It’s almost time to crown a new Miss Teen USA and Miss USA 2026.
Us can exclusively confirm the hosts and judges for this year’s beauty pageants, taking place at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami later this week.
Actor Ian Ziering and Miss USA 1993 Kenya Moore will host Miss USA, while Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt and Sean Michael Rae will take the reins for Miss Teen USA.
As for the judges, The Real Housewives of Rhode Island star Kelsey Swanson is one of the familiar faces who will help crown a winner for Miss Teen USA.
“Being asked to judge is incredibly special to me. Miss USA was such a defining chapter of my life, and I have so many memories of being on the other side of that stage,” Kelsey, 32, exclusively shared with Us on Monday, August 24. “To come back all these years later in this role during the 75th diamond anniversary really does feel like an incredible full-circle moment.”
The Bravo star, who was previously crowned Miss Rhode Island USA 2017, said the opportunity to judge is a task she doesn’t take lightly.
“There’s something surreal about returning to an experience that once meant so much to me and seeing it through an entirely different lens,” she said. “After competing at Miss USA, I went on to mentor and coach young women pursuing their own pageant dreams for a few years, so this world has remained very close to my heart. To now be invited back and trusted with a place at the judges’ table is meaningful, and I’m incredibly grateful for it.”
Joining her at the judges’ table is internet personality and former Miss Ohio Teen USA 2022 Kylan Darnell.
“Being invited to judge Miss Teen USA is such a full circle moment for me,” she exclusively told Us. “As a former Miss Ohio Teen USA, I know how special this experience is, and I’m so excited to be on the other side championing and celebrating this next generation of remarkable young women.”
Miss Teen USA alums Ki’ilani Arruda and Kaliegh Garris will join Boss Babe Models owner Marie P. Anderson and celebrity designer Bessie Besana to round out the judges’ table.
Several former pageant queens have tragically died after winning their crowns. Kseniya Alexandrova won Miss Universe Russia in 2017, eight years before she died following a fatal car accident at the age of 30. “It is with deep sorrow that we announce that our colleague and friend, model Ksenia Alexandrova, passed away last night,” her […]
For the Miss USA judges panel, The Shade Room founder Angelica Nwandu, Miss USA 2016 DeShauna Barber-Echols, Michelle McLean, Madison Anderson, So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Mia Michaels and celebrity talent manager Steven Grossman will help decide the winner.
The Miss USA finals is scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 27 at 8 p.m. ET, while the Miss Teen USA pageant will take place the day prior.
Although the pageant was previously set to be broadcast live on The CW Network, fans will now be able to stream the broadcast on Queen Beauty Network.
