The New Miss Nevada Will Be the First Transgender Contestant in Miss USA History

The Miss USA pageant just became a little more inclusive. Kataluna Enriquez was crowned Miss Nevada on Sunday, June 27, making her the first trans woman ever to compete for the Miss USA title.

“Congratulations to our new Miss Nevada USA @mskataluna 👑 History made,” the Miss Nevada Instagram account posted. 

Enriquez, who previously won Miss Silver State USA, opened up about this monumental moment on her own personal Instagram. “To my pageant mommy @rissrose2 , no words can describe how much I am grateful of you,” she wrote. “For your constant support, for welcoming me in to your home, and feeding me nothing but love. Team @misssilverstate, you are all inspiring. your love, support and sisterhood has healed many years of struggle. My times and giggles with y’all never be replaceable. To all the sponsors, Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without your help. Huge thank you to everyone who supported me from day one. My community, you are always in my heart. My win is our win. We just made history. Happy pride.” 

“One thing that is important for me is inclusivity, diversity, and representation. It’s something I did not have growing up and is still lacking in today’s world,” Enriquez told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Today I am a proud transgender woman of color. Personally, I’ve learned that my differences do not make me less than, it makes me more than.”

According to EW, Enriquez has been competing in transgender pageants since 2016 and started doing cisgender ones four years later.

Enriquez also told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.  “I wanted to share my story and present that I was more than just a body. With pageantry, people think it is only about beauty. But it’s how you present yourself, what you advocate for, what you’ve done and the goals you have.”

Congratulations!