Source: Judy Eddy/WENN.com / WENN
Nia Imani Franklin, a classically trained opera singer representing New York, has won the first swimsuit-less Miss America contest. Franklin is a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina who completed her undergraduate degree in music composition at East Carolina University and her master’s degree in music composition from UNC’s School of the Arts. In 2016, Franklin competed for the title of Miss North Carolina but did not win. She moved to New York after being accepted at the Kenan Fellow program at Lincoln Center Education in Manhattan. Franklin said during her onstage interview that she was one of only a small number of minority students in school growing up, but used her love for music and the arts to grow and fit in. Franklin is the daughter of James and Kristy Franklin and plans to advocate for the arts and cancer research, during her tenure as Miss America.
