Inside Atlantic City’s Tropicana Hotel, site of the 2026 Ms. Senior America Pageant, sisterhood is alive and well.
“All the friends you make through this pageant are so amazing,” says Rosemary Bennett, representing Texas. In the touch-up room, she and the other contenders are zipping up each other’s dresses and fixing their necklines, laughing all the way. “And you learn some amazing things, like how to lift your you-knows,” she adds, playfully gesturing to her chest. “It’s called chicken cutlets.” By the end of the day, Bennett will be named the third runner-up.
There are a few rules to competing for the title of Ms. Senior America. You must be over the age of 60. You must be a legal resident of the state you represent. The final competition involves a week of interviews, culminating in three events in a single day: a talent show, a gown presentation, and the “Philosophy of Life” segment, based on the questions posed onstage during the Ms. America pageant.
Ms. Senior America was created in the 1970s by theologian Al Mott to honor women in his community who felt unseen during that stage of their lives. “Fifty can be a scary age for women because it feels like society dismisses us,” says Ms. New Jersey Jacqueline Jetter. She chose to go back to school at 50, eventually graduating with a master’s degree from the University of Southern California and founding the nonprofit Timeless Opulence, which supports women in their second act with professional resources. “I want to remind other women that we should be living, not existing.”
And this weekend, Ms. Senior America’s contestants really lived—doing themselves up in glitter eyeshadow and clouds of hairspray, and showing off talents like singing and belly dancing. Debbie Miller enjoyed the experience so much in her late 60s that she came back to do it again. “I did the competition 10 years ago, when I had just moved to Florida,” she says. “I might be 78, but I thought I should do it one more time.”
Her return to the Tropicana stage proved a great success: At the end of the night, a giant sparkling crown was placed upon her ruby red bob. “I would say to anyone who feels overlooked or forgotten, you are still you,” Miller said moments later. “You are the little girl, you are the blushing bride, you are the happy mother, you are all of those things. You carry them within you. Live forward with that.”
