Miss America Announces this Year's Judges!

Yesterday, the Miss America Organization revealed the star-studded panel of national judges for the 2014 Miss America Competition taking place on September 15, 2013 in Atlantic City!  The national judges are:

Deidre Downs Gunn, MD: Deidre Downs Gunn was named Miss America in 2005 and was the last Miss America to be crowned in Atlantic City until the pageant’s return to Atlantic City this September. She is currently a chief resident physician in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Alabama Medical Center in Birmingham, AL.

photo by Matthew D. Lyons

Carla Hall: Chef Carla Hall is a co-host of ABC’s popular lifestyle series “The Chew.” Hall is best known as a competitor on Bravo’s “Top Chef,” where she won over audiences with her fun catch phrase, “Hootie Hoo” and her philosophy to always cook with love. Hall is the owner of Carla Hall Petite Cookies, an artisan cookie company that specializes in creating sweet and savory “petite bites of love.”

Barbara Corcoran: As one of the “Sharks” on ABC’s hit TV show, Shark Tank, Barbara Corcoran has invested in more than a dozen businesses with her company The Corcoran Group, competing to make those deals for all to see and then shepherding them to success. Her newest book, Shark Tales, takes you behind the scenes of her life and business and her ‘seen on TV’ venture capitalism.

Amar’e Stoudemire: Amar'e  Stoudemire, professional basketball player, became the first player to be drafted out of high school to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He was selected ninth in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns and after eight years with the Phoenix Suns, Stoudemire signed with the New York Knicks in 2010.

Lance Bass: Lance Bass is the ultimate multi-hyphenate: singer-actor-producer-writer-entrepreneur-philanthropist. Bass a former member of the juggernaut boy band *NSYNC, has also made a name for himself as an executive producer, radio and TV host, and actor. He currently hosts the radio show “Dirty Pop Live” on SiriusXM 108.

Joshua Bell: Often referred to as the “poet of the violin,” Joshua Bell’s stunning virtuosity, beautiful tone and charismatic stage presence have brought him universal acclaim. As a soloist, chamber musician, and conductor, Bell has recorded more than 40 CDs garnering Grammy, Mercury, Gramophone and Echo Klassik awards.  An Avery Fisher Prize recipient, Bell recently received the New York Recording Academy Honors.

Mario Cantone:  The celebrated New York stage actor and stand-up comedian gained critical acclaim with his Tony-nominated one-man show which appeared on Broadway and as a Showtime special. Cantone starred in the Tony Award-winning Assassins and has appeared on Broadway in the role of “Buzz” in the award-winning dramatic comedy, Love! Valor! Compassion! and “Stephano” in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Cantone’s film credits include Surf's Up and The Aristocrats. On television, Cantone can currently be seen as Anthony, Charlotte's wedding-planner-with-attitude, on HBO’s Sex and the City, now in syndication on TBS, as well as in the Sex and the City movie franchise.

To view photos or read the full biographies of this year's national judges, or for more information on the 2014 Miss America Competition, please visit www.missamerica.org

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