Pretty much all the ladies of all the Real Housewives franchises act like Queens (or Countesses), but one new addition to The Real Housewives of Atlanta has the crown to back it up! Kenya Summer Moore took home the title of Miss USA in 1993 while representing her home state of Michigan.
We thought it might be fun to track down video of Kenya Moore competing in the 1993 Miss USA pageant and thanks to the magic of Youtube and the diligent work of our researchers, we have been able to compile clips of pretty much every element of Kenya’s pageant performance including swimwear, evening gown, interviews, and the crowning! We’ve even gone the extra step and cued up just Kenya’s portion of each clip. (If you’d like to watch the videos in their entirety, just hit play and then click at the beginning of the clip or wherever else you would like to start.)
PARADE OF STATES
“From Detroit, I’m Kenya Summer Moore. A psychology student at New York University, I’m financing my education as a model.”
SWIMSUIT COMPETITION
“Besides a family member, I would have to say Maya Angelou has influenced me the most. After reading her writings I was inspired to write poetry of my own, and to date I have over 50 poems that I’ve written. I admire her the most because she’s come from a difficult past and she’s able to turn her life around.”
Kenya Moore Miss USA 1993 swimsuit photos:
(Final swimsuit competition score: 9.604)
EVENING GOWN COMPETITION
(Final score: 9.650)
INTERVIEW
Dick Clark: We continue now with our semifinal interview competition and our last six contestants. We’ll begin with Miss Michigan. This is Kenya Summer Moore, who’s 22, a professional model and student at New York University, and going to be a child psychiatrist. I read in your bio, Kenya, that your grandmothers have been really powerful influences on you. How so?
Kenya Moore: Most definitely my grandmother had a hand in raising me. She raised me since I was three days old, and also along with five other children. And now she’s raising her mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. So she’s been a great influence in my life. She’s such a positive woman, and full of strength and energy, and she’s just really special.
Are both your grandmothers here tonight?
Yes, they are.
Undoubtedly the folks at home will catch a glimpse of them and you and I will never know. One of your grandmothers owns a boutique?
Yes, my grandmother Moore does.
Did she clothe you when you went to school?
[laughs] She actually did. I think I was the best dressed person in school. Everyday I had a different outfit and that was really nice.
She spoiled you rotten?
I think so.
Alright, and that’s what grandmoms are for. Now that you have matured, do you really think that it makes a lot of difference what you look like in life?
No, I don’t think so. My grandmother instilled the value that the inner beauty comes from what your souls says, and how you display yourself, and how you treat other people. You have to be very kind, and everything comes from within, so beauty is within to me.
Thank you very much.
(Final score: 9.578)
FINAL INTERVIEW QUESTION
Dick Clark: What do you think the judges see in you that brought you to the final three tonight?
Kenya Moore: I think the judges can look into my eyes and see my heart and know that I am a sincere person, that I am here because of — not because of me, because I want to help as many people as I can. I want to reach out to children across America and let them know that there’s someone that cares about them and that if they try, and they believe in themselves, and they believe in God, especially in America anything is possible.
CROWNING
Kenya Moore Miss USA 1993 final crowning photos:
Continuing her passion for pageants, Kenya Moore created the Miss More Pageant 2012 last year. “I wanted to create a positive platform for women of color that exemplifies who we are in this day and age, in this century and to make a positive contribution to society as a whole,” Kenya said in a press release. “Women rule the world, and Black women own it.”
The web site doesn’t appear to exist any longer, so perhaps the Miss More Pageant was just a one year thing.
Although we couldn’t find any video of Kenya Moore’s talent portion of the 1993 Miss USA pageant, you can see her true talent (being sassy and otherwise damn fine!) on The Real Housewives of Atlanta each and every Sunday night on Bravo at 9/8c.
