She is 31, married to a military man, Asian American, and a transgender woman.
When Bailee Ann Kennedy was crowned Miss Maryland USA on Saturday, she broke nearly every barrier in the state’s beauty pageant history — and she did it in her very first pageant.
She will make further history when she seeks to become the oldest and first transgender Miss USA at the pageant in Los Angeles on August 4. Previously, women over the age of 28 were not allowed to compete in the pageant. Transgender women have been allowed to compete in the pageant for the past 10 years.
Neither Kennedy nor Miss Maryland USA organizers were immediately available for comment.
Kennedy, who is Cambodian-American and lives in Montgomery County, said in a recent interview with DC News Now that he hopes his victory will inspire LGBTQ+ kids to “be themselves.”
She also said she feels supported by a “sisterhood” of women competing alongside her in the pageants.
She added: “At 31, I feel confident in my own skin.”
Kennedy also said he hoped his victory would “open some doors, open some hearts.” Differences in how people view the LGBT community.
Miss Maryland USA 2016, Christina Denney McDaniel, said she was impressed with all the barriers Kennedy has broken down.
“I hope Baylee’s victory inspires people, young and old, to stand in their truth and not let anything get in the way of pursuing their dreams,” she said. “Baylee will represent Maryland in a fantastic way at Miss USA, and I can’t wait to watch her journey as she continues to make history here in Maryland.”
Bailey joins a growing group of other pioneering transgender women.
In 2021, Catalonia Henriquez made history by becoming the first transgender woman to be crowned Miss Nevada. In 2018, Angela Ponce, a transgender woman, represented Spain at the Miss Universe pageant.
Kevin Knaff, editor-in-chief of the Washington Blade, praised Kennedy’s work.
“Bailey Ann Kennedy’s achievement serves as an inspirational beacon during an often difficult time for the transgender community,” Knaff said. “It is especially meaningful during Pride Month. Her victory is further evidence that as more Americans become aware of the transgender community, the anti-trans forces working against us will be defeated.”
Kennedy’s victory comes at a time when the transgender community is making progress against the odds: The Williams Institute, a think tank at the UCLA School of Law, estimates there are 1.6 million transgender people in the United States, 24,000 of them in Maryland.
Maryland native Isis King broke new ground in the Amazon Prime series “With Love,” becoming one of the few transgender actresses to play the lead in a major studio-backed romantic comedy, bringing local and national attention to the transgender community.
But transgender people still face obstacles: The ACLU cites hate crimes, violence, discrimination in the workplace, affordable access to health care, and the rights and safety of transgender people in prisons, jails and detention centers as the top issues facing the community.
According to the Transgender Homicide Monitoring Report, which tracks murders reported in the media each year, between Oct. 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2023, 321 transgender and gender diverse people were murdered.
The report found that 94% of the deaths were trans women or trans feminine people, including more than 4,600 deaths since the group first began tracking them in 2008.
This is a developing story.
John John Williams IV is a diversity, equity and inclusion reporter for the Baltimore Banner. A native of Syracuse, New York, he graduated from Howard University and has lived in Baltimore for the past 17 years.
