Bess Myerson, a renowned beauty queen and television personality who dedicated over three decades of her life working in public affairs, died at the age of 90 on Dec. 14, 2014.

The New York Times reported on Monday that public records confirmed Myerson's death at her Santa Monica, California home. The cause of death has not been revealed.

Despite gaining tremendous notoriety in Hollywood and in New York politics, Myerson faded out of the limelight during her later years, following a messy affair with a married man and public scandals.

Myerson received her claim to fame when she became the first and only Jewish woman to be crowned Miss America in 1945 at the age of 21. Although pageant officials and sponsors refused to support a Jewish Miss America, Jewish Americans celebrated her victory as a milestone in wake of the Holocaust and lingering anti-Semitism. The New York City native also used her platform to take a stance against bigotry and discrimination.

The beauty queen then went on to study music at the Julliard School and played at the legendary Carnegie Hall. However, she eventually dropped out of the famed performing arts school to pursue a career in television.

From 1958 to 1967, Myerson appeared on the celebrity quiz show "I've Got a Secret." She also starred in commercials and ads for a variety of companies.

Following her run in entertainment, Myerson was named New York City's first commissioner of Consumer Affairs in 1969 by NYC Mayor John Lindsay. During her four years in the position, Myerson passed landmark consumer protections, including "sell-by" dates and unit pricing.

After she helped Ed Koch become mayor in 1977, he named Myerson's the city's cultural commissioner in 1983. She, however, lost her own bid for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1980.

Myerson also served as an adviser to presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

Behind Myerson's many accomplishments, she had a tumultuous personal life that included two stormy marriages that ended in divorce, an investigation of bribery stemming from an affair, reports of erratic behavior and an arrest for shoplifting.

Dubbed as "the Bess Mess," Myerson was involved in a federal conflict-of-interest investigation with her married lover, a sewage contractor who received millions of dollars in city contracts under her watch. Myerson's career went up in smokes when her lover went to court with his wife and both he, Myserson and the judge handling his divorce were indicted on bribery, conspiracy and obstruction.

Rudolph W. Giuliani, who was the United States attorney in Manhattan at the time, indicted Myerson for conspiracy, mail fraud, obstruction of justice and using interstate facilities to violate state bribery laws. His office accused her of bribing Justice Gabel with a job for his daughter in order to get her lover's weekly support payments lowered.

Although they were all acquitted in the case, Justice Gabel was forced off the bench, and Myerson suffered from harsh public scrutiny and a tarnished reputation.

Following the case, it was revealed she was romantically involved with a financial investor during her run for the Senate. A New York City police report also stated she had harassed the man and the woman he married along with their friends and relatives.

Furthermore, Myerson pleaded guilty to shoplifting in 1988.

Myerson was married three times and divorced twice. She had one child, a daughter named Barra Carol Grant Reilly, from her first marriage.

"Bess Myerson will always be remembered for her remarkable life-long achievements and for her unwavering commitment to serving others by demanding equality for all," the Miss America organization said in a statement, according to USA Today. "Through a life well lived, Miss America, Bess Myerson, left this world a better place!"

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