Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields crowned Miss America

Savvy Shields, Miss Arkansas, crowned Miss America 2017

(Image credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for dcp)

last updated 12 September 2016

On Sunday night in Atlantic City, Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields was crowned Miss America 2017, beating a field of 51 other contenders. The first runner up is Miss South Carolina Rachel Wyatt.

Shields performed a jazz dance routine during the talent portion and answered a question about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. "If you're trying to be leader of the free world, everything you say and do matters and all of your actions are held to a higher standard," she said. "Both of the contestants have done a good job, but they also need to watch what they're doing." Shields, who will replace current Miss America Betty Cantrell, is an art major at the University of Arkansas. You can watch her moment of victory:

The current Miss America pageant was notable in that one of the contestants, Miss Missouri Erin O'Flaherty, is openly gay, a first for the pageant; she did not make it into the top 15 contestants.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.