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Cheslie Corrine Kryst was 28 years old when she was crowned Miss USA 2019 on May 2, 2019 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, United States. Representing North Carolina, USA, she made history as the oldest woman to win the crown.

Not everyone was happy about the history Kryst made. Some beauty pageant fans started a petition to lower the age limit.

“Each time I say, ‘I’m turning 30,’ I cringe a little,” Kryst wrote in an essay Allure published six days after her 30th birthday. “Sometimes, I can successfully mask this uncomfortable response with excitement; other times, my enthusiasm feels hollow, like bad acting.”

“Society has never been kind to those growing old, especially women,” Miss USA 2019 continued. “Occasional exceptions are made for some of the rich and a few of the famous.”

In the essay, Kryst talked about her achievements and shared that she worked very hard to capture the dreams she has been taught by society to want but she continued to find only emptiness. She wrote, ” I nearly worked myself to death, literally, until an eight-day stint in a local hospital sparked the development of a new perspective.”

Kryst was born in Jackson, Michigan, USA to a Polish American father named Rodney Kryst and an African American mother named April Simpkins. Cheslie was raised by her mother and her stepfather David Simpkins.

In 2009, Cheslie graduated from Fort Mill High School in Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA. In 2013, she won the 1L Trial Bar Competition Finals and graduated from the Darla Moore School of Business of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and human resource management.

In 2016, Cheslie became Miss North Carolina USA 2017 fourth runner-up. In 2017, she competed at Miss North Carolina USA 2018, where she finished in the Top 10, and graduated from Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina with a juris doctor and a master’s degree in business administration.

In 2018, Cheslie represented Metrolina at Miss North Carolina USA 2019 and won the title. On December 8, 2019, she represented the U.S. at Miss Universe 2019 at the Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, USA and finished in the Top 10.