--- title: Bess Myerson: Read TIME's Original Story on Scandalous Beauty Queen description: The 1945 Miss America winner has died at 90 canonical: https://time.com/3654547/bess-myerson-miss-america-1945/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-05T20:54:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:24.815Z article:section: History og:title: Bess Myerson: Read TIME's Original Story on Scandalous Beauty Queen og:description: The 1945 Miss America winner has died at 90 og:url: https://time.com/3654547/bess-myerson-miss-america-1945/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9bd81282001b4d0/6987783ea988ca63ef6abb58/myerson.jpeg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Miss America winner Bess Myerson og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bess Myerson: Read TIME's Original Story on Scandalous Beauty Queen twitter:description: The 1945 Miss America winner has died at 90 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9bd81282001b4d0/6987783ea988ca63ef6abb58/myerson.jpeg?branch=production&width=1440&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bess Myerson's Original Victory  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jan 5, 2015 8:54 PM UTC  Miss America winner Bess Myerson Miss America winner Bess MyersonAlfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jan 5, 2015 8:54 PM UTC TIME [once wrote](http://time.com/vault/issue/1987-01-26/page/24/) of Bess Myerson that “few people have paraded before the public in quite as many guises.” Myerson — who, it was [recently announced](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/nyregion/bess-myerson-miss-america-and-new-york-official-tarnished-in-scandal-dies.html), died in December at age 90 — made headlines for a breathtaking number of reasons. In the 1950s it was for TV appearances and [a custody battle.](http://time.com/vault/issue/1956-09-17/page/48/) In the 1970s, as New York City’s Commissioner of Consumer Affairs, when she [campaigned](http://time.com/vault/issue/1969-07-04/page/37/) against non-pure hamburger meat, [advocated](http://time.com/vault/issue/1973-01-01/page/38/) for honesty from retailers and [supported](http://time.com/vault/issue/1977-11-21/page/36/) Ed Koch’s run for mayor. In 1980 it was when she [lost](http://time.com/vault/issue/1980-09-22/page/24/) her run for Senate; in 1987 when she resigned her position as she [faced charges](http://time.com/vault/issue/1987-10-19/page/37/) of conspiracy, mail fraud, bribery and obstruction of justice (and, the next year, for [shoplifting](http://time.com/vault/issue/1988-06-06/page/85/) a few bottles of nail polish). In 1989, it was for being [cleared](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,956639,00.html) of the conspiracy and bribery charges. But it all started with Miss America. Myerson, who won the crown in 1945, was the first Jewish Miss America, and one of the few in the competition’s history to hold onto the spotlight for the rest of her life. Here’s how TIME first reported on the news: --- > “” --- On the last two counts at least, Myerson proved worthy of belonging — and that was clear from the beginning. “It was obvious,” TIME wrote, “that the winner had deserved her victory.” **_See the full story, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Brains, Brains, Brains](http://time.com/vault/issue/1945-09-17/page/27/) ### Miss America, 1945: Photos From the Old-School Jersey Shore  The winner of the 1945 Miss America pageant, 21-year-old Bess Myerson of New York. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Spectators line up during the Miss America pageant festivities in Atlantic City, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Bess Myerson, Miss America, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene outside the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Scene during the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Outside the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Contestants in the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Contestant in the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Contestants in the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, September 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Inside the Warner Theater during the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, September 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, September 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, September 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Contestants in the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, September 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Bess Myerson, Miss America in 1945, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Bess Myerson, Miss America in 1945, meets the press, Atlantic City, New Jersey. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Miss America contestants in Atlantic City, September 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, September 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Miss America Bess Myerson (right) and friend, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 1945. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3654547/bess-myerson-miss-america-1945/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3654547/bess-myerson-miss-america-1945/"},"headline":"Bess Myerson's Original Victory","datePublished":"2015-01-05T20:54:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:24.815Z","description":"The 1945 Miss America winner has died at 90. 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