Miss Connecticut 2024 Shavana Clarke
Courtesy of Miss USA
Shavana Clarke, 29, is the first openly lesbian Miss USA state titleholder, as well as the first openly queer woman to represent Connecticut. She hopes her pageant journey will help break down boundaries.
“I realized in this journey that my sexuality is just as much a part of who I am as anything else,” she told the Connecticut Post. “So why shouldn’t I be open and talk about that?”
Clarke has a BFA in acting from the University of Connecticut and runs her own crochet-wear line, Sour Candy Studio. She crocheted her swimsuit for the Miss Connecticut competition.
The model and entrepreneur also uses her platform to break the stigma around mental health. The Connecticut Post reported that Clarke was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder when she was in her 20s.
“I never imagined that I would be in this place today as Miss Connecticut USA because I had struggled with my mental health so much,” Clarke told the site. “And I thought to myself, ‘I cannot possibly be that girl. She’s untouchable. She’s perfect.'”
“I think it’s important to be so open about my mental health journey and about my diagnosis,” she added. “So people can see that a titleholder isn’t perfect. A titleholder is authentic.”
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