By: Jenny Castro
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 09-22-2026
A native Texan and lifelong dancer, Regan Hutsell was recently crowned Miss America 2027 in Palm Beach, Florida earlier this month. Her journey to the national title reflects years of dedication to dance, performance, and personal development, culminating in one of the most significant achievements of her career.
During pageant week, candidates from across the country gathered in Palm Beach to take part in the 99th anniversary of Miss America, representing their states and bringing their individual stories, talents, and aspirations to the national stage. The competition also provided an opportunity for contestants to network with one another, build lasting friendships, and form connections with women from communities across the country.
For Hutsell, winning the title was more than an honor, “I would say the biggest thing was realizing that I had just joined something that was entirely greater than myself,” she said. Adding, “The first thought that went through my head was, ‘Oh my goodness, I’ve joined this incredible legacy of women.’ You actually dream of these moments from being a local titleholder, to a state titleholder, to going to Miss America. When my name was called, I thought, ‘I now have the ability to impact so many people throughout this year and truly join the legacy of women who have gone before me.” Reflecting on Miss America’s pageant week, Hutsell is grateful for the experience and for the other inspiring women she met, “I made so many new friends. Honestly, it felt like an 11-day-long sleepover. Even though it was a competition, I feel like we all came with open minds, and I think that was beautiful. They talk about ‘winning the experience,’ and what they mean by that is truly living every single moment to the best of your ability and soaking everything in. At the end of the week, crown or no crown, I knew I had walked away with a cup that was overflowing. I think many of us walked away from the week feeling incredibly grateful for everything we had shared together.”
Historically, the Miss America organization has been one of the leading pageant systems in the United States, and continues to be so. The organization is highly known for providing scholarships to women who are pursuing higher education. For Hutsell, the scholarship opportunities will allow her to complete college and pursue her dream of becoming a physical therapist, “In terms of scholarships, I now have $90,000 waiting for me to pursue my education. And so, as somebody who had their first career as a professional dancer, I’m ready to transition into studying and figure out where I want to go with my next career, and it’s going to cost a lot of money. So Miss America changed my life and the fact that I will be able to pursue my education debt free is something that I am so grateful for in terms of service.”
Pertaining to Hutsell’s advocacy platform, “Your Body Is Your Home,” Hutsell aims to inspire others regarding self-acceptance, a message that has profoundly impacted her own life. Explaining in more detail, Hutsell offers personal insight, “My platform stems from my experience with an eating disorder. After I had gone through the clinical side of treatment and worked with a dietitian, I brought on a coach to help bridge the gap between returning to the studio and returning to my life as a professional dancer. For years leading up to that point, I viewed my body as essentially a means to do what I wanted in my career in dance. What I realized was that this is the place I’m going to live for the rest of my life. It’s the body I’m going to take to coffee with a friend, hopefully get married and have children in, and the same body I’ll have when I’m 80, 90 and hopefully 100 one day. How I treated my body today was important for tomorrow, and to stand strong on the other side and fully recover, I needed the proper tools to help me get there,” Hutsell explained.
In previous years, Hutsell has been a dancer with the Radio City Rockettes and Birmingham Royal Ballet in the United Kingdom. She is skilled in the areas of tap, jazz, contemporary, ballet, lyrical and more. With a strong passion for dance, she entered pageants for the first time just a year ago, eventually winning the title of Miss Texas this past summer.
Looking forward to this next year of service as Miss America, Hutsell encourages others to reach for their dreams despite challenges, “My main objective for this year is just to inspire hope in people. Hope that, regardless of what you’re going through, regardless of what you’re facing, hope is there. Hope is what gave me the courage to pursue a career in dance. Hope is what gave me the courage to be a Rockette, to join Birmingham Royal Ballet in England, to recover from not one but two knee surgeries, and to ultimately recover from an eating disorder. I feel like hope is probably what pulls you through some of the most challenging times of your life. As Miss America, I want every single person to find a refreshed hope and to truly know that tomorrow is going to come, whatever that means for you. I want people to know that they, too, can accomplish anything they set out to do, but equally as important, that the dark times will always end. You just have to choose to hold on to hope.”
Follow Miss America on Instagram here.
Regan Hutsell Official Instagram
