Deaf Woman Is First Miss America With Disability

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A deaf dancer from Alabama won the 68th annual Miss America Pageant on Saturday, becoming the first woman with a disability to wear the crown.

Heather Whitestone, a 21-year-old Birmingham native, was the only contestant to win two preliminary competitions, in the swimsuit and talent categories.

Whitestone was born with hearing but lost it after a reaction to a diphtheria-tetanus shot when she was 18 months old.

The second runner-up was Miss New Jersey, Jennifer Makris; third runner-up was Miss Georgia, Andrea Krahn; and Miss Indiana, Tiffany Storm, was fourth runner-up.