Marine's Wife Makes History as First Transgender Miss Maryland USA

Bailey Anne Kennedy, 31, has been named the first trans Miss Maryland USA.

Bailey Anne Kennedy, the wife of a Marine, has been crowned the first-ever transgender Miss Maryland USA. The 31-year-old won the coveted title on Saturday, according to the official Miss Maryland USA Instagram account.

Kennedy is now preparing to compete in the Miss USA pageant, set to take place in Los Angeles on August 4. She described the victory as a "whirlwind" and expressed that it was "bigger than me" due to its significance for LGBTQ youth.

Kennedy will now compete at Miss USA on August 4th.

"I knew that it was going to mean a lot for all the LGBTQ kids out there who might feel like they don’t belong in a box — like me growing up,” Kennedy told WDCW.

Despite being the only transgender competitor, Kennedy felt no anxiety, crediting the "sisterhood" of the other women on stage for bolstering her confidence. "I felt confident in my own skin at 31, which is past the old age limit of 28 — but now, with the Miss Universe Organization lifting the restriction, every woman of all ages can compete," she explained.

Kennedy said she was inspired by the "sisterhood" of the competition.

Kennedy hopes her milestone will "open up some doors, open up some hearts for people to see that there are many aspects of the LGBTQ community out there. I hope I can be a positive contribution to society in making a difference, like with the USO program I’m working with."

Inspired to compete in pageants after her marriage in 2019, Kennedy noted on her website that the lifting of traditional marital status and age restrictions by the Miss Universe Organization was a sign that they were ready to crown an older, military spouse like herself. "Although this is such a small effort, I could only imagine the magnitude of my action on a state level, national level, or even on the international level if I win the title to represent the USA, the beautiful country to which I owe so much," she added.

Kennedy is the wife of a marine as of 2019.

In addition to being the first transgender Miss Maryland USA, Kennedy is also the first Asian American winner and the first military spouse to hold the title, according to The Advocate. The first transgender contestant to appear in the Miss USA pageant was Kataluna Enriquez, who competed as Miss Nevada USA in 2018.

"It hasn’t hit me yet. We just made history, and I don’t know how that feels. It was part of my goal, part of my dream," Enriquez told the Las Vegas Sun after her historic win in Nevada.