MISS CALIFORNIA 2009 CARRIE PREJEAN was Born May 13, 1987, Caroline CARRIE PREJEAN grew up in an evangelical Christian home in Vista, California and graduated in 2005 from Vista High School. CARRIE PREJEAN is currently a senior at San Diego Christian College, a small, evangelical liberal arts college in El Cajon, California and attends The Rock Church, where CARRIE PREJEAN volunteers with their outreach ministries. CARRIE PREJEAN is studying to become a special education teacher and also volunteers for Best Buddies, a non-profit organization that helps people with disabilities, and for the Special Olympics.
CARRIE PREJEAN competed in the Miss California Teen USA 2005 pageant and placed first runner-up to Stephanie Brink. In 2007 CARRIE PREJEAN competed in the Miss California USA 2008 pageant and initially placed third runner-up; later a judging error was discovered and CARRIE PREJEAN was promoted to first runner-up. The winner of that pageant was Raquel Beezley, who was also in the top three at Miss California USA 2005.CARRIE PREJEAN returned the following year and won the Miss California USA 2009 title, succeeding Beezley as California's representative to the Miss USA pageant. A few weeks prior to the Miss USA pageant, CARRIE PREJEAN received free breast implants paid for by the Miss California pageant committee. The co-director of the Miss California pageant said "We assisted when Carrie came to us and voiced the interest in having the procedure done, we want to put her in the best possible confidence in order to present herself in the best possible light on a national stage." CARRIE PREJEAN competed at the nationally televised Miss USA 2009 pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 19, 2009 and placed first runner-up. This was California's third first runner-up placement in five years: Brittany Hogan was first runner-up in 2005 and Tamiko Nash was first runner-up in 2006. Prejean's answer to her final question during the pageant became the subject of controversy.
During the 2009 Miss USA pageant, CARRIE PREJEAN was asked by pageant judge Perez Hilton whether she believed every state should legalize same-sex marriage. She responded, "Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. You know what, in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman." Hilton called CARRIE PREJEAN's answer “the worst in pageant history," telling ABC News that she lost the crown because of it. He stated that "There are various other ways CARRIE PREJEAN could have answered that question and still stayed true to herself without alienating millions of people."CARRIE PREJEAN stated Miss California USA officials had pressured her to apologize for her statement and "not talk" about her Christian faith. A spokesperson for the Miss California Pageant denied these claims and accused CARRIE PREJEAN of lying. Several conservative politicians and commentators assailed Hilton and defended CARRIE PREJEAN for honestly stating her personal beliefs. Gavin Newsom, a prominent activist for same-sex marriage, also defended CARRIE PREJEAN.
On May 4, 2009, a photo of CARRIE PREJEAN partially nude with her back turned to the camera appeared on a celebrity gossip blog. The directors of the Miss California USA pageant are investigating CARRIE PREJEAN for potentially violating a contract clause against prospective pageant candidates having been photographed "nude or partially nude". CARRIE PREJEAN stated on May 5 that she had posed for that shot as a seventeen-year-old model and that she sees no problem with it, saying that "I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos. Recently, photos taken of me as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid Web site that openly mocks me for my Christian faith. I am not perfect, and I will never claim to be." CARRIE PREJEAN also objected to its current release.National Organization for Marriage president Maggie Gallagher stated on May 5 that the release would not affect CARRIE PREJEAN's role. She commented that "On a personal note, as a former unwed mother, I want to say to Americans: you don't have to be a perfect person to have the right to stand up for marriage." Alicia Jacobs, a local reporter for KVBC in Las Vegas who served as a judge at the Miss USA pageant, has stated that the pictures "go beyond what the Miss California pageant says are appropriate," and do not befit CARRIE PREJEAN's status.
Speaking about the photoshoot in an Email, CARRIE PREJEAN said "This was when I was 17 years old. I was a minor. It was when I was first getting into the modeling world, being naive, and young. I shouldnt (sic) have taken the photo of me in my underwear. There are no other photos of me. This was the only one I took."
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