MISS UNIVERSE 1980: Shawn Weatherly (USA)

The Miss USA 1980 pageant was televised live from Biloxi, Mississippi. Weatherly won the preliminary competition by a clear margin, and went on to win all three rounds of the final competition (interview, evening gown, and swimsuit). She was the only woman to score above 9.0 in the preliminary rounds as well as in the swimsuit and evening gown competitions. She was the second woman from South Carolina to win the title.

In July 1980, Weatherly competed in the Miss Universe pageant held in Seoul, South Korea, where again she won all rounds of competition. Her closest rival was Denyse Nottle of New Zealand, who placed second in the interview and swimsuit competitions, and would eventually be Weatherly's second runner-up. Attending the pageant, was Dwight Clark, her boyfriend from Clemson at the time. He went on to be the receiver of, "the Catch."

Weatherly was the fifth Miss Universe from the United States, and the second from South Carolina. Miriam Stevenson, the only other Miss USA from South Carolina, had won the Miss Universe title in 1954, making South Carolina one of the most successful states in the system. After Weatherly, no Miss USA would become Miss Universe until 1995.

Weatherly attended Clemson University as an Elementary Education major and graduated in 1982. She is best known for work on the television show Baywatch and for the early reality show Oceanquest, which had Weatherly swimming with sharks. She played a small part on a Dukes of Hazzard episode, "Coy vs. Vance," and in various other shows. She currently resides in Newport Beach, California, with her husband, Chip Harris, and their two children, Jessie Lee and Jack Thomas.