Queens of the Rose Parade facts for kids
Every September, about 1,000 young women try out for a special role in the Rose Parade. These young women are between 17 and 21 years old. They hope to become the Queen of the Tournament of Roses or one of the six Rose Princesses. Together, they form the Royal Court.
To be chosen, applicants must live in the greater Pasadena area. They need to be in their last year of high school or a full-time college student. They must also have good grades, with at least a 2.0 grade point average. Applicants must be at least 17 by December 31st and no older than 21 by January 5th of the next year. Also, they must not be married and have no children. They must agree to stay unmarried until after January 5th.
What the Royal Court Does
The Royal Court rides on a special float in the famous Rose Parade. They become important representatives for the Tournament of Roses. This happens mainly during the time leading up to and during the parade.
The Royal Court members attend over 100 events in Southern California. They also lead the Rose Bowl Game. As a reward for their hard work, they receive scholarship money and new clothes. The Queen's crown is made by Mikimoto and is very valuable. It has 600 cultured pearls and 6 carats of diamonds.
Recent Rose Queens and Courts
For the 2022 Rose Parade, Nadia Chung from La Cañada High School was the Rose Queen. The princesses were Jeannine Briggs, Ava Feldman, Abigail Griffith, Swetha Somasundaram, McKenzie Street, and Jaeda Walden. Nadia was crowned Queen on October 26, 2021, at Tournament House.
In 2021, there was no Rose Queen crowned. This was because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first time in 92 years that a Queen was not chosen.
For the 2019 Rose Parade, Louise Siskel from Sequoyah High School became the 101st Rose Queen. She was the first Jewish woman to wear the crown. Louise was also the first openly LGBTQ queen. Her coronation happened on October 23, 2018, at the Pasadena Playhouse.
Rose Queens Through the Years
- 1905: Hallie Woods (McConnell)
- 1906: Elsie Armitage (Prizer)
- 1907: Joan (Hadenfeldt) Woodbury
- 1908: May Sutton (Bundy)
- 1909-1910: No Queens
- 1911: Ruth Palmer
- 1912: No Queen
- 1913: Jean P. French (Queen) & Drummond Harrison (King)
- 1914: Mabel Seibert (Loughery)
- 1915-1922: No Queens
- 1923: May McAvoy (Cleary)
- 1924: No Queen
- 1925: Margaret (Mann) Scoville
- 1926: Fay Lanphier
- 1927: No Queen
- 1928: Harriet Sterling
- 1929: No Queen
- 1930: Holly Halsted (Balthis)
- 1931: Mary Lou Waddell
- 1932: Mryta Olmsted (Poulson)
- 1933: Dorothy Edwards (Conlon)
- 1934: (Loretta) Treva Scott (Oxford)
- 1935: Muriel Cowan (Moore)
- 1936: Barbara Nichols (Field)
- 1937: Nancy Bumpus (Urquhart Buck)
- 1938: Cheryl Walker (Etzell Coumbe Andrews)
- 1939: Barbara Dougall
- 1940: Margaret Huntley (Main)
- 1941: Sally Stanton (Rubsamen)
- 1942: Dolores Brubach
- 1943: Mildred Miller
- 1944: Naomi Riordan
- 1945: Mary Rutte (Wallace)
- 1946: Patricia Auman (Richards)
- 1947: Norma Christopher (Winton)
- 1948: Virginia Goodhue
- 1949: Virginia Bower (Nichols)
- 1950: Marion Brown
- 1951: Eleanor Payne
- 1952: Nancy Thorne
- 1953: Leah Feland (Cullen)
- 1954: Barbara Schmidt (Mulligan)
- 1955: Marilyn Smuin (Martell)
- 1956: Joan Culver (Warren)
- 1957: Ann Mossberg (Hall)
- 1958: Gertrude Wood
- 1959: Pamela Prather
- 1960: Margarethe Bertelson (Knoblock)
- 1961: Carole Washburn
- 1962: Martha Sissell
- 1963: Nancy Davis (Maggio)
- 1964: Nancy Kneeland (Kish)
- 1965: Dawn Baker
- 1966: Carole Cota (Gelfuso)
- 1967: Barbara Hewitt (Laughray)
- 1968: Linda Strother
- 1969: Pamela Anicich
- 1970: Pamela Dee Tedesco
- 1971: Kathleen Arnett (Miller)
- 1972: Margolyn Johnson
- 1973: Salli Noren
- 1974: Miranda Barone
- 1975: Robin Carr
- 1976: Anne Martin
- 1977: Diane Ramaker (Stimson)
- 1978: Maria Caron
- 1979: Catherine Gilmour
- 1980: Julie Raatz
- 1981: Leslie Kawai
- 1982: Katherine Potthast
- 1983: Suzanne Gillaspie
- 1984: Ann Marie Colborn
- 1985: Kristina Smith
- 1986: Aimee Richelieu
- 1987: Kristin Harris
- 1988: Julie Myers
- 1989: Charmaine Shryock
- 1990: Yasmine Delawari
- 1991: Cara Rullman
- 1992: Tannis Turrentine
- 1993: Liana Carisa Yamasaki
- 1994: Erica Brynes
- 1995: Aliya Haque
- 1996: Keli Hutchins
- 1997: Jennifer Halferty
- 1998: Purdy Tran
- 1999: Christina Farrell
- 2000: Sophia Bush
- 2001: Michelle Jacobs
- 2002: Caroline Hsu
- 2003: Alexandra Wucetich
- 2004: Megan Chinen
- 2005: Ashley Moreno
- 2006: Camille Clark
- 2007: Mary McCluggage
- 2008: Dusty Gibbs
- 2009: Courtney Chou Lee
- 2010: Natalie Innocenzi
- 2011: Evanne Friedmann
- 2012: Drew Helen Washington
- 2013: Vanessa Manjarrez
- 2014: Ana Marie Acosta
- 2015: Madison Elaine Triplett
- 2016: Erika Karen Winter
- 2017: Victoria Cecilia Castellanos
- 2018: Isabella Marie Marez
- 2019: Louise Siskel
- 2020: Camille Kennedy
- 2021: No Queen (cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic)
- 2022: Nadia Chung
