Miss New York Nina Davuluri, center, reacts after being named Miss America 2014 pageant as Miss California Crystal Lee, left, and Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan celebrate with her, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013, in Atlantic City, N.J
After a night of big numbers, long evening gowns, tight swimsuit strutting, dancing, singing and, yes, answering those tough judges' questions (including ones about Miley Cyrus and Syria!), the 53 Miss America contestants (50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) were narrowed down to one winner.
Miss New York Nina Davuluri, 24, from Syracuse, sashayed off with the tiara and the $50,000 scholarship cash. She performed a Bollywood fusion dance (after missing her cue at first) and answered a question about plastic surgery. ("Be confident in who you are!") She hopes to become a doctor, like her father, who is an obstetrician in Fayetteville, Mich. She once battled bulimia, according to a SYRACUS.COM July story, and is the first Indian-American to serve as Miss New York/ She is the first Miss America winner of Indian descent.
