| Winner: | Tara Dawn Holland |
| Represented: | Kansas |
| Date: | September 14, 1996 |
| Presenters: | Regis Philbin |
| Venue: | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Broadcaster: | NBC |
| Before: | 1996 |
| Next: | 1998 |
Miss America 1997, the 70th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 14, 1996, and televised by the NBC Network. Until the 2019 Pageant, this was the last time that NBC aired the Miss America pageant.
| Placement | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Miss America 1997 | ||
| 1st Runner-Up |
| |
| 2nd Runner-Up |
| |
| 3rd Runner-Up | ||
| 4th Runner-Up |
| |
| Top 10 |
|
| Awards | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
| |
| Talent |
| Results | Contestant | Platform | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Hospice: A Special Kind of Caring | ||
| 1st runner-up | - | ||
| 2nd runner-up |
| - |
| Awards | Contestant | |
|---|---|---|
| Albert Marks Jr. Memorial Fund Interview | ||
| Bernie Wayne Performing Arts Scholarship |
| |
| Non-finalist Interview Award |
| |
| Non-finalist Talent Award |
| |
| Waterford Crystal Scholarship |
|
The Miss America 1997 delegates are:[3]
| State | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 22 | Vocal, "How Great Thou Art" | 3rd runner-up | Quality of Life Winner | ||||
| Alaska | Christine Buschur | 21 | Vocal, "Another Op'nin, Another Show" & "I Got Rhythm" | |||||
| Arizona | Erin Gingrich | 21 | Classical Piano, "Rhapsody in Blue" | |||||
| Arkansas | Melonie McGarrah | 22 | Vocal, "I Will Always Love You" | |||||
| California | Lyndsay Kahler | 22 | Vocal, "Where Is It Written?" from Yentl | |||||
| Colorado | Michelle Stanley | 20 | Dramatic Monologue from Quilters | Non-finalist Talent Award | Miss Colorado USA 1998 | |||
| Connecticut | Stacy Perrone | 22 | Vocal, "This Time Around" | |||||
| Delaware | Aimée Michelle Voshell | 18 | Ballet en Pointe, "Return to Innocence" | |||||
| Florida | Jamie Lynn Bolding | 22 | Lyrical Ballet, "Can You Read My Mind" | Non-finalist Talent Award Non-finalist Interview Award Albert Marks Jr. Memorial Fund Interview | ||||
| Georgia | Shea Olliff | 24 | Popular Vocal, "Can You Read My Mind" | |||||
| Hawaii | Melissa Short | 23 | Operatic Vocal, "Ah! Je Veux Vivre" from Romeo et Juliette | Top 10 | Preliminary Swimsuit Award Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| Idaho | Misty Marriah Esplin | 19 | ||||||
| Illinois | Tania Joy Gibson | 19 | Vocal, "As If We Never Said Goodbye" from Sunset Boulevard | |||||
| Indiana | Shani Lynn Nielsen | 24 | Vocal, "In His Eyes" from Jekyll & Hyde | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award Bernie Wayne Performing Arts Scholarship | |||
| Iowa | Natasha Ann Courter | 23 | Tap Dance, "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" | |||||
| Kansas | 23 | Operatic Vocal, "Où Va la Jeune Hindoue" from Lakmé | Miss America 1997 | Quality of Life 1st runner-up Preliminary Swimsuit Award | ||||
| Kentucky | Veronica Marie Duka | 19 | Vocal, "Somewhere" from West Side Story | Top 10 | ||||
| Louisiana | Erika Rachael Schwarz | 24 | Original Piano Composition, "New Orleans Rhapsody" | 1st runner-up | Quality of Life 2nd runner-up | Entertainment lawyer Judge for Miss America 2006 pageant Was "Pageant Coach" on the Miss America 2007 "Pageant School" TV movie | ||
| Maine | Sarah Nadeau | 20 | Classical Vocal, "Addio" from La bohème | |||||
| Maryland | Susan Alexander | 24 | Popular Vocal, "Sing Me" | |||||
| Massachusetts | Lori Flick | 24 | Interpretive Gymnastics Dance, Prologue from Beauty and the Beast | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||||
| Michigan | Jennifer Lynn Drayton | 22 | Classical Piano, with original accompaniment, "Sonata Appassionata" | |||||
| Minnesota | Sherry Johnson | 22 | Vocal, "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" | |||||
| Mississippi | Kari Litton | 23 | Vocal, "Cry" | Top 10 | ||||
| Missouri | Kimberly Anne Massaro | 24 | Tap Dance, "Favorite Son" from The Will Rogers Follies | 4th runner-up | ||||
| Montana | Aubrey Jo Hiller | 22 | Vocal, "All the Things You Are" | Miss Montana Teen USA 1992 | ||||
| Nebraska | Rachel White | 20 | Vocal, "Via Dolorosa" | |||||
| Nevada | Annette Albertson | 24 | Vocal, "Luck Be a Lady" | |||||
| New Hampshire | Michelle Tolson | 22 | Jazz Dance, "Hit Me with a Hot Note" from Sophisticated Ladies | |||||
| New Jersey | Melanie Joyce Bell | 20 | Jazz Dance, "They Can't Take That Away From Me" | |||||
| New Mexico | Trisha Williams | 19 | Contemporary Gospel Vocal, "He's Always There" | |||||
| New York | Tammy Harris | 24 | Dance, "O Fortuna" | |||||
| North Carolina | Jennifer Michelle Roberts | 21 | Tap Dance, "Devil with a Blue Dress On" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||||
| North Dakota | Stephanie Lee Hamilton | 18 | Lyrical Dance, "On My Knees" | |||||
| Ohio | Robyn Hancock | 21 | Classical Ballet, "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||||
| Oklahoma | Amy Linn Duncan | 23 | Dramatic Vocal, "A Piece of Sky" from Yentl | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||||
| Oregon | Patricia Regan Leines | 24 | Operatic Aria, "Chacun le Sait" from La fille du régiment | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Swimsuit Award Preliminary Talent Award | |||
| Pennsylvania | GiGi Gordon | 23 | Lyrical Dance, "When a Man Loves a Woman" | |||||
| Rhode Island | Elana Eve Chomiszak | 21 | Modern Dance, "Nice Work If You Can Get It" | |||||
| South Carolina | Angela Michelle Hughes | 21 | Tap Dance, "Sing, Sing, Sing" | |||||
| South Dakota | Stephanie Camp | 20 | Vocal, "I Am Changing" from Dreamgirls | |||||
| Tennessee | Jeni Stephens | 23 | Popular Vocal, "Operator" | |||||
| Texas | Michelle Martinez | 23 | Classical Piano, "Chopin's Ballade in G Minor" | Top 10 | ||||
| Utah | Nanette Pearson | 23 | Classical Ballet, La Boutique fantasque | |||||
| Vermont | Nicole Juvan | 22 | Vocal, "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | |||||
| Virginia | Michelle Kang | 22 | Classical Piano, "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||||
| Washington | Janet Reasons | 22 | Semi-Classical Vocal, "Half a Moment" from Jeeves | |||||
| West Virginia | Kari Anne Safford | 23 | Vocal, "God Help the Outcasts" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||||
| Wisconsin | Jennifer Streblow | 18 | Vocal, "Someone Like You" from Jekyll & Hyde | |||||
| Wyoming | Rebecca Darrington | 19 | Comedy Vocal, "100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man" from Wonderful Town | Waterford Crystal Scholarship |