Miss USA Moves to the Big Apple

Miss USA 2015, Olivia Jordan from Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo: Gray Line CitySightseeing)

26-year-old Miss USA, Olivia Jordan, just moved to New York City — where she is roommates with Miss Universe, Paulina Vega Dieppa — but the blonde bombshell is already maneuvering through crowds with poise like a long-time New York resident. In fact, we caught her in 90-degree weather on top of a Gray Line CitySightseeing bus, one of those ubiquitous double decker red buses that you seem to see in every metropolitan city around the world, and she seemed unfazed by the chaotic, sweaty world around her.

“I know, I’m surprised my makeup isn’t melting off, too,” she says. “When I was 12, I found a book about natural beauty by Bobbi Brown, so now I’m trying to wear as less [sic] makeup as possible. I really do believe in letting your skin breathe!” Like any dedicated pageant queen, Jordan’s long lashes are fake, of course — she wears Flutter, a sponsor of hers. Every day, she wears a Bobbi Brown lipstick, Flutter lashes, and Nars bronzer and blush in Laguna and Orgasm respectively. “I can’t remember what else I wear,” she admits sheepishly. “Now, I get my makeup professionally done every day!”

But her newfound perks aren’t detracting from her humbling experience rising up the ranks in the pageant world. “I’m just trying to take it all in,” Jordan tells Yahoo Beauty on the bus. “So far, the only thing I’m doing to prepare for the Miss Universe pageant is making sure that I’m true to myself no matter what.” During the interview portion of the Miss USA pageant, Jordan was asked what she thought the next hot-button issue was in the United States. “I think we still need to talk about race relations in this country,” Jordan said onstage. “We have not solved this issue. We are still having problems. We keep hearing about new issues coming up. We really need to work on being an accepting society and being a society where every single person, no matter your race, no matter your gender, is given the same rights and privileges and opportunities.” On the second interview question, which asked which woman should appear on the $10 bill, Jordan suggested media mogul Oprah Winfrey and Harriet Tubman, a former slave who became an abolitionist and Union spy.

Olivia Jordan in the swimsuit competition. (Photo: Instagram)

On her personal Instagram, the former fitness instructor recently posted a photo of herself — with rock-hard six-pack abs — in the swimsuit portion onstage. “For all those that tell me to: gain weight, lose weight, gain muscle, become more feminine, get a better butt, shred out my abs, get implants…y'all can just keep scrolling. I’m happy, I’m healthy, I live in balance and this is my body. No one asked you to like it. #ByeFelicia #NoWrongWayToBeAWoman.” She tells Yahoo Beauty that her personal role model is Katie Couric, who came to speak at her college graduation at Boston University. “She has a successful career, but she also makes sure to give back,” Jordan says. “Where I come from, Tulsa, Oklahoma, people are so kind and giving. The city was recently named one of the most philanthropic cities in the nation, in fact.”

Of course, Jordan doesn’t mind the move to New York, either. “On my block alone, there are five amazing restaurants. I can have an amazing meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’ve never lived in a place like this,” she says. She tilts her head slightly to let the wind blow through her loose hair, and two cameras snap the seemingly candid moment. Miss USA is settling into Manhattan just fine, and she’s making many picture-perfect moments along the way.

Disclaimer: Katie Couric is the global anchor of Yahoo News. Bobbi Brown is the editor in chief of Yahoo Beauty.

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