American beauty pageant contestant
Kiʻilani Arruda (born 13 April 2002) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned
Miss Teen USA 2020 . Arruda had previously been crowned
Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2020; she is the second entrant from Hawaii to have been crowned Miss Teen USA, following
Kelly Hu who was crowned
Miss Teen USA 1985 .
Early life and education
Arruda was born on 13 April 2002, in
Kapaa, Hawaii .
[1]
[2] She is half
Filipino .
[3] She has two siblings, one with
autism , that led her to became an advocate for
autism awareness .
[4]
[5]
[2]
Arruda attended
Island School in
Lihue , where she was elected
student body president and maintained a
GPA of 4.0, graduating in 2020.
[6] While in high school, she was a member of her school's varsity volleyball, swim, and track and field teams.
[2] Prior to becoming Miss Teen USA, she was a freshman at the
University of Puget Sound , studying
molecular and
cellular biology on a
pre-medical track, with a minor in Spanish.
[5]
Pageantry
Arruda won Miss Kauai Teen USA 2018, which allowed her to compete in
Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2019, where she reached second runner-up and was selected as Miss Congeniality.
[7]
[8]
[9]
[10] She later returned to the competition the following year, and was crowned Miss Hawaii Teen USA 2020.
[11]
As Miss Hawaii Teen USA, Arruda represented Hawaii and won at
Miss Teen USA 2020 . Originally planned for the spring of 2020, the competition was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic , and later held on November 7, 2020, at
Graceland in
Memphis, Tennessee .
[6]
[12] She was crowned by the outgoing titleholder
Kaliegh Garris .
[13] Following her win, she became the second entrant from Hawaii to win the competition, following
Kelly Hu who had been crowned
Miss Teen USA 1985 .
[5]
[14]
[15]
[16]
References
^
We wanted to wish our #teenqueen a very Happy 18th Birthday! , Miss Kauai USA, April 13, 2020, archived from
the original on December 24, 2021
^
a
b
c
"Kiʻilani Arruda" . Miss Teen USA.
Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020 .
^ Tuazon, Nikko (November 8, 2020).
"Filipino-American Ki'ilani Arruda crowned Miss Teen USA 2020" . PEP .
Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020 .
^
"About" . Kiʻilani Arruda.
Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020 .
^
a
b
c
"Hawaii's Ki'ilani Arruda Wins Miss Teen USA 2020" . people.com .
Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020 .
^
a
b Shinno, Stephanie (November 3, 2020).
"Ki'ilani Arruda to compete for the 38th Miss Teen USA title" . The Garden Island .
Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020 .
^
"Legacy" . Miss Kauai USA. Retrieved November 7, 2020 . [
permanent dead link ]
^
"Miss Hawaii Teen USA" . Kiʻilani Arruda.
Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020 .
^
"Kona resident crowned Miss Hawaii Teen USA" . The Garden Island . January 17, 2019.
Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020 .
^
"Spotlight shines on Kauai beauties" . The Garden Island . November 27, 2018.
Archived from the original on November 28, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2020 .
^
"Arruda wins Miss Hawai'i Teen USA 2020" . The Garden Island . November 12, 2019.
Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2020 .
^ Beifuss, John (November 6, 2020).
"Miss USA preliminary competition: Swimsuits, evening gowns, mini-bios and more" . Memphis Commercial Appeal .
Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2020 .
^
"Hawaii's Ki'ilani Arruda Wins Miss Teen USA 2020" . Yahoo . November 7, 2020.
^
"Hawaii's Ki'ilani Arruda crowned as Miss Teen USA 2020" . KHON2 . November 7, 2020.
Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020 .
^ Beifuss, John (November 8, 2020).
"Hawaii's Ki'ilani Arruda crowned Miss Teen USA during pageant at Graceland" . Memphis Commercial Appeal .
Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020 .
^ Gerken, Marika (November 8, 2020).
"Hawaii's Ki'ilani Arruda crowned Miss Teen USA 2020" .
CNN .
Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020 .
External links
1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s