Miss Michigan USA Rima Fakih 24-year-old Arab American was crowned Miss USA 2010 beating out 51 other beauty queens in the live pageant televised at NBC TV at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. Miss USA 2010 winner Rima Fakih will represent the United States in Miss Universe 2010 pageant which is going to be held on August 22, 2010 in United States.


Rima Fakih is the current Miss USA. A Lebanese American, she won the Miss Michigan USA pageant on September 19, 2009, and the Miss USA pageant on May 16, 2010. She is the first Miss Michigan to win the Miss USA title since Kenya Moore in 1993. She is also the first Miss USA of Arab-American descent. She currently resides in Dearborn, Michigan. Born in Lebanon, Fakih grew up in Queens, New York, where she attended a Catholic school. Her family moved to Dearborn, Michigan, in 2003. Though Shi'ite Muslim, her family often celebrates elements of both the Muslim and Christian faiths. With Fakih's victory, Michigan has provided two firsts in Miss USA pageant history; in 1990, Carole Gist became the first African American Miss USA, and Fakih is believed to be the first Arab American and the first Muslim American to win the title. Fakih is a graduate the University of Michigan–Dearborn with degrees in economics and business management. She plans to attend law school after her year-long reign.

Fakih, a Lebanese immigrant, told pageant organizers her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths. She moved to the United States as a baby and was raised in New York, where she attended a Catholic school. Her family moved to Michigan in 2003.

Pageant officials said historical pageant records were not detailed enough to show whether Fakih was the first Arab American, Muslim or immigrant to win the Miss USA title. The pageant started in 1952 as a local bathing suit competition in Long Beach, Calif.

Fakih told reporters she sold her car after graduating college in Michigan to help pay for her run in the Miss Michigan USA pageant.

She said she believed she had the title on Sunday after glancing at pageant owner Donald Trump as she awaited the results with the first runner-up, Miss Oklahoma USA Morgan Elizabeth Woolard.



Tags: rima fakih, miss usa 2010, miss usa, miss michigan 2010, rima fakih michigan, miss michigan