spot, and said: “I’m very excited to get to represent women who can break stereotypes.”
She had blown the judges away in the talent section of the competition.
While her rivals danced, sang and acted in their bid for glory, she told how her first experience piloting a plane solo in her teens had strengthened her leadership skills.
She added: “Whether I’m seated in the cockpit or standing in my crown, I know the sky is not the limit.”
Most read in The Sun
Before the show, Madison — whose cousin introduced her to pageants — had said: “It’s an awesome experience to bring both sides of the favourite parts of my life together.
“And hopefully make a difference for others to be able to realise you don’t have to limit yourself.”
She said beauty contests are a valuable experience for young girls as they work to build their confidence, take good care of themselves and do their bit to help others. She explained: “Pageants are changing and one of the ways is in what being physically fit means to women.
“For me, it’s great because I need to stay physically fit and in the gym for the military, so it already coincides with pageant training.
“My cousin had competed in pageants for a long time, and one of the big things that I love is the community service aspect and the focus on public speaking.”
‘On a mission’
After her win, Madison told People magazine she was proud to demonstrate that not all beauty queens are just a pretty face.
She said: “We’ve had this preconceived notion in the past that you might be judged (for beauty contests) and not be taken seriously as a leader.
“This just proves that you can be feminine while leaning into your leadership role.”
As a child, Madison dreamed of being a biologist, but changed her mind when her parents sent her to space camp aged 13.
She took up flying lessons two years later and already had her licence when she joined the United States Air Force Academy in 2019.
There, she studied physics with a focus on astronomy and won an internship with NASA on a project looking at gamma rays.
The blonde beauty is now doing a public policy master’s at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in a partnership with the air force.
Madison, from Arkansas, started taking part in pageants during her first year with the military.
She said: “I think at first everyone was very confused. The first year at the Academy is hardest. You wear the uniform 24/7, you own no civilian clothes. You’re training all the time. It’s military, military, military.
“I think everyone was like, ‘What in the world is she doing?’. They had an obvious stereotype, but I know after watching Miss America my family understood why I competed.”
Madison lost her mum Whitney, 41, who worked helping foster kids, to pancreatic cancer in 2018 and set up a research charity in her name. She has raised some £200,000 for the cause by staging annual 5k and 10k runs.
The trailblazer — who is also the reigning Miss Colorado — has been studying the use of AI to detect the disease that took her mum from her and plans to use her crown to raise cancer awareness.
In a poignant Instagram post, she wrote of her win: “To my momma — this whole year is for you. If you were in the audience . . . I know you would have been my first hug.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“The world is about to know your story, light and love.”
Madison lavished praise on her fellow beauty queens, insisting: “It’s more than just the superficial stuff.
“You see young women that are talented, passionate and well-spoken, with some of the best resumes you’ll ever see. They are community driven and on a mission.”