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Lauren Elizabeth Barnette (born April 10, 1985) is a beauty pageant contestant from Wise, Virginia who has competed in the Miss Teen USA pageant and competed for the Miss USA title in 2007. Barnette won her first pageant title in 2001 when she was crowned Miss Virginia Teen USA 2002. She had competed in the previous year, placing second runner-up. Barnette competed in the nationally televised Miss Teen USA 2002 pageant held in South Padre Island, Texas in August 2001. In 2005 Barnette returned to the pageant stage when she placed first runner-up in the Miss Virginia USA 2006 pageant. The winner of the pageant was another former Miss Virginia Teen USA, Amber Copley, who Barnette had crowned as the 2003 titleholder. In 2006 she won the Miss Virginia USA 2007 title, becoming the sixth former Teen titleholder to win the Miss crown. Virginia now becomes the first state to have six former Teen titleholders win Miss titles in the same state. Barnette represented Virginia in the Miss USA 2007 pageant which was held in Los Angeles, California on March 23, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre. She placed in the top 10 and became the first woman from Virginia to place in the Miss USA pageant since Kellie Lightbourn in 1999. Barnette made the top 10 when she placed 10th in the swimsuit competition, and came back strong when she placed 6th in the evening gown competition. This made her place 7th overall, thus eliminating her from the top 5. Barnette is the second former Miss Teen USA delegate to be chosen as a 2007 Miss state titleholder, following Magen Ellis of Texas who competed at Miss Teen USA in 2004. Since giving up her title, Barnette has been a "suitcase girl" on NBC's hit show, Deal or No Deal. Lauren was also the feature model in the country music video Anything Goes by Randy Houser. |
