Jo-Carroll Dennison, former Miss America passes away at age 97

Jo-Carroll Dennison, the oldest Miss America winner, passed away at the age of 97. As per CNN, a friend of Dennison, Evan Mills revealed that she died at her residence in California on October 31. Mills went on to say that Dennison won the Miss America title during World War II in the year 1942 and defied tradition by refusing to wear swimwear onstage after the contest.  

Citing Evan Mills, CNN reported that the former Miss America "serve as a model for young women -- and men -- in a world where many are tempted to bend to social expectations rather than trusting and following their own moral compass." Mills who had edited her book received the information of her death directly from her family. 

Achievements of Former Miss America Jo-Carroll Dennison

Dennison, who was born in Florence, Arizona in the year 1923, had joined the travelling medicine show of her parents as a child, where she used to sing, dance, and ride trick horses. Before being chosen for the Miss Tyler pageant in Tyler, Texas, she was studying to become a secretary.  

Dennison said in her memoirs "Finding My Little Red Hat" that after her days on the medicine show, she had sworn never to act in public again. But later, she consented to participate in Miss Tyler, CNN reported. She even ended up winning Miss East Texas and Miss Texas following the win of the Miss Tyler pageant, and then competed in and won — the Miss America beauty contest in 1942, when she was just18 years old. 

Even Though Dennison topped the swimsuit competition, but she declined to wear swimming suits throughout her year as Miss America. She praised the Miss America Organization for eliminating the swimsuit component of the contest in 2018 and focused on the "totality of each candidate" during the contest's 100th-anniversary banquet earlier this year. 

Dennison, who was crowned Miss America just after the United States entered World War II, had toured defense facilities, hospitals, and military camps to boost army morale. Furthermore, Dennison had also inked a deal with 20th Century Fox, where she appeared in films such as "The Jolson Story" and "Winged Victory," a battle drama. She met many of the era's superstars and she had connections with Charlie Chaplin's son Sydney and comedian Phil Silvers, whom she married in the year 1945 and later divorced in five years. 

Dennison starred in the "Dick Tracy" program and eventually worked in television shows behind the scenes. She had two children with CBS producer and director Russell Stoneham before they split from their marriage in the 1970s. 

Dennison had even shown her support for the #MeToo movement in her book, disclosing that she was sexually abused when she was 12 years old. In her book, she said that the inequity with which women have been treated in American culture is startling. "I am so proud of the 'Me Too movement' and the women who have been brave enough to come forward about the male sexual abuse they have suffered, and grateful I have lived long enough to see it," CNN reported. 

(Image: Twitter/ @Missamerica)