Marjorie Vincent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alma mater | DePaul University Duke University Florida Coastal School of Law |
| Occupation | Broadcast journalism |
| Title | Miss Illinois 1990 Miss America 1991 |
| Predecessor | Debbye Turner |
| Successor | Carolyn Sapp |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Marjorie Judith Vincent is an American journalist and former beauty contestant who was crownedMiss America 1991.
Vincent's parents, Lucien and Florence Vincent ofCap-Haïtien,Haiti, migrated to the United States in the early 1960s; Marjorie was the first of their children to be born in the United States.[1] She grew up inOak Park, Illinois, attending Catholic school and taking ballet and piano lessons. Vincent enteredDePaul University as a music major, switching to business in her junior year and graduating in 1988. Winnings from beauty pageants helped to pay her tuition.[2]
After two unsuccessful pageant tries, atMiss North Carolina andMiss Illinois,[3] she won Miss Illinois, allowing her to advance toMiss America. At the Miss America pageant, she performed theFantaisie-Impromptu (Op. posth. 66) byChopin, won the crown, and becameMiss America 1991 on 7 September 1990, succeedingDebbye Turner.[2][4] Her win marked the first occasion in which African Americans won the Miss America title back-to-back.[5] Vincent was the last Miss America to be serenaded byBert Parks.
Vincent, who already had two years in law school atDuke University before becoming Miss America, changed her goal from international law totelevision journalism, becoming a news anchor atWGBC inMeridian, Mississippi, in October 1993.[3][6] She later worked atWHOI inPeoria, Illinois, and theOhio News Network inColumbus, Ohio.[7][8]
Vincent completed herjuris doctor degree atFlorida Coastal School of Law inJacksonville, Florida.[9] She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2011, and worked for the Office of the Attorney General in Daytona Beach, Florida. She currently works as an assistant district attorney in Alabama.[citation needed]
Vincent has a child, Cameron, who was born in 1994.[1] She married Wesley Tripp in November 2006.[5]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Miss America 1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Miss Illinois 1990 | Succeeded by Jaclyn Greer |