Lauren Nelson

Lauren Paige Nelson (born November 26, 1986) is a beauty queen from Lawton, Oklahoma, who holds the Miss America 2007 title. Nelson is the second consecutive Miss America and sixth in the history of Miss America to hail from this state.

Early life and education Nelson attended MacArthur High School and later graduated from University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in public relations.

Pageantry Miss Teen Oklahoma 2004 Nelson was Miss Teen Oklahoma 2004, and in this role, she performed at the 2005 Miss America pageant.

Miss Oklahoma 2006 She won the Miss Oklahoma State Fair 2006 local title and then competed in the Miss Oklahoma pageant for the first time on June 11, 2006. On the final night of competition, she was crowned Miss Oklahoma 2006, for which she received a $16,000 scholarship. Her talent was a vocal performance, and her platform was, "Be NetSmart – Protecting Kids Online".

At the conclusion of the live telecast, Nelson was crowned Miss America 2007, beating first runner-up Miss Texas 2006, Shilah Phillips. She received a $50,000 scholarship award along with the title. She succeeded Jennifer Berry of Jenks, Oklahoma, this being the second occurrence of consecutive state winners since Mississippi took the Miss America title in both 1959 and 1960.

Personal life Nelson married Randy Faram, a student minister, on October 24, 2009. Nelson gave birth to a son, Mason, in October 2013 and a daughter, Dawson Paige, in March 2016.

Miscellaneous Nelson teamed up with host John Walsh on the FOX television show America's Most Wanted to assist in the apprehension of potential child predators, posing as a teenager online. Initial reports on May 1, 2007, stated that she did not plan to return to testify against those predators that were apprehended, putting the prosecution's case in jeopardy. However, she appeared to change her mind later that day, and it was reported that she would testify against the perpetrators.

On January 17, 2008, Nelson appeared on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? playing for the Miss America Organization. She won $175,000 before "dropping out."

On August 2, 2010, Nelson joined KWTV in Oklahoma City, a CBS affiliate, as a co-anchor of the station's 4 P.M. newscast, which was reformatted from a traditional newscast to a lifestyle-oriented newscast.