Mekayla Diehl

Mekayla Diehl
Born 1988 (age 29–30)
Elkhart, Indiana, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Title Miss Indiana USA 2014
Mrs. Indiana America 2017
Mrs. America 2018
Beauty pageant titleholder
Major
competition(s)		 Miss Indiana USA 2014
(Winner)
Miss USA 2014
(Top 20)
Mrs. America 2018
(Winner)

Mekayla Diehl Eppers (née Diehl; born 1988) is an American beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned Miss Indiana USA 2014 and later competed in Miss USA 2014, where she placed in the top twenty. In 2018, Diehl was crowned Mrs. America 2018.

Early life

Diehl was born in Elkhart, Indiana in 1988.[1] She is descended from the Ojibwe tribe, a member of the Ontario-based Zhiibaahaasing First Nation through her mother.[1]

Career

Diehl graduated in 2011 from Albion College with a bachelor's degree of liberal arts in mass communication.[2] In June 2012 she competed in the Miss Indiana 2012 pageant where she placed second runner-up and won the "Joy of Life" award.[3] In October of that year she competed in the Miss Indiana USA 2013 pageant where she was a semi-finalist.[4]

In October 2013, Diehl won the Miss Indiana USA 2014 title which qualified her to compete in the Miss USA 2014 pageant the following year, where she placed in the top twenty.[5][6] She is the first contestant of Native American descent to represent Indiana at the Miss USA pageant.[1]

Diehl, who is 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall, has been praised for being a "normal", healthy size 4 and for not being skinny, a common stereotype of beauty pageant contestants.[6][7] Nia Sanchez, the winner of the 2014 pageant, stated that Diehl is no different than the other athletic pageant contestants she competed against. "I felt like this year we had a really healthy class of girls, and that’s what the pageant is about, not being skinny and having the clothes fall off your bones, but being fit, healthy and active. And Mekayla is," she said. "We were at the gym working out together. She was telling me how she does different sports. We all do." Diehl has ignited a wave of positivity encouraging women to be healthy and not go to extremes of having unhealthy habits to be skinny.[8]

Though Deihl is celebrated for being a healthy role model encouraging young women to be active and healthy, a few critics created backlash by stating that even though she represents something new she isn't normal.[9] Their main argument was that the average American woman, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is 5-foot-3 and 166 pounds with a size 12 or 14 waist size and has a BMI of 33.[9]

She received coverage from all the major networks,[10] interviewed by Elisabeth Hasselbeck on Fox and Friends,[11] The Today Show,[5] Good Morning America,[12] Entertainment Tonight.[13] and WNDU[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 ICTMN (2014). "Miss Indiana USA Mekayla Diehl Is 'Normal' ... and Native American!". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  2. ↑ Organization, Miss Universe. "Mekayla Diehl". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  3. ↑ Fisher, Derek (3 July 2012). "MerrieBeth Cox crowned Miss Indiana 2012". Current in Zionsville.
  4. ↑ Fisher, Derek (22 October 2012). "Pageant winners crowned in Carmel". Current in Carmel.
  5. 1 2 Kim, Eun Kyung. "Is size-4 Miss Indiana the new 'normal'? Miss USA weighs in". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Is size-4 Miss Indiana the new 'normal'? Miss USA weighs in on the debate". Today Show. 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  7. ↑ Cunningham, Erin (11 June 2014). "No, Miss Indiana's Body Isn't 'Normal'". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  8. ↑ Will Higgins (2014). "Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl: 'I'm OK with 'normal". INDY Star. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  9. 1 2 Amy Hubbard (2014). "Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl's body is not 'normal' or 'average'". LA Times. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
  10. ↑ "Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl on becoming a social media phenom". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl: 'I didn't go to extremes' for my body - Fox News". 10 June 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl 'Blown Away' by Being Called 'Normal'". ABC News. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  13. ↑ "Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl on Becoming a Social Media Phenom". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  14. ↑ "Miss Indiana Mekayla Diehl Responds to Curvy Figure Comments". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Emily Hart		 Miss Indiana USA
2014		 Succeeded by
Gretchen Reece
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