1970s

The New Seekers band entertained one and all at the May 1973 finals, hosted by Ed McMahon. Actor Michael Landon would host the national finals for the first time in 1974, his first out of seven appearances. Along with Landon, America's Junior Miss was proud to have Donna Alexander of New Jersey, as she was the first black female to reach this point of the competition. Alumni from this decade include America's Junior Miss 1973 Linda Rutledge Delbridge of Kansas, who would one day become a computer scientist and executive for IBM. Georgia Junior Miss 1976 Deborah Norville followed a journalism career path that would earn her the job of hosting the syndicated news program "Inside Edition". Maryland Junior Miss 1971 was Kathie Lee Gifford, who would one day host a syndicated talk show with TV personality Regis Philbin. Raleigh, North Carolina had its own Junior Miss in 1979, and that would be actress Sharon Lawrence. In spite of never advancing to the 1971 finals, Georgia contender Kim Basinger would later have an acting career that would catch the attention of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.