Miss USA 2026 is coming.On August 27, 51 women will take the stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami to compete for the title. Miss USA 2025 Audrey Eckert will crown the winner.The final will feature swimwear, evening wear, and interview rounds. It was meant to air live on The CW, along with the Miss Teen USA finals the night before, but on Thursday, the network confirmed to Business Insider that both pageant events were no longer on its broadcast schedule. Instead, the Miss USA final will be available to watch live on the Queen Beauty Network, a streaming platform focused on the pageant industry, at 8 p.m. ET.The 2026 contestants include a fashion designer, an ICU nurse, a transmission engineer, and more. Read on to get to know them.
Alabama: Samantha Havenstrite
Miss Alabama 2026 Samantha Havenstrite.
Courtesy of Miss USA
Samantha Havenstrite, 27, is a pageant queen who loves adventure. According to her Miss USA bio, she was one of the youngest people to climb to the top of Mount Rushmore. She has also traveled to more than 40 states and jumped out of an airplane from 12,000 feet.Havenstrite became an advocate for cancer awareness after losing her mother to the disease in 2020. She is also a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters.
