Beauty queen Bailey Anne Kennedy made history this month when she became the first transgender woman ever crowned Miss Maryland USA.
Kennedy received her crown on June 1 at the culmination of the Bethesda, Maryland pageant. She will go on to compete in the Miss USA pageant in Los Angeles on August 1.
"Not everyone has to agree with the spaces that you occupy, [but] it doesn't mean that you aren't worthy of these opportunities," Kennedy wrote in an Instagram post, days after her victory.
"The work that I will do for the remainder of my life is to make sure that children who feel like me will never have to worry about the consequences of being who they are by simply being myself and being a positive contribution to society," she added.
Kennedy will also be the first Asian American to represent Maryland in the Miss USA pageant. The 31-year-old's victory is also notable because the 2024 season is the first time that the Miss USA pageant is open to women over the age of 27. In 2023, the pageant struck down its age limit, along with restrictions on women who were married or divorced, and women who had children.
"I felt confident in my own skin at 31, which is past the old age limit, which is 28, as you know, the Miss Universe Organization [has lifted] the restriction now, so every woman of all ages can compete," she told DC News Now.
Kennedy is married to a United States Marine and plans to use her platform to work with the USO.
"I can't wait to start my reign and get back to the USO office and start serving lunches & personally thank our active duty service members like I originally planned to yesterday because that's what actually matters to me," she concluded her celebratory Instagram post.
Bailey will be the second transgender woman to compete in the Miss USA competition, after Kataluna Enriquez represented Nevada in the 2021 pageant.
