A new winner of Miss America’s Teen — a national competition that’s part of the Miss America organization — will be crowned on Saturday in Florida. Ali Mims, Miss Alabama’s Teen 2024, is one of 51 young women vying for the national title, which comes with $50,000 in scholarship money and a yearlong reign.
(See photos of 51 Miss America’s Teen contestants in the gallery at the top of this post. This year’s list includes Miss Puerto Rico’s Teen, as well as competitors from all 50 states.)
Preliminary events for Miss America’s Teen are planned this week in Orlando, along with receptions, interviews, rehearsals, a breakfast, a talent showcase, a fashion show and more for the Miss America pageant. (Think of Miss America as a big sister to Miss America’s Teen, and you’ll have the general idea.)
The finals for Miss America’s Teen are set for 6 p.m. CT on Saturday, Jan. 4, at the Walt Disney Theater in Orlando. The theater, 445 South Magnolia Ave., is part of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Hanley House of North Carolina, Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2024, will crown her successor at the finale. The teen competition, founded in 2005 as Miss America’s Outstanding Teen, has shortened its name in recent years.
A new Miss America will be crowned on Sunday, Jan. 5, also at the Walt Disney Theater. Abbie Stockard of Birmingham, Miss Alabama 2024, is one of 52 women competing for the title of Miss America 2025.
Also, online voting is underway for an America’s Choice spot at the Miss America’s Teen competition on Saturday. Votes can be cast for donations of $1 or more. The contestant with the most votes gets a place in the top 11 at the finals event, according to the Miss America website. (Voting for a similar America’s Choice contest for Miss America 2025 can be found here.)
Tickets are available for the Miss America’s Teen finals, priced at $120-$200 via the Dr. Phillips Center website. If you’re not on scene in Orlando on Saturday, the Miss America’s Teen finals show will stream online, and you can watch it for free at PageantVision.com. (The Miss Alabama finals will stream for free on Sunday at PageantVision.com, as well, starting at 6 p.m. CT.)
There’s also a $99.99 streaming bundle at PageantVision.com that allows viewers to see other events this week, including talent for Miss America and Miss America’s Teen.
Ali Mims, Miss Hoover’s Teen, is crowned Miss Alabama’s Teen 2024 during the finale of the competition at Thompson High School, Sunday, March 10, 2024. (Tamika Moore/AL.com) AL.com
Mims, from Harpersville, was crowned Miss Alabama’s Teen 2024 in March at Thompson High School in Alabaster. She competed as Miss Hoover’s Teen, besting 37 other contestants for the state title. Mims performed a soprano aria during the talent competition for Miss Alabama’s Teen, singing “O Mio Babbino Caro” (”Oh, my Dear Papa”) from Giacomo Puccini’s 1918 opera “Gianni Schicchi.”
She attends Chelsea High School, and her philanthropic platform for Miss Alabama’s Teen is the Joyful Noise Foundation: Music Education for the Special Needs Community. Its goal is to raise money for musical instruments in special needs classes.
READ: Miss Alabama’s Teen 2024: Ali Mims of Harpersville wins the crown
At the state pageant, Mims said she was inspired by previous contestants for Miss Alabama’s Teen, and wanted to be a role model for future contestants.
“It’s my turn to be able to give back to this organization that has genuinely given so much to me,” Mims said, “but also to inspire girls sitting in the audience right now so that someday, they too can fulfill their dreams of being on stage, just like I am.”
Mims has been in the spotlight this week during early events for Miss America’s Teen. She was among three winners of the preliminary evening gown competition on Tuesday, earning a $3,000 scholarship for that accolade. Other winners of the evening gown preliminary were Zoe Zuzak, Miss Maryland’s Teen, and Brooke Bumgarner, Miss Mississippi’s Teen.
Miss Alabama’s Teen was founded in 2003 as Miss Alabama’a Outstanding Teen, and has crowned more than 20 winners to date. Two Alabama winners, Marcelle LeBlanc and Jessica Baeder, have moved on to become Miss America’s Outstanding Teen, winning the national competition in 2022 and 2017, respectively. The state competition also has shortened its name, in accordance with guidelines from Miss America’s Teen.
