Heather Whitestone

Heather Leigh Whitestone McCallum, born February 24, 1973, is an American conservative activist and beauty queen. She is best known as the first deaf Miss America title holder, having lost most of her hearing at 18 months old due to a serious ear infection.

Whitestone was born in Dothan, Alabama, to Bill Whitestone and Daphne Gray. In fourth grade, she learned about Helen Keller, who became her role model. To catch up with her peers academically, she attended the Central Institute for the Deaf in St. Louis, Missouri, where she advanced two grade levels per year. After three years, she returned to Alabama and graduated from public high school with a 3.6 grade point average. Throughout her youth, she focused heavily on developing her ballet skills. Following her parents' divorce, she moved to Birmingham at age sixteen, attended the Alabama School of Fine Arts for a year, graduated from Berry High School in 1991, and later studied at Jacksonville State University.

Whitestone began entering pageants after gaining confidence through the Shelby County Junior Miss program. In the Miss America system, she won the titles of Miss Jacksonville State University and Miss Alabama before competing in the Miss America 1995 pageant. After reading the lips of host Regis Philbin to confirm her victory, she was crowned Miss America. During her reign, she promoted her S.T.A.R.S. program across the country, focusing on positive attitude, belief in a dream, hard work, facing obstacles, and building a strong support team.

Following her pageant win, Whitestone completed her studies at Jacksonville State University and continued advocating for deaf issues. She worked as a spokesperson for the Starkey Hearing Aid Foundation and Cochlear America, filmed public service announcements for Dogs for the Deaf in 2003, and served on the board of the Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education from 1995 to 2002. She also spearheaded a national multimedia public service campaign to identify early hearing loss, created by the Miss America Organization and the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf.

Whitestone served as an executive member on the President's Committee on Employment of People Disabilities. A volunteer for Republican causes, she spoke at the 1996 and 2000 Republican National Conventions for presidential nominees Bob Dole and George W. Bush. President Bush appointed her to the National Council on Disability, a position confirmed by the U.S. Senate that she held until resigning in 2010. In 2002, she was appointed to the Advisory Council for the National Institutes of Health on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.

In August 2002, Whitestone chose to undergo cochlear implant surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, performed by Dr. John Niparko, to gain hearing in her right ear. The device was activated in September 2002. Over her career, she has authored four books: Listening with My Heart, Believing in the Promise, Let God Surprise You: Trust God with Your Dreams, and Heavenly Crowns. She has made media appearances on CNN, ABC's Good Morning America, and The View, and has been featured in USA Today and People Magazine.

Whitestone works as a motivational speaker and resides in Georgia with her husband, John McCallum, whom she met while he served as a Congressional aide to Speaker Newt Gingrich. They have four sons: John Jr., James, Wilson, and William.