VICKSBURG — Most Miss Mississippi winners will tell you they spent their childhoods watching the glamorous pageant on TV, dreaming of one day gracing the same stage for a chance to win the crown.

But, for Anna Leah Jolly, this wasn’t the case. For most of her life, she had never even heard of Miss Mississippi.

Jolly spent the first half of her life in Ukraine, and most of that time was spent in an orphanage. Now 23, Jolly moved to Mississippi when she got adopted at 12 years old. She didn’t know any English, and she came to America carrying the weight of years of abuse and uncertainty.

Just under 12 years later, Jolly stood illuminated by stage lights in front of a cheering crowd as she dawned the Miss Mississippi crown.

This year marked Jolly’s second time on the Miss Mississippi stage, where she competed as Miss Capital City. In 2024, Jolly, then competing as Miss Rankin County, made it to the top five.

In the competition’s 92-year history, Jolly is only the second Miss Mississippi born outside of the United States. Monica Louwerens, Miss Mississippi 1995, was born in Canada. Jolly is the first person born outside of North America to hold the title.

The morning after the finale, Jolly sat down with the Clarion Ledger in the Miss Mississippi pageant office in downtown Vicksburg to talk about her journey. Even with about three hours sleep and a full day of interviews still ahead, Jolly glowed with enthusiasm as she spoke on what the Miss Mississippi title means to her.

In the modest office, surrounded by framed portraits of past Miss Mississippi winners, Jolly said the past dozen hours felt surreal. The week ahead promised a packed schedule of appearances, more interviews and preparing for the upcoming Miss America pageant. Jolly joked that she didn’t even know when she’d be able to go back home to Brandon.

Needless to say, Jolly won’t be getting a break anytime soon. But, for the newly crowned Miss Mississippi, the chaos is worth it to share her story.

So, how did Jolly go from a Ukrainian orphanage to the coveted crown in Vicksburg, Mississippi?

Miss Mississippi Day 1 preliminaries: Miss Mississippi: Day 1 Preliminary Competition

Miss Mississippi Day 2 preliminaries: Miss Mississippi Pageant: Day 2 Preliminary Competition

Miss Mississippi Day 3 preliminaries: Miss Mississippi: Day 3 Preliminary Competition

From nothing

Moments after being crowned, Jolly was flooded by fellow contestants, friends, family and press. Speaking to the media, Jolly repeated one phrase a few times when asked how she was feeling: “I came from nothing.”

Sunday morning, Jolly echoed this sentiment when asked about her journey.

“Coming truly from nothing, competing for Miss Mississippi and now being Miss Mississippi — I can’t believe I can say that right now — I’m living the American dream,” Jolly said.

Miss Capital City Anna Leah Jolly competes in talent at the Miss Mississippi competition at the Vicksburg Convention Center in Vicksburg on Saturday, June 14, 2025. Jolly was crowned Miss Mississippi.

While adjusting to her new life, Jolly found solace in dance. Dance became a creative outlet and way to express herself while learning English. This outlet became a career, led Jolly to start competing in pageants and eventually helped her secure the Miss Mississippi crown.

However, when Jolly first explored dancing, she didn’t want to continue.

“It was painful learning how to stretch and build muscle, and that’s something that just was very triggering for me,” Jolly said. “I didn’t like it, and then I just fell in love with it by the end of the year, and now it’s my career.”

Dance has taken Jolly to unexpected places. It’s the reason Jolly got started in pageants in the first place. At 16, she competed in the Our Little Miss competition because she wanted to choreograph her own dance performance. That performance helped Jolly win the 2017 Our Little Miss Ideal Miss title.

The night before Saturday’s finale, Jolly won the preliminary talent round with a ballet routine she choreographed herself. Last year as Miss Rankin County, Jolly also won a preliminary talent round.

Jolly now owns a dance studio called Studio A Dance Company, housed in Courthouse Gymnastics in Flowood. Before becoming Miss Mississippi, Jolly spent her time teaching kids ballet and working to earn a dual degree in fine arts and business from Belhaven University.

Both of those endeavors are on pause for the next year as Jolly carries out her Miss Mississippi duties. For the time being, Jolly hired a substitute dance teacher for her studio. After she completes her year as Miss Mississippi, she will return to Belhaven, now covered by the scholarships she won Saturday night.

Miss Mississippi 2025 Anna Leah Jolly is crowned by Miss Mississippi 2024 Becky Williams at the Miss Mississippi Competition finals at the Vicksburg Convention Center in Vicksburg on Saturday, June 14, 2025.

Miss Mississippi 2025 Anna Leah Jolly is crowned by Miss Mississippi 2024 Becky Williams at the Miss Mississippi Competition finals at the Vicksburg Convention Center in Vicksburg on Saturday, June 14, 2025.

Limitless

Jolly was hesitant to enter the Miss Mississippi competition. She didn’t consider herself a good fit.

“I just kind of saw it as outside of my league,” Jolly said. “I’m foreign born. … I’ve only been in Mississippi for about 12 years, so it’s just not something that I though would be possible, but here I am representing Mississippi on a Miss America platform.”

Jolly said she enjoys being an underdog, and she loves proving people wrong. Throughout her life, the odds were against her. Starting dance at 12, much later than most professional dancers begin, Jolly said her instructors told her she wouldn’t be able to make it professionally.

“Two years later, I was a way better dancer, and I changed their minds,” Jolly said.

When Jolly decided to compete in Miss Mississippi, she heard similar discouraging words. She didn’t name names, but Jolly said there were people who told her not to compete. They didn’t think she had a huge chance of winning.

“When somebody tells me I can’t do something, I definitely push harder,” Jolly said.

Although she is now fully immersed in American culture, and her accent carries only a light Southern drawl, Jolly has not abandoned that little girl in Ukraine.

“I want to share my story and just inspire everyone that no matter where they start in life, they can be truly limitless,” Jolly said.

“Limitless” is the name of Jolly’s initiative. Through this initiative, Jolly hopes to help orphaned children in Mississippi find stable homes. She is currently working with the state and national branches of CASA, a nonprofit that pairs trained court-appointed advocates with children suffering abuse and neglect, something that Jolly knows first-hand from her early childhood.

“Right now in Mississippi, we don’t have enough foster care advocates,” Jolly said. “As someone who was adopted from Ukraine and didn’t speak English, and was an older child … I am the perfect candidate to really speak to the parents and speak to the children. I just want to be a light and use something that was once my deepest pain and now is becoming my purpose.”

Next up: Miss America

Jolly will represent Mississippi in the Miss America competition in September.

In the competition’s 104-year history, only four Miss Mississippi winner have gone on to win the Miss America crown. The last was in 1986, when Susan Akin won the title.

Jolly is already prepping for September’s competition, and she’s been in the zone for a while now, even before she won Miss Mississippi.

“I’ve kind of joked the whole year that I’m not just preparing to Miss Mississippi, I’m preparing for Miss America,” Jolly said.

Got a news tip? Contact Mary Boyte at mboyte@jackson.gannett.com

Miss Mississippi 2025 Anna Leah Jolly is mobbed by her fellow Delegates at the Miss Mississippi Competition finals at the Vicksburg Convention Center in Vicksburg, Miss., on Saturday, June 14, 2025.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Anna Leah Jolly went from a Ukraine orphan to Miss Mississippi 2025

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