Deidre Downs

Deidre Downs Gunn (born July 7, 1980) is an American physician and former beauty pageant titleholder. Downs was Miss Alabama 2004 and later was crowned Miss America 2005.<ref name="2004 and 2003">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="MissAmAL">Template:Cite web</ref>

Education

After graduating from Pelham High School in 1998,<ref name="Shelby">Template:Cite web</ref> Downs attended the University of Virginia on a volleyball scholarship.<ref name="PMagazine">Template:Cite web</ref> While at the University of Virginia, she was an Echols Scholar<ref name="Shelby"/> and a member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After her freshman year of college at the University of Virginia, Downs chose to focus on her studies and aspiration to go to medical school and ultimately transferred to Samford University.<ref name="PMagazine"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her transfer resulted in her losing her scholarship, so she began competing in local pageants to earn scholarship money.<ref name="Sports">Template:Cite magazine</ref> She graduated magna cum laude in 2002 from Samford University with a degree in history and a double-minor in biology and chemistry.<ref name="PMagazine"/><ref name="DDG">Template:Cite web</ref> She was also a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship in 2002.<ref name="Shelby"/>

After completing her stint as Miss America, she began medical school at the University of Alabama School of Medicine (UAB) in Birmingham.<ref name="MA2014">Template:Cite web</ref> She received her Doctor of Medicine in 2010 and then completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the UAB Medical Center in 2014.<ref name="DDG"/> She continued her education at the UAB Medical Center and completed her fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility in 2017.<ref name="DDG"/>

Pageantry

Early pageants

File:Deidre Downs and Chet Edwards.JPG

Miss America 2005 Deidre Downs (left) and congressman Chet Edwards (right) in his Washington office to discuss childhood cancer

Downs competed in her high school's pageants and won her senior year.<ref name="PMagazine"/>

After her first year of college at the University of Virginia, Downs chose to focus on her studies and aspiration to go to medical school and ultimately transferred to Samford University.<ref name="PMagazine"/><ref name="Sports"/> This transfer resulted in her losing a volleyball scholarship, so she began competing in local pageants to earn scholarship money.<ref name="Sports"/>

She first entered the Miss Alabama pageant scene in 2000 and was named third runner-up at the 2001 and 2002 pageants<ref name="Church">Template:Cite web</ref> and first runner-up at Miss Alabama 2003 pageant.<ref name="2004 and 2003"/>

Miss Alabama 2004

She was named Miss Leeds Area 2004, making her eligible to compete at the Miss Alabama 2004 pageant.

Downs won the competition in June 2004,<ref name="2004 and 2003"/> when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Alabama titleholder, Catherine Crosby.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was her 5th time competing in the Miss Alabama pageant.<ref name="PMagazine"/><ref name="Sports"/>

Miss America 2005

File:Deidre Downs.jpg

Deidre Downs in July 2005

Downs was Alabama's representative at the Miss America 2005 competition held in Atlantic City, New Jersey in September 2004. Her platform was "Curing Childhood Cancer."<ref name= "ALWins">Template:Cite web</ref>

In the preliminary competition, Downs was announced as the sole winner of the Quality of Life Award.<ref name="ALQOLHistory">Template:Cite web</ref> For the talent portion of the competition, she sang Linda Eder's "I'm Afraid This Must be Love."<ref name="Who Is">Template:Cite web</ref>

After competing in casual wear, swimsuit, evening gown, and participating in a "pop quiz", only two state titleholders remained, Downs and Miss Louisiana 2004, Jennifer Dupont.<ref name="FinalNight">Template:Cite web</ref> She then beat out Dupont after a head-to-head talent competition<ref name="FinalNight"/> for the 2005 title and was crowned by Miss America 2004, Ericka Dunlap, on September 18, 2004.<ref name= "ALWins"/><ref name="MA2005">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name= "10 years">Template:Cite web</ref> Along with the title of Miss America, Downs also won a $50,000 scholarship. Downs was the third Miss Alabama titleholder to win the Miss America title.<ref name="Who Is"/>

Downs later stated that she received nearly $110,000 in scholarship money<ref name="Shelby"/><ref name="PMagazine"/> during the five years she competed in the Miss Alabama and Miss America organizations. Downs is the only titleholder to reign for part of three calendar years.Template:Citation needed The pageant, traditionally held in September, was delayed four months to allow the Miss America Organization to secure a TV deal. Her successor, Jennifer Berry of Oklahoma, was crowned Miss America 2006 on January 21, 2006.

File:DownsPlate.jpg

Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (left) and Deidre Downs (right), Miss America 2005

Downs Gunn later served as a judge for the final night of competition for the Miss America 2014 pageant in which Nina Davuluri was named Miss America.<ref name="MA2014"/>

Personal life

After Downs married her college sweetheart, Andrew Gunn, in March 2008, she changed her name to Deidre Downs Gunn.<ref name="WTimes">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="2008wedding">Template:Cite web</ref> They had a son in 2010.<ref name="Shelby"/><ref name="WTimes"/> The couple later divorced.

Downs remarried in 2018 in a private ceremony at the Birmingham Museum of Art in Birmingham, Alabama.<ref name="Who Is"/><ref name="PeopleWeddingExclu">Template:Cite news</ref> Her wife, Abbott Jones, is an attorney and writer.<ref name="PeopleWeddingExclu"/><ref name="DDAJ Wedding">Template:Cite news</ref> Downs is the first former Miss America national titleholder to enter a same-sex marriage.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• Official website