Marjorie Vincent
Marjorie Vincent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 21, 1964 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | DePaul University Duke University Florida Coastal School of Law |
| Occupation | Broadcast journalism |
| Title | Miss Illinois 1990 Miss America 1991 |
| Predecessor | Debbye Turner |
| Successor | Carolyn Sapp |
Marjorie Judith Vincent is a former journalist and beauty contestant who was crowned Miss America 1991.
Vincent's parents, Lucien and Florence Vincent of Cap-Haïtien, Haiti migrated to the United States in the early 1960s; Marjorie was the first of their children to be born in the United States. She grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, going to Catholic school and taking ballet and piano lessons. Vincent entered DePaul University as a music major, switching to business in junior year and graduating in 1988. Money from beauty pageants helped to pay for school.[1]
After two unsuccessful pageant tries, at Miss North Carolina and Miss Illinois,[2] she won Miss Illinois, allowing her to advance to Miss America. At the Miss America pageant, she performed the Fantaisie-Impromptu (Op. posth. 66) by Chopin, won the crown, and became Miss America 1991 on 7 September 1990, succeeding Debbye Turner.[1] It was the pageant's 70th anniversary, and former pageant emcee Bert Parks appeared as a guest. Host Gary Collins had Parks sing "There She Is" as Vincent walked the runway. It was Parks last appearance at the pageant; he died two years later in 1992. Thus, Marjorie Vincent was the last Miss America to be serenaded by Bert Parks.
Vincent, who already had two years in law school at Duke University before becoming Miss America, changed her goal from international law to television journalism, becoming a news anchor at WGBC in Meridian, Mississippi in October 1993.[2][3] She later worked at WHOI in Peoria, Illinois, and the Ohio News Network in Columbus, Ohio, for the next six-plus years.[citation needed]
As of 2008[update], Vincent was completing her law degree at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida.[4]
References
- ^ a b Burgess, Marjorie. "Marjorie Judith Vincent". Contemporary Black Biography. Gale Group, Inc.
- ^ a b Haynes, Karima A. (January 1994). "Miss America: from Vanessa Williams to Kimberly Aiken". Ebony. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- ^ "Marjorie Vincent, former Miss America, named TV anchor in Meridian, MS - for NBC-affiliate WGBC-TV". Jet. Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company. 1993-12-06. ISSN 0021-5996. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- ^ "Coastal Law's Black Law Students Association earns National Acclaim" (Press release). Jacksonville, Florida: Florida Coastal School of Law. 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-08-31.