Miss America 2012 Was Crowned The Winner - To Find Out Who Won The Competition!

Miss America 2012 was crowned during a live broadcast from Las Vegas Saturday, January 14, 2012.

The winner beat 53 other competitors for the crown, a $ 50,000 scholarship and a stroke a year as Miss America, travels the country speaking to groups and raise money for charity UN official Miss America, the Children's Miracle Network. Find out who won Miss America 2012.

Miss Wisconsin, Laura Kaeppeli was crowned Miss America 2012 by Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan, during the Miss America Saturday, January 14, 2012 in Las Vegas.

The 23 years participated in Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin and has a lyrical solo of Italian song "Il Bacio" for the talent competition. His platform was the support and supervision of children of incarcerated parents. His father told the Associated Press that he had served 18 months in federal prison for wire fraud.

To the question of the interview, Kaeppeli asked whether beauty queens should discuss their political position.

"Miss America represents everyone, so I think the message to political candidates is that they are all well," said Kaeppeli. "And so, in these economic times, we must be looking forward to what America needs, and I think that Miss America needs to represent everyone."

The third runner-up was Miss Arizona, Jennifer Sedler, the second runner-up was Miss New York, Kaitlin Monte and the first runner-up was Miss Oklahoma, Betty Thompson.

OnTheRedCarpet.com caught some of the participants when they were preparing for the competition and got a glimpse of their talents. Discover all our interviews with participants Miss America contest in 2012 and photos of the 53 participants who came from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

The contestants had to impress one of the stars of the jury, which included the reality star Kris Jenner, Univision "El Gordo y La Flaca" host Raul de Molina, executive producer of ABC "The Bachelor" Mike Fleiss, "Dancing With the Stars" pro dancer Mark Ballas, actress Teri Polo in ABC "Man Up," Chris Powell of "Extreme Makeover" and Lara Spencer of ABC's "Good Morning America."

Chris Harrison, host of the ABC reality dating show "The Bachelor" and "Dancing With the Stars" co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet co-hosted the competition for the second consecutive year.

The first Miss America Pageant was held in 1921. The state contest winners are given scores based on their appearance in swimsuits and evening wear on stage and their responses in personal interviews and pre-recorded in response to a question asked during the live broadcast.

The competition should not be confused with the annual competition of Donald Trump Miss USA, which also selects a winner among the beauty queens of the state. The Miss America has a portion of additional talent, in which candidates are judged on the actions they perform, such as singing, dancing and juggling routines.

Pageant officials announced the winners of the preliminary competitions, including Miss Hawaii Cheap Lauren, Miss Oklahoma, Miss Betty Thompson and Wisconsin, Laura Kaeppeli for the portion of talent, and Miss New York Kaitlin Monte, Miss Texas and Miss Kendall Morris Danica Olsen to Utah the swimsuit competition. Look at the pictures of the swimsuit competition of the contest.

"Miss America must be talented, intelligent and well spoken, a leader, have a commitment to her community, be contemporary in style and fashion - a relatable and individual 'it girl' who can connect with the modern woman from TODAY 'Today, as well as being physically fit, "organizers said in a statement.

Teresa Scanlan Miss Nebraska, 17, was crowned Miss America 2011, which earned him a scholarship of $ 50 000 and a stroke a year as Miss America. Scanlan was the youngest winner of the Miss America crown since the first competition of the pageant in 1921, when the District of Columbia Margaret Gorman won in 15 years.

Miss America Is Facing Competition From Family Pain

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The nation's newest Miss America is a 23 year old brunette from Wisconsin who had long conversations with his family ruminating or not to take the jail time of his father to mail fraud in the heart of his campaign in the beauty contest.

While its competitors, including platforms pushed promoting health benefits of milk and environmental protection, Laura Kaeppeli said she wants children of incarcerated adults to feel less alone, to have much of a mentoring relationship with their parents as possible.

"There are many of you - and I was one of them - but he did not have to define" Kaeppeli told The Associated Press after winning the crown and scholarship $ 50,000 on Saturday night.

To win, she says beauty queens and politicians should remember that they represent all Americans, sang a song from the opera and strutted in a white bikini and black evening dress.

Her looks, intelligence and vocation impressed a panel of seven judges celebrity enough to give next year with the title.

"What happened with my father is not what my year will be focused on," she said. "It will be focused on the research forward and to move in the future because that's what my family did and that's what I encourage others to do as well."

Kaeppeli estimated that there are more than 2 million children with a parent in prison.

Kaeppeli father, Jeff Kaeppeli, told the AP he served 18 months in federal prison for wire fraud, one sentence of his daughter as she had started high school and college entrance.

Jeff Kaeppeli said when his daughter approached the family to make the personal subject chosen its platform, they have supported, even though they knew it would be a public debate.

"He taught us that God can turn anything if you let him," he said. "Laura is totally on board with this idea. It leaves the disk, and it inspired him this past year to be ready for that.

"We have seen a miracle," he said while waiting backstage at a news conference at his daughter, who called him her "best friend" and briefly took pictures with him on stage.

"I love you," he said to her as dozens of cameras taking pictures.

Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson came in second, while Miss New York Kaitlyn Monte third.

Kaeppler presented itself to spectators of the contest, referring to her home state Green Bay, NFL Super defending champion Bowl.  If you look at Aaron Rodgers, call me, she said, referring to the superstar defender soccer team.  

It was good enough during the preliminary competition will be selected as one of 15 semifinalists, who moved on to compete in the finals in. It lasted through rate swimsuit, evening wear, talent and interview competitions, which saw reductions after each round.

She was asked minutes before being crowned Miss America is to announce its policy.  Miss America represents everyone, so I think the message to political candidates is that they are all the same, she said. And so in these economic times, we should be glad that America needs, and I think Miss America should represent the whole. 

The contest live on the East Coast viewers on ABC and moved to tape the rest of the week was the culmination of strany.Sobytie preliminary competitions and months of preparation for the owners of all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.  Kaeppeler, of Kenosha, Wis., about 40 miles south of Milwaukee, said her crowning moment was a blur.

"I cried before my name was called," Kaeppeler said. "It was just surreal to this honor."

She replaces Teresa Scanlan from Nebraska, who won last year at the age of 17 years and plans to use her scholarship to pay for law school.

As the new Miss America, Kaeppeler will spend the next year touring the country talking to different groups and to raise funds for Children's Miracle Network, the official charity of Miss America.

She majored in music and vocal performances at private Lutheran liberal arts college in Kenosha, and said competition officials at first that it was planning to get a master's degree in speech and language pathology and become a speech therapist.

But everything changed when she became Miss Wisconsin.

Now she says she intends to use the scholarship money to hold a law degree and become a family lawyer who specializes in helping children of prisoners adults.

"I really feel that I was called upon to work in it," she said. "If I became Miss America or not, this is what I do in my career, no matter what."