Miss America Pageant Winner 2015: Miss New York Participant Crowned Miss America for Third Year in a Row [Video]
Kira Kazantsev earned the title of Miss America 2015 on Sunday evening at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, thanks to her unusual talent and crusade against domestic violence, marking the third year in a row that a beauty queen from the Empire State took home the honorable crown.
The 23-year-old California-native, now living in Manhattan for education, is the daughter of Russian immigrants. She undoubtedly beat the competition by singing Pharrell Williams' hit "Happy," while sitting cross-legged on the stage floor and banging a red plastic cup - an idea inspired from Anna Kendrick's character in the musical comedy film "Pitch Perfect."
"I keep time with the cup," she told The New York Post before the competition. "It's not your average Miss America talent in terms of singing Broadway tunes or opera. I'm sticking to what I can do."
Also, the Hofstra graduate's answer to the question of what issue the female U.S. Senators should press upon their male colleagues was just sincere and empowering. She said that they should urge to help combat sexual assault in the military, noting that she herself was in an abusive relationship during college.
"You just feel alone. You feel helpless. You don't feel like anyone could possibly understand," she told NPR.
The blonde beauty looked flawless in a custom-made gown by a New York designer John Paul Ataker that she thought it was "So beautiful and just on fire. It's so new york." When she is done with her pageant days, Kira Kazantsev plans to attend graduate school, as she has already been accepted to Fordham University's Law School.
The New York three-peat began in 2012 when Brooklyn's Mallory Hagan won, and continued last year with Syracuse's Nina Davuluri. So far, New Yorkers have taken six Miss America titles since 1945.
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