Nia Franklin

Nia Imani Franklin is an American music composer and pageant titleholder who gained national prominence after being crowned Miss America 2019. Her victory marked part of a historic milestone in which Black women held the titles for all four major United States pageant competitions in the same year.

Born on July 27, 1993, Franklin grew up as the oldest child of James and Kristy Franklin, alongside a younger sister and brother. She completed her secondary education at North Davidson High School in 2011 before pursuing higher studies in music composition at East Carolina University, earning her undergraduate degree in 2015. She later attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, receiving a Master of Music degree in 2017. During her undergraduate years, her father was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma; following subsequent relapses, Franklin served as a matching stem cell donor, helping him achieve remission.

As a composer, Franklin wrote the chamber opera King Solomon, which made its debut in 2015. Following her graduate studies, she relocated to New York City after earning a 2017 fellowship with the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' education division. Her public outreach work includes serving in the ArtistCorps program during her master's studies, founding a school music club through Success Academy Charter Schools, and collaborating as a cultural partner with the non-profit organization Sing For Hope.

Franklin began competing in pageants during her university years, winning the Miss Black and Gold title organized by a campus fraternity. She subsequently participated in the Miss North Carolina pageants in 2016 and 2017, placing among the top ten contestants both years and securing preliminary talent honors.

In June 2018, Franklin represented Five Boroughs at the Miss New York pageant in Buffalo, where she won the preliminary talent, swimsuit, and overall interview awards before securing the state title. She advanced to the Miss America 2019 competition in Atlantic City, New Jersey, competing on a platform dedicated to arts advocacy. Performing an opera aria from La bohème for the talent phase and addressing questions regarding her experiences residing in New York, she won the national title on September 9, 2018.

With her crowning by predecessor Cara Mund, Franklin became the seventh contestant representing New York to win the Miss America competition, earning a $50,000 educational scholarship. Her title coincided with national pageant wins by Zozibini Tunzi, Kaliegh Garris, and Cheslie Kryst, making 2019 the first time all major American pageant titles were simultaneously held by Black women.