Proving that even geeky-looking teenagers can blossom into beauty queens, 22-year-old university student Caressa Cameron has fulfilled a life-long dream to be crowned Miss America.
PHOTOS: Miss America 2010
Cameron, from Virginia, beat a field of 53 contestants from all 50 states — plus the District of Columbia, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico — who competed in a series of swimsuit, evening gown, talent and interview categories.
Singing "Listen" from the film Dreamgirls and pledging to raise awareness about AIDS in America, Cameron took out the top prize of $US50,000 ($A56,600) plus the 89-year-old pageant crown at the annual event in Las Vegas on Saturday night (local time).
But it wasn't long before US tabloid news hounds dug up a high school yearbook photo of Cameron as a 14-year-old, looking decidedly less glamorous with her hair in an untidy bun and a mouth full of braces.
"Before Caressa Cameron was named Miss America 2010," gossip site TMZ wrote, "she was an awkward freshman at Massaponax High School".
Cameron won her Miss Virginia title back in June after three previous attempts.
She told a local newspaper at the time that she never thought about giving up on the title she had wanted since she was a little girl.
The broadcast journalism student will now take a year away from her studies to raise money for charity.
"I hope to gain inspiration, I hope to gain momentum so that when these 365 days are over, I can shoot through the moon," she was quoted by the Associated Press as saying.
The first runner-up was Miss California Kristy Cavinder.
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