A 20-year-old cellist from Rhode Island won the Miss USA crown and will represent the United States in this year's Miss Universe pageant.
Olivia Culpo topped a field of 51 beauty queens on Sunday to take the title at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. She strutted across the stage in a purple bikini and a purple evening gown with sparkly belt. She answered a question about transgender contestants by saying it would be fair for a man who became a woman to be named Miss Universe. The pageant had three competitions: swimsuit, evening gowns and interview question. Midway through the contest, pop band Cobra Starship performed as the beauty queens modeled their string bikinis. Miss USA 2011 Alyssa Campanella from California crowned Culpo her successor at the end of the night.
Nana Meriwether, Miss Maryland, was the first runner-up , Miss Ohio Audrey Bolte was the second runner-up. Contestants from Nevada and Georgia placed fourth and fifth.
Miss USA 2012 - Rhode Island, Olivia Culpo
1st Runner up - Maryland, Nana Meriwether
2nd Runner up - Ohio, Audrey Bolte
3rd Runner up - Nevada, Jade Kelsall
4th Runner up - Georgia, Jazz Wilkins
Top 10
Alabama
Colorado
New Jersey
Oklahoma
Texas
Top 16
Arkansas
Louisiana
Maine
Michigan
South Carolina
Tennessee
