Miss USA runner-up goes from nerd to beauty queen

The one-time professional volleyball player has not always been one to perform on the runway or on the court...

Jun 5, 2012

Nana Meriwether came in second place in the Miss USA pageant Sunday. The one-time professional volleyball player has not always been one to perform on the runway or on the court. Meriwether, a native of Potomac, Md., says she was a “total nerd as a kid.” The Washington Post has the story.

Don’t they all say something like this? Nana Meriwether, the world-class beauty from Potomac, Md., who came in second at Miss USA on Sunday, insists that she was a total nerd as a kid.

“I was the most insecure,” the 2003 Sidwell Friends grad told us. “In high school, I had maybe two friends. I couldn’t speak in front of people.”

So how did she end up on live national television in a tiny bikini? After a long career in volleyball — a two-time NCAA All-American and former Olympic hopeful, who played professionally overseas — she retired a few years ago, only to realize “I still felt I needed to be competing in something.”

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