Nana Meriwether (born May 24, 1985) is a two-time NCAA All-American UCLA volleyball player and Miss USA 2012. She represented Maryland at Miss USA 2012 and finished as 1st runner-up. On December 19, 2012, after Olivia Culpo won Miss Universe 2012, Nana assumed the title of Miss USA. Nana is currently Assistant to Glenda Bailey, the Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar. She has worked for and contributed to Carine Roitfeld’s CR Fashion Book, Vanity Fair, and Vogue Australia. Nana co-founded a 501 (c) (3) international non-profit organization, Meriwether Foundation that operates programs in health, education, nutrition and development in rural and impoverished communities of Southern Africa.
Meriwether competed in her 1st pageant for the Miss Universe Organization, Miss California USA 2008, representing Malibu, where she didn’t place in the semifinals. Nana returned to the Miss California USA stage in 2009, this time representing Beverly Hills, where she finished as 3rd runner-up to Carrie Prejean. Meriwether competed in Miss California USA 2010 where she finished as 1st runner-up to Nicole Johnson.
Meriwether competed in the Miss California USA one last time in 2011 where she eventually finished as 4th runner-up to Alyssa Campanella. After competing in Miss California USA for 4 years, Nana decided to move back to her home state of Maryland where she entered Miss Maryland USA 2012 and won the title, gaining the right to represent the state at Miss USA.
Meriwether represented Maryland at Miss USA 2012 where she eventually finished at 1st runner-up to Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island. On December 19, 2012, Olivia Culpo won the title of Miss Universe 2012. Due to pageant protocol, Miss USA must resign her title in order to fulfill her duties as Miss Universe. The 1st runner-up assumes the title of Miss USA, meaning that Meriwether is the new Miss USA 2012. After assuming the crown, Meriwether became the oldest contestant ever to be crowned Miss USA at the age of 27.
Born in South Africa to an African American father and a South African mother who were doing volunteer work, she was raised in Potomac, Maryland and is a 2003 graduate of Sidwell Friends School. She attended Duke University for one semester, where her father Delano Meriwether had been the first African-American medical student. She transferred to UCLA in 2004, where she graduated and was twice named an All-American in volleyball. Following her collegiate career, Nana played professional volleyball in Puerto Rico for the Las Indias de Mayaguez. She then started graduate school at USC. She previously participated in California pageants (2008–2011) and finished as high as second.
Kimberly Clarice Aiken Cockerham (born October 11, 1974, in Columbia, South Carolina) was Miss America 1994. Aiken was 18 years old when she won the coveted title and was only the fifth woman of African descent to be crowned. She won Miss Columbia and Miss South Carolina 1993 en route to her 1994 Miss America crown. She was the first African-American woman to be crowned Miss South Carolina.Although she did not win any preliminary awards, she was still selected as a top 10 finalist and excelled during the live pageant with a stirring rendition of “Summertime” for her talent, and impressive showings in the swimsuit, evening gown, and interview competitions thus securing her the crown.
Aiken’s pageant coach was CB Mathis of CB’s Limited in Lancaster, South Carolina. Aiken used the plight of the homeless as her platform. Aiken has made numerous television appearances and was once recognized by People Magazine as one of the “Fifty Most Beautiful People in the World”.
She was initiated as a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority at Epsilon Tau Chapter. After graduating from New York University, Aiken pursued a career in public accounting with Ernst & Young LLP, one of the Big Four accounting firms. Today, she is an image consultant and motivational speaker. A professional speaker for nearly ten years, she entertains and inspires audiences with her programs, using her varied experiences and sharing stories of overcoming obstacles, such as brain surgery. She is also a regular columnist for Pageantry Magazine.
She is the daughter of Valerie and Charles Aiken of Columbia, South Carolina. She married Haven Cockerham and has two children.