Nicole Kelly, Born With One Arm, Wins The Miss Iowa Title

Nicole Kelly, 23, who was born without her left forearm, was crowned Miss Iowa last week, becoming the first-ever state pageant winner to be missing a limb.

Kelly will now compete in the Miss America Pageant on Sept. 15 in Atlantic City, N.J. “A year ago, I certainly didn’t see ‘pageant titleholder’ in my future,” Kelly told CBS. “Perhaps I didn’t originally envision the path, but now I know that being Miss Iowa is the perfect fit for me and I feel so blessed to be surrounded by people who have encouraged me every step of the way.”

Kelly, who studied theater at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, aspires to star in Wicked on Broadway one day. “I found I could tell people it was acceptable to stare [on stage],” she said. “It was the place that was kind of an outlet for me, a place I could stand up and be myself, and say, ‘Here I am, and I’m confident in myself.’ ”

Get Uinterview’s FREE iPhone App For Daily News Updates here.

Get the FREE Uinterview iPad app here and watch our videos anywhere.