Justus Kelley of Virginia was crowned Miss USA on August 27, 2026. And while the pageant has garnered a slight controversial reputation, many of its contestants and winners went on to become internationally famous.
From Halle Berry to Olivia Culpo, some of our favorite stars’ careers began on pageant stages. And every Miss USA contestant starts out competing for their own state. Over 50 years ago, Sharon Stone competed at Miss Pennsylvania and you won’t recognize her in the rare photos from the event.
© Getty ImagesDays of Our Lives actress Judith McConnell won Miss Pennsylvania in 1965
From Miss Crawford County to Miss Pennsylvania
After Sharon won Miss Crawford County, she went on to compete in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant when she was 17. But, the Catwoman actress didn’t take home the crown.
That year’s winner was Miss Bucks County Marie McLaughlin. One of Sharon’s fellow contestants, future 1977 winner Marie Rotunda, wrote about their time competing together. for the Naples Daily News, noting that while she was a “pageant pro,” Sharon “was a real pageant novice.”
© AFP via Getty ImagesSharon has since been on hundreds of magazine covers
The advice Sharon Stone received from a pageant judge
Sharon didn’t leave the Miss Pennsylvania pageant empty handed. During a 1999 interview with Inside the Actors Studio, she revealed that one of the pageant judges told her to quit college and move to New York City to become a fashion model. And Sharon did just that.
By 1977, she was signed by Ford Modeling Agency and soon after was traveling across Europe to walk the runway.
© Getty ImagesShe always dreamt of becoming an actress
Sharon Stone’s pivot into acting
The model lived abroad for several years before packing her bags and moving back to New York to pursue an acting career. Sharon remembered standing in line to be an extra in a Woody Allen movie before landing a brief role in his 1980 film Stardust Memories.
Sharon kept at her dream, appearing in dozens of TV shows and films before finally landing her breakthrough role.
© Getty ImagesThe actress once said Robert De Niro is “the best kisser in the business.”
The breakthrough role that made Sharon Stone a star
Years after her pageant days, Sharon starred in the 1992 thriller Basic Instinct as an alleged serial killer. For the part, she earned a Golden Globe Award nomination. In 1995, Sharon acted alongside Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s epic crime drama Casino and landed herself an Oscar nomination.
Since then, Sharon has continued acting, most recently appearing in season three of Euphoria as the powerful studio executive and boss to Lexi Howard (played by Maude Apatow).
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