• Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK WOMEN COME FIRST

Every day we're serving Black women deeply. Come get a plate of goodness! Sign up for daily content and exclusive offers you'll love!

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and that you have read our Privacy Policy
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Culture

5 Things To Know About 2019 Miss America Winner Nia Imani Franklin

The 25-year-old beauty took the crown at this year's competition.
5 Things To Know About 2019 Miss America Winner Nia Imani Franklin
By Paula Rogo · Updated December 6, 2020
Miss America has crowned a new winner — and she is a Black Queen. Miss New York Nia Imani Franklin took home the 2019 Miss America tiara during Sunday night’s historic pageant. Franklin won a $50,000 scholarship along with the crown in the first Miss America pageant to be held without a swimsuit competition. “I have New York grit,” Franklin said during the competition. “As a New Yorker, I understand what it means to work hard.”
View this post on Instagram

Humbled to have walked the Miss America Red Carpet last night for the last night of preliminary competition. I love you New York! God is so good! Watch the finals night to see who will make top 15 and win Miss America 2019 live on ABC - Sunday at 9pm! #missamerica

A post shared by Nia Imani (@niaimanifranklin) on Sep 8, 2018 at 1:15pm PDT

Beyond knowing the value of hard work, here are five things to know about the New York beauty:
She is a classically-trained opera singer The 25-year-old is a classically-trained vocalist, who received a master’s degree in composition from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2017. She also studied music composition during her undergraduate years. She sang an operatic selection from the opera La Boheme during the talent portion of the Miss America pageant and even promoted an “advocating for the arts” platform during the competition. Her love for song also pushed her into music composition, a career that she hopes will win her a Grammy one day.
View this post on Instagram

Prelude/ Sunflower Uno. . . . #newmusic #composer #classical #redsunbluecity

A post shared by Nia Imani (@niaimanifranklin) on Dec 7, 2017 at 11:49am PST

She’s actually a North Carolina native Franklin grew up in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Although she ended up moving to New York last year after being accepted to the Kenan Fellow program at Lincoln Center Education in Manhattan, she still has love for her native North Carolina where she also received both her music degrees. Her love for the arts helped her connect with students at her predominately white school. During the Miss America competition, Franklin used her life as an example of why the arts matter. ”I grew up at a predominately Caucasian school and there was only [a] five percent minority, and I felt out of place so much because of the color of my skin,“ Franklin said. ”But growing up, I found my love of arts, and through music that helped me to feel positive about myself and about who I was.“
View this post on Instagram

Lauryn Hill’s music is TIMELESS!!! 20 years later 5th graders can even recognize “Ex-Factor” is a bop! . Piano - @kleesky Guitar - @poindexter.justin Bass - @leonboykins Drums - Will .. .. .. .. #miseducationoflaurynhill #exfactor #musicmatters #advocatingforthearts

A post shared by Nia Imani (@niaimanifranklin) on May 17, 2018 at 8:07am PDT

Her father is a cancer survivor Franklin’s father was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma during her freshman year of college. After her win Sunday night, Franklin thanked her “beautiful family, my mom and my dad, who is a cancer survivor. She believed music and perseverance were big players in his healing. According to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts website, “she used her love and passion for music to find therapeutic ways to help herself and her family through the hardship. As a last resort, she donated stem cells and essentially saved his life.” She is a HUGE Janelle Monae fan Like all of us, Franklin is a fan-girl for the “Tightrope” singer. “Anyone who knows me knows that I STAN for this strong woman,“ she wrote earlier this year on Instagram when Monae dropped her ”Dirty Computer“ album. ”She is one of my musical (s)heroes…“
View this post on Instagram

Anyone who knows me knows that I STAN for this strong woman. She is one of my musical (s)heroes. Her new album is out today! My heart is full 💕🌸👛🎀 . . . #janellemonae #dirtycomputer #newmusic #pynk #rock #funk #pop #soul #love

A post shared by Nia Imani (@niaimanifranklin) on Apr 27, 2018 at 2:44pm PDT

TOPICS:  happy pharrell Pharrell Williams Tiffany Haddish
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now