Alyssa Campanella, 21, who holds the title of Miss California USA, ascended to the Carrie Prejean, the best-known Miss California USA contestant, whose reign ended in controversy.
Campanella was a former Miss Teen USA runner-up from 2007; in that competition, she represented New Jersey. She's since moved to California. Now, Campanella, replacing Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih, will represent the entire country as Miss USA in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant on Sept. 12 in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
In 2009, former Miss California USA Carrie Prejean was stripped of her crown by Pageant owner Donald Trump after failing to appear at contractually obligated events and also cited contemptuous correspondence with pageant officials. Prejean first made headlines when she competed in the Miss USA pageant and placed second. Her answer to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton's query on same-sex marriage earned her fame and infamy, amid accusations of being anti-gay, and the outcry eventually caused several pageant officials to resign.
