Justus Kelley is 31, married, and has spent nearly two years caring for two young siblings in Virginia as a foster mother.
On Thursday, August 27, at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center, she became Miss USA 2026.
Until 2023, this was impossible. The pageant’s rules, in place since its founding 75 years ago, required contestants to be single and childless.
That year, the organization eliminated the age limit and the ban on mothers, and Kelley, who had already competed under the old rules, entered this edition representing Virginia and defeated 50 other women from across the country.
She was crowned by Audrey Eckert, Miss USA 2025, who is 24 years old—seven years younger than the new winner.
Kelley takes home a package worth more than 685,000 dollars—including salary, a car, an apartment in Miami, and a wardrobe—and will represent the United States at Miss Universe in Puerto Rico this November.
Her husband Tyler is waiting for her in Washington D.C., where they both run Foster Footprints, the organization she founded for young people in the foster care system.