Miss USA 1996

Miss USA 1996
Date	February 2, 1996
Presenters	Bob Goen Maty Monfort
Venue	South Padre Island, Texas
Broadcaster	CBS
Winner	Ali Landry Louisiana
Congeniality	Ku'ualoha Taylor
Photogenic	Ali Landry

Miss USA 1996, the 45th Miss USA pageant, was held at South Padre Island, Texas culminating in the final competition and crowning on February 2, 1996.

At the conclusion of the final competition, Ali Landry of Louisiana was crowned by outgoing titleholder Shanna Moakler of New York.

Landry is the first former Miss Teen USA state delegate to win the Miss USA title, the third Miss USA from Louisiana and the second Miss Louisiana USA to win both the Photogenic award and Miss USA crown, making Louisiana the only state to complete this feat after California did it in 1992. Landry is also the fifth and last Miss Photogenic to be crowned as Miss USA after winning the award.

The pageant was held on South Padre Island for the third and final time. It was hosted by Bob Goen for the third time, and Maty Monfort offered colour commentary. Aaron Neville provided entertainment during the competition.

This was also the first year that the Miss Universe Organization opened a website dedicated to the pageant, and the first time they instituted an internet vote to choose the winner of the Miss Photogenic award.

It was also the first time since 1989 that there were 10 semifinalists, instead of the usual 12. Also, this was the first year since 1991 in which the delegates wore one-piece bathing suits for the preliminary and final swimsuit competitions.

The following is the contestants average scores in the preliminary competition.

The Miss USA 1996 delegates were:

Ten delegates had previously competed in either the Miss Teen USA or Miss America pageants.

Delegates who had previously held a Miss Teen USA state title were:

Delegate who had previously held a Miss America state title:

Delegate who previously held a Miss USA state title:

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