Deborah Bryant - Misplaced Pages

American model

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous.
Find sources: "Deborah Bryant" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Deborah Bryant
Postcard of Bryant as Miss America 1966
Born	Deborah Irene Bryant (1946-01-29) January 29, 1946 (age 78)
Alma mater	University of Miami
Employer	Lebanon City Schools
Title	Miss Kansas World 1963 Miss America 1966
Predecessor	Vonda Kay Van Dyke
Successor	Jane Jayroe
Spouses	Roderick Wilson (m. 1967) Brent Berge (m. 1975)
Children	5

Deborah Irene Bryant (born January 29, 1946) is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Overland Park, Kansas who was Miss Kansas 1965 and Miss America 1966.

High school

Deborah Bryant attended General H. H. Arnold High School in Wiesbaden, Germany, in the class of 1963.

Pageantry

Bryant was 19 years old when she won the preliminary swimsuit competition and, the next day, was announced as the winner of the crown. During her year of service, she spoke in support of "Project Concern" which provided medical support to undeveloped countries. She was the first Miss Kansas to win the Miss America crown. When she won Miss America title, her father was serving in Vietnam as a civil engineer with the Air Force. The 1966 Miss America Pageant was the first pageant to be televised in color.

Education

After graduating in the top ten of her high school graduating class, Bryant went on to attend Columbia College on a full academic scholarship, during which time she represented Kansas in Atlantic City on September 11, 1965, in the Miss America scholarship pageant.

Following her year of service as Miss America, Bryant continued her education as an English major (B.A.) at the University of Kansas, graduating Cum Laude Phi Beta Kappa.

Philanthropy

Bryant remains active in community service for numerous charitable projects. She was a member of the Mesa Desert Club, which provides scholarships to qualified needy high school graduates, and was also a past member of the Phoenix Junior League.

Personal life

Bryant previously married Roderick Wilson in 1967. She gave birth to a daughter in 1972.

Bryant currently resides in Arizona with her husband, Brent Berge whom she married in 1975. Berge has two children from a previous relationship. Together they had two more children and have four grandchildren.

Recognitions and honors

Bryant was named Kansan of the Year in 1965 by the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas.

References

^ "From freckles to Miss America". Miami News. Associated Press. September 13, 1965. p. 12B.
"DEBORAH BRYANT". American Overseas Schools Historical Society. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
Associated Press (1965-09-11). "Wins Preliminary Contest". Chicago Tribune.
"What Does Miss America Do When She Removes Crown?". Herald-Tribune. 1968-05-13. p. 4.
^ Tauber, Michelle; Neill, Mike; Russell, Lisa; Fowler, Joanne; Dam, Julie; Tresniowski, Alex; Miller, Samantha; Dougherty, Steve; Yu, Ting (October 16, 2000). "American Beauties: 80 Years". People.
"CyberCivics » Famous Kansans » Miss America". www.civics.ks.gov. Retrieved 2020-03-20.

Awards and achievements
Preceded byVonda Kay Van Dyke	Miss America 1966	Succeeded byJane Jayroe
Preceded bySharon Savage	Miss Kansas 1965	Succeeded byMimi Frink

v t e Miss America titleholders
1920s	Margaret Gorman (1921) Mary Campbell (1922) Mary Campbell (1923) Ruth Malcomson (1924) Fay Lanphier (1925) Norma Smallwood (1926) Lois Delander (1927)
1930s	Marian Bergeron (1933) Henrietta Leaver (1935) Rose Coyle (1936) Bette Cooper (1937) Marilyn Meseke (1938) Patricia Donnelly (1939)
1940s	Frances Marie Burke (1940) Rosemary LaPlanche (1941) Jo-Carroll Dennison (1942) Jean Bartel (1943) Venus Ramey (1944) Bess Myerson (1945) Marilyn Buferd (1946) Barbara Jo Walker (1947) BeBe Shopp (1948) Jacque Mercer (1949)
1950s	Yolande Betbeze (1951) Colleen Kay Hutchins (1952) Neva Jane Langley (1953) Evelyn Margaret Ay (1954) Lee Meriwether (1955) Sharon Ritchie (1956) Marian McKnight (1957) Marilyn Van Derbur (1958) Mary Ann Mobley (1959)
1960s	Lynda Lee Mead (1960) Nancy Fleming (1961) Maria Fletcher (1962) Jacquelyn Mayer (1963) Donna Axum (1964) Vonda Kay Van Dyke (1965) Deborah Bryant (1966) Jane Anne Jayroe (1967) Debra Dene Barnes (1968) Judith Anne Ford (1969)
1970s	Pamela Eldred (1970) Phyllis Ann George (1971) Laurie Lea Schaefer (1972) Terry Meeuwsen (1973) Rebecca Ann King (1974) Shirley Cothran (1975) Tawny Elaine Godin (1976) Dorothy Benham (1977) Susan Perkins (1978) Kylene Barker (1979)
1980s	Cheryl Prewitt (1980) Susan Powell (1981) Elizabeth Ward (1982) Debra Maffett (1983) Vanessa Williams / Suzette Charles (1984) Sharlene Wells (1985) Susan Akin (1986) Kellye Cash (1987) Kaye Lani Rae Rafko (1988) Gretchen Carlson (1989)
1990s	Debbye Turner (1990) Marjorie Judith Vincent (1991) Carolyn Suzanne Sapp (1992) Leanza Cornett (1993) Kimberly Clarice Aiken (1994) Heather Whitestone (1995) Shawntel Smith (1996) Tara Dawn Holland (1997) Katherine Shindle (1998) Nicole Johnson (1999)
2000s	Heather French (2000) Angela Perez Baraquio (2001) Katie Harman (2002) Erika Harold (2003) Ericka Dunlap (2004) Deidre Downs (2005) Jennifer Berry (2006) Lauren Nelson (2007) Kirsten Haglund (2008) Katie Stam (2009)
2010s	Caressa Cameron (2010) Teresa Scanlan (2011) Laura Kaeppeler (2012) Mallory Hagan (2013) Nina Davuluri (2014) Kira Kazantsev (2015) Betty Cantrell (2016) Savvy Shields (2017) Cara Mund (2018) Nia Franklin (2019)
2020s	Camille Schrier (2020) Emma Broyles (2022) Grace Stanke (2023) Madison Marsh (2024)

v t e Kansas pageant winners
Miss Kansas	Vera Ralston (1948) Gayla Leigh Shoemake (1960) Deborah Bryant (1965) Debra Dene Barnes (1967) Cynthia Sikes (1972) Tara Dawn Holland (1996) Alyssa George (2007) Theresa Vail (2013) Hannah Wagner (2015)
Miss Kansas USA	Nancy Bishop (1971) Kelli McCarty (1991) Carol Hovenkamp (1994) Danni Boatwright (1996) Lisa Forbes (2004)
Miss Kansas Teen USA	Danni Boatwright (1992) Keylee Sue Sanders (1995) Olivia Harlan (2010) Hailey Colborn (2018)

v t e Miss America
1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Titleholders Award winners Teen MAT State pageants

Miss America

1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Portals:

This biography article about a United States contestant in a beauty pageant is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

This Kansas-related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: