LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - The first Miss Arkansas to go on to win Miss America has died at the age of 76, according to a Facebook post by the Miss Arkansas Scholarship Competition.
Donna Axum Whitworth won the Miss America Pageant in 1964, at the age of 22.
"Well, I was born in El Dorado, Arkansas, in 1942," Axum said in an interview with the Pryor Center. "In fact, I was born January the third, and I was the first baby born in El Dorado that year. So I won all the prizes from the merchants."
And she kept on winning.
She established an endowed scholarship fund for UA students who graduate from Arkansas high schools and show financial need, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
She is also the author of two books, "The Outer You … The Inner You" and "How to Be and Look Your Best Everyday: A Comprehensive Guide from a Former Miss America". In 2004, she became the first Miss America to be elected to the Miss America Organization’s board of directors, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.