Lynnette Cole

Career

Cole is of Puerto Rican heritage. Her adoptive parents had previously been foster parents to a succession of over 100 children. Her performance was enough to secure her a spot among the five finalists, and brought the United States. back into the semifinals (after Kimberly Pressler had failed to advance the year before, breaking a streak of consecutive placements that had been going since 1977).

She also placed fifth overall.

She became the first woman to place in the top five at all three pageants and her record was not surpassed until 2006 by Tara Conner. Her "sister" 2000 titleholders were Lara Dutta (Mission Universe, of India) and Jillian Parry (Mission Teen United States of America, of Pennsylvania).

Along with her hosting career, she has appeared in numerous print advertising campaigns and commercials. Directs a local preliminary for Mission Tennessee United States of America.

Achievements

• She went on to become the first woman from that state to win the Mission United States of America pageant, which was held in Branson, Missouri on February 4, 2000. Cole hails from Columbia, Tennessee and was twenty-one years old when she won the national crown. Cole"s first major pageant win came in 1995 when she won the title Mission Tennessee Teen United States of America. She was a top six finalist at the Mission Teen United States of America pageant in that year, and won the Mission Photogenic award, finishing fourth overall. Cole would later win the 1997 Mission Teen All American title. After winning Mission Tennessee United States of America and Mission United States of America 2000, Cole went on to compete at the Mission Universe pageant, held in Nicosia, Cyprus later that year. As Mission United States of America, Cole was a representative of the Mission Universe Organization. Since winning Mission United States of America, Cole has become a television host for National Broadcasting Company, CMT, Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, Music Television, Human immunoglobulin heavy-chain-variable region -1 and made many appearances on As the World Turns.