Cassie Donegan, Miss New York 2025, was crowned Miss America 2026 on Sunday night at the Walt Disney Theater in Orlando, Florida.

Donegan is an actress and singer, as well as the chief operations officer at Southern Sitter, a childcare booking company in New York City. She earned a bachelor’s degree in musical theater from Belmont University in Nashville and attended Ames Christian University.

Donegan, a Virginia native, will receive a $50,000 in scholarship money as Miss America and immediately start a yearlong reign.

Miss America 2025, Alabama’a Abbie Stockard, crowned her successor at Sunday’s finals competition, which streamed on the Miss America YouTube channel and PageantVision.com.

Stockard, a Birmingham native, was prominently featured at the ceremony on Sunday, appearing at the front of production numbers and taking her final walk as the national titleholder. Stockard also performed a contemporary dance routine to Celine Dion’s “Flying on My Own.”

Donegan, the new winner, received a glittering crown and a bouquet of roses at the end of the ceremony as a blizzard of confetti flew. She received hugs from her fellow contestants and took her first walk on stage as Miss America 2026.

Donegan sang a Broadway show tune in the talent portion of Sunday’s finals. She answered on-stage questions, walked the runway in an evening gown, strutted in fitness clothes and more.

Emma Terry, Miss Alabama 2025. made it to the top five on Sunday and was named fourth runner-up in the competition, She earned a $5,000 scholarship and was featured throughout the pageant, participating in evening gown, on-stage question, fitness and talent segments. For talent, Terry performed a ballet en pointe routine to “Flashdance.”

The top five finalists were:

  • Miss New York 2025, Cassie Donegan (winner).
  • Miss Texas 2025, Sadie Schiermeyer (first runner-up).
  • Miss Florida 2025, Paris Richardson (second runner-up).
  • Miss Georgia 2025, Audrey Kittila (third runner-up).
  • Miss Alabama 2025, Emma Terry (fourth runner-up).

The runners-up received $5,000-$10,000 each in scholarship money, according to the Miss America organization.

Terry took home another award, placing third for the Miss America Quality of Life Award and earning another $5,000 scholarship. This accolade honors outstanding community service and the contestants’ ability to make a lasting impact.

Terry’s community service initiative is Stomping Out ALS One Step at a Time. She grew up in Leeds, helping to care for a grandfather with ALS, and is determined to raise awareness and support research for the neurodegenerative disease.

The top 11 semi-finalists were:

  • Miss Alabama 2025, Emma Terry.
  • Miss Florida 2025, Paris Richardson.
  • Miss Texas 2025, Sadie Schiermeyer.
  • Miss Arkansas 2025, Kennedy Holland.
  • Miss Tennessee 2025, Zoe Scheiderich.
  • Miss Georgia 2025, Audrey Kittila.
  • Miss Maryland 2025, Maria Derisavi.
  • Miss New York 2025, Cassie Donegan.
  • Miss Mississippi 2025, Anna Leah Jolly.
  • Miss Kentucky 2025, Ariana Rodriguez.
  • Miss Illinois 2025, Nitsaniyah Fitch.

When Terry was announced as one of the top 11, pageant host Billy Gilman gave a special shoutout to Alabama, calling it a state with “sweet tea and Roll Tide pride.”

A total of 52 women competed in the Miss America finals, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Another woman who competed for Miss America 2026 has a tie to Alabama. Lydia Fisher, who competed as Miss Iowa 2025, is graduate of the University of Alabama Fisher was a Miss Alabama contestant in 2022 and 2023, during her time as a student in Tuscaloosa. She was not among the 11 semi-finalists on Sunday.

Model and actress Nikki Novak hosted Sunday’s finals ceremony along with Gilman, a country singer and 2016 finalist on “The Voice”.

Judges for the Miss America finals were Mayan Lopez, an actress who starred in the NBC TV sitcom “Lopez vs. Lopez”; Frank Kelleher, president of Daytona International Speedway; Frederick Anderson, a fashion designer; Jen Hale, an NFL sideline reporter for FOX; Tawny Godin Welch, Miss America 1976 and a former TV news anchor; and Nick Nanton, a producer and director.

The past week has been a busy one for the Miss America organization. Miss America’s Teen, a sister pageant to Miss America, announced its 2026 winner on Saturday, also at the Walt Disney Theater. Tess Ferm, who competed as Miss South Carolina’s Teen, took the crown.

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