Deshauna Barber

Barber was born on December 6, 1989, in Columbus, Georgia to Darren Barber and Cordelia Barber, both military veterans. She was a military brat, moving due to her father's 20-year military career in the Green Berets to North Carolina, Nebraska, Minnesota, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.[3] Barber joined the United States Army Reserve at age 17.[4] She attended Virginia State University and graduated with a degree in business management.[5] She was a member of the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority.[6]

Prior to becoming Miss USA, Barber was commissioned as a quartermaster officer and logistics commander in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Captain,[7] and worked as an IT analyst for the United States Department of Commerce.[8][1][9] She earned her master's degree in management information systems and services from University of Maryland University College.[3] Barber is a member of the Pershing Angels. [10][11]

Barber throws out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium

Barber was crowned Miss District of Columbia USA 2016 on December 19, 2015, by outgoing titleholder Lizzy Olsen. Prior to winning this pageant she had placed in the semi-finalists of the Miss Virginia USA 2010 and Miss District of Columbia USA 2015 pageants and held the Miss Virginia International 2011 title.[10][12][13]

On June 5, 2016, Barber competed in the Miss USA 2016 pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada. She went on to win the competition, beating out first runner-up Chelsea Hardin of Hawaii and second runner-up Emanii Davis from Georgia. She was crowned by outgoing Miss USA, Olivia Jordan of Oklahoma. She was the third Miss District of Columbia USA to win the Miss USA title and the first in fourteen years and also the first African American to win the Miss USA title since Crystle Stewart in 2008.[3] She is the ninth African American to win the competition since its founding. Barber was additionally the first member of the military to win the Miss USA title and declared her intentions to promote veterans issues during her reign.[2][14][15] Barber represented the USA at Miss Universe 2016 in Manila where she placed in the top nine.[16] During the national costume competition, she wore a superhero-inspired metallic silver costume complete with a helmet and an eagle-crested shield, which stood for women's empowerment.[17] However the wings of her costume failed to open when she was onstage,[18][19] leaving her sheepishly smiling and tugging on the strings for a while.[20][21]

After completing her reign, Barber later crowned Kára McCullough, also of the District of Columbia, as her successor at the Miss USA 2017 competition on May 14, 2017 held in Las Vegas.[22][23][24]

As of 2020, she is the CEO of Service Women's Action Network (SWAN), an advocacy NGO on women soldiers and veterans. She is also a teacher at Howard University. [25] She is also a motivational speaker, focusing on bullying, sexual abuse, and loss, and has presented at Google and the Georgetown University[26] and University of Maryland commencement exercises.[27]

On November 4, 2016, Deshauna Barber was named the godmother to the Carnival Vista, a vista-class cruise ship owned by Carnival Corporation & plc, during the ship's christening in New York, NY.[28][29] The President of Carnival Cruise Lines, Christine Duffy, was quoted saying, "Deshauna is the ideal candidate to serve as Carnival Vista’s godmother, embodying the spirit of commitment and sacrifice to those who protect our freedom each and every day. Carnival is a longtime supporter of the military carrying more active and retired Armed Forces personnel than any other cruise line so it’s our honor and privilege to have Deshauna serve as the godmother to our newest and largest ship."[30]