New Yorker Bess Myerson has died at the age of 90. According to the New York Times, she peacefully passed away last Dec. 14 in her Santa Monica, Ca., home.
The death of the first and only Jewish Miss America, who was crowned way back in 1945, is still shrouded in mystery since specific details on the cause of death are yet to be revealed. However, public records already confirmed her passing last December at the age of 90.
After winning the crown, Myers was catapulted to fame and she even became a TV personality from the 1950s through the 1960s.
The Bronx-born beauty's victory at the said pageant was quite momentous for American Jews, who struggled to cope with the effects of Hitler's regime and the lingering anti-Semitism that time.
Because of the threatening environment towards the jews that time, Bess was pressured to use a different name that sounded "less Jewish" but she refused to do so, reports USA Today.
"You have to understand. I cannot change my name," she was quoted telling the pageant director. "I live in a building with 250 Jewish families. If I should win, I want everybody to know that I'm the daughter of Louie and Bella Myerson."
After winning the crown, Myers used her crown to fight against bigotry and discrimination. She even spoke out on behalf of the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP and the Urban League.
Alongside her advocacy, the 5-foot-10 beauty queen quickly landed television jobs. She not only became a game show hostess, but she also became an on-air reporter prior to her appointment as the chief consumer watchdog of the Big Apple in 1969, YNetNews has learned.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Miss America Organisation said, "Bess used her Miss America title to fight anti-Semitism and racial bigotry as she traveled around the country."
"Bess Myerson will always be remembered for her remarkable life-long achievements and for her unwavering commitment to serving others by demanding equality for all," the organization added. "Through a life well lived, Miss America, Bess Myerson, left this world a better place!"
However, Bess Myerson's reputation was tainted when a couple of scandals involving her made headlines: having two marriages that ended in divorce, romantic liaisons that ended sourly, reports claiming she has erratic behavior and the time she got arrested for shoplifting.
Given all these, Myerson decided to isolate herself from the society and away from the public's eye even until her final days.
Bess is survived by a daughter named Barra Carol Grant Reilly.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
