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Susan Powell Biography (Miss America)
Susan Powell is an American actress, singer, and television personality. She began her career as a successful beauty pageant contestant. In 1980 she won the Miss Oklahoma pageant and proceeded to the Miss America crown for the year 1981. A coloratura soprano, Susan has performed in musical theater and on opera stages around the world. She embarked on a new television career in 1993 , becoming the co-host of Discovery Channel’s Home Matters home and garden program in 1993.
Susan Powell Age
Susan was born on March 24, 1959 in Elk City, Oklahoma. She is 60 years old as of 2019.
Susan Powell Education
Susan would later study piano and play the trumpet in her school band, something she would continue in college. Susan went to Oklahoma City University, where she studied vocal music under Florence Birdwell and performed in summer stock at the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma.
In high school, Susan also began to explore the pageant circuit. She won the Miss Elk City pageant in 1977 and was second runner-up in the Miss Oklahoma pageant the same year.
During her sophomore year at OCU, she joined the Miss Oklahoma City pageant and was named first runner-up. Disappointed by the result, she decided to finish college and move to New York. But her dad convinced her to give it one more try.
Susan Powell Family | Susan Powell Parents
Susan was born and raised in Elk City, Oklahoma, an 8,000 resident town driven by farming, ranching and oil production. She is the only daughter of Vinita and Wendell Powell. Susan developed a love for music at a very young age. As a child she sang in local venues, at church functions, and solo singing competitions. “I can remember being really little and singing at my grandmother’s house,” Powell said recently. “I’d stand on a hassock with anything I could find for a microphone. It didn’t seem weird to me then, but now, looking back on it, it was rather strange.”Susan and her mother would make the two-hour trip every Tuesday. The many hours they spent together driving to and from Oklahoma City strengthened what had already been a strong bond.
Susan Powell Grandparents
The grandparents of Susan were stabbed at their Chickasha, Okla., home Friday night in March 1983. Police said the two were in critical condition in a Grady County hospital Saturday. A Chickasha man was arrested in the attack.
Police said Bonnie Powell, and his wife LaDeanne, suffered multiple stab wounds in the attack. David W. Wilson, was arrested about two hours after the 8 p.m. attack, police said. Police said they did not have a motive for the attack.
Susan Powell Married| Susan Powell Children
Susan now lives in New York City. Susan is still single she has never mentioned about her personal life in public or in media.
Susan Powell Miss America
Susan won the Metropolitan Opera auditions, she got the overall artist award that year at NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), and then she won Miss Oklahoma. She won the 1981 national competition, being named Miss America in September 1980 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
After her one-year reign, Susan began a singing career, debuting with Seattle Opera in the role of Adele in Die Fledermaus. She called her performance the “major surprise of the evening,” a reviewer from Opera Canada praised “her sparkling stage personality” and pronounced her technique as “fully up to Adele’s coloratura requirements.” Her opera career took her to the New York City Opera to the New Japan Philharmonic. Susan has sung as a soloist for John Williams and the Boston Pops.
Susan introduced the television series Home Matters on the Discovery Channel in 1993, which she hosted for nine seasons. She continues to tour and lecture, assisting in local preliminary Miss America contests and being one of the judges for the Miss America pageant in 2007. Susan was recognized by the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2002, as an Ambassador of Good Will from the state for the second time, the first such recognition occurring in 1981.
Susan performed on the television program Don’t Forget the Lyrics in the episode of December 12, 2008, appearing along with Heather French Henry (Miss America 2000) and Kirsten Haglund (Miss America 2008).
Susan Powell Singing
Susan has sung with a number of orchestras, including The Boston Pops, Philadelphia Pops, Oklahoma City Symphony, Salt Lake City Symphony, The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Key West Pops, The Nashville Symphony and the Tokyo Philharmonic. She can be heard on the cast recordings of Olympus On My Mind and Fifty Million Frenchman, both available on I-tunes as well as her own CD, Just In Time, which is available on this website.
Susan and several former Miss Americas were thrilled and honored to visit troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2009.