Nina Davuluri became the first contestant of Indian heritage and the second consecutive contestant from New York to win the Miss America pageant Sunday night.
Davuluri, 24, won the title as the nationally televised pageant returned to Atlantic City after a six-year stint in Las Vegas. She performed a classical Bollywood fusion dance for her talent competition. She succeeds another Miss New York, Mallory Hagan.
The pageant had 53 contestants — one from each state, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Much attention had been given to Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, who is believed to be the first Miss America contestant to openly display tattoos. She has the Serenity Prayer on her rib cage and a military insignia on the back of a shoulder.
Miss Minnesota Rebecca Yeh, who is from the Brainerd Lakes area and made it to the top five, also gained attention by her choice of footwear, above, for the Miss America Parade of Shoes on Saturday.
Legend a bachelor no more
John Legend is officially off the market. The R&B crooner's representative says Legend married model Chrissy Teigen on Saturday at the Villa Pizzo in Lake Como, Italy. Legend, 34, and Teigen, 27, were engaged in 2011. Legend, who has won nine Grammy Awards, released his fourth solo album, "Love In the Future," last week. Teigen has modeled for Sports Illustrated and is the host of the Vh1 reality competition show, "Model Employee."
a lifetime in film: The organizers of the Golden Globe Awards will honor Woody Allen for his contributions to filmmaking. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association said that Allen will receive the 2014 Cecil B. DeMille Award. A tribute to the 77-year-old actor, writer and director will be included in the 71st annual Golden Globe ceremony set for Jan. 12. Morgan Freeman and Martin Scorsese are among the previous recipients. Allen's much-honored films include "Annie Hall," "Hannah and Her Sisters" and "Midnight in Paris."
Standing O for deen: Celebrity cook Paula Deen fought back tears as she was greeted by a supportive crowd during an appearance at the Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in Dallas. Saturday's event was Deen's first public appearance since June, when it was revealed that she acknowledged using racial slurs in the past. Within a few days the Food Network yanked her show off the air, Smithfield Foods dropped her as a celebrity endorser, and retailers such as Wal-Mart removed her products from shelves. About 1,500 people gave Deen a standing ovation.
