Savvy Shields Biography

Savannah Janine "Savvy" Shields (born July 1, 1995) is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Fayetteville, Arkansas who was crowned Miss Arkansas 2016. On September 11, 2016, she was crowned Miss America 2017 by Miss America 2016, Betty Cantrell.

Early life and education

Shields is pursuing a degree in fine arts and a minor in business at the University of Arkansas. After her reign as Miss America, she intends to return to the University of Arkansas and finish her senior year of college.

Pageantry

Early pageantry

Shields won the Miss Arkansas' Outstanding Teen 2009 title in June 2009 and represented Arkansas at the 2010 Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant in Orlando, Florida in August.

Miss Arkansas 2016

In July 2016, Shields competed as Miss Heart of the Ozarks and won the preliminary lifestyle and fitness and preliminary talent awards at the Miss Arkansas 2016 pageant. She went on to win the Miss Arkansas 2016 title, with a platform of "Eat Better, Live Better."?

Miss America 2017

Shields represented Arkansas at the Miss America 2017 competition held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in September 2016. Her platform was "Eat Better, Live Better."?

Shields won the talent portion and a $2,000 scholarship at the conclusion of the second round of preliminary competitions on Wednesday, September 7, 2016 for her jazz dance performance to the song, "They Just Keep Moving the Line"? from the TV show Smash. In the final round of the competition, Shields was asked about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton by judge Gabby Douglas. In her allotted 20 second response, she answered, "If you're trying to be leader of the free world, everything you say and do matters and all of your actions are held to a higher standard. Both of the contestants have done a good job, but they also need to watch what they're doing."

She bested first runner-up Miss South Carolina 2016, Rachel Wyatt, for the 2017 Miss America title and was crowned by Miss America 2016, Betty Cantrell, on September 11, 2016. Along with the title of Miss America, Shields also won a $50,000 scholarship. Shields is the third Miss Arkansas to win the Miss America title.