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For Regan Hutsell, preparing for the Miss America pageant was a family affair — and it paid off.
The former Radio City Rockette took home the crown on September 6, becoming the first Miss Texas to win the title in 51 years and the first woman of color to win while wearing her natural hair.
Hutsell sat down with Business Insider to share more about her pageant prep, revealing that her dad played a crucial role as she studied for the competition’s interview round.
“My dad is my toughest interview coach,” she said. “Every day, he would send me questions based on current events, and then he ended up putting them in a binder.”
Hutsell’s father was inspired by former Miss America Abbie Stockard, who revealed to Business Insider in January 2025 that she had made a binder with 150 political and current-event topics that she studied daily for months.
“I would be like, ‘OK, I’m going to cover topics one through 20 today, and I’m going to look at statistics and formulate some talking points,'” Stockard said at the time. “I looked at it like I was studying for a test. That’s the nursing student in me.”
Hutsell said her dad had stumbled on the article and immediately sent it to her.
“He’s like, ‘I read this thing about Abbie Stockard, you have to hear it,'” she said. “That article inspired my prep.”
When she wasn’t practicing her dad’s questions, Hutsell was also keeping up with current events by watching cable news while walking on a treadmill at her local Planet Fitness.
“I did a lot of prep while walking,” she added. “It just helped me clear my brain.”
Hutsell said that preparing for Miss America, her third-ever pageant, was a family affair. Her sister, a former dancer with the New York City Ballet, coached Hutsell’s solo for the talent portion of the competition.
“When I won, it really felt like the whole family had won,” Hutsell said.
A childhood dream come true
The 25-year-old said competing in pageants had been a childhood dream, but one that she had to put on hold while pursuing dancing.
“I remember going to a photography studio when I was a little girl, walking inside and seeing a bunch of pageant shots on the wall,” Hutsell recalled. “I thought, ‘One day, I want to be just like one of those women.’ It’s so crazy, those little childhood memories that stick with you for a lifetime.”
After dancing with the Radio City Rockettes and spending nearly four years in the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Hutsell was ready to take a break. She had worked through two knee injuries and realized it was time “to just catch my breath.”
As she helped her mother and grandmother take care of her grandfather, who has late-stage dementia, Hutsell realized she wanted her next chapter to focus on giving back to the community. The Miss America pageant felt like a perfect fit.
“At the time I remember thinking, I have the chance to challenge myself and do something new, to grow to new heights,” Hutsell said. “It’s always been something I wanted to do, so why not do it now?”
Hutsell, who also won two preliminary awards during Miss America, has earned nearly $90,000 in scholarships from the pageant.
She is planning to pursue a degree in health sciences and become a physical therapist following her yearlong reign.
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