Mary Nguyen Went From Miss Teenage America to Emmy-Nominated Journalist
By Kelli Luu | 18 Jun, 2026

Mary Nguyen was one of the first Vietnamese American women in the national spotlight and used her early pageant fame to develop a successful career in journalism, television news, and law.

Before receiving Emmy nominations for her journalism work, Mary Nguyen was nationally recognized as a teenager when she made history in 1993 as the first Asian American to win TEEN Magazine’s Miss Teenage America competition. 

She was born in Southern California and raised by her Vietnamese parents who fled Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. Nguyen grew up in Fullerton and has described herself as your typical American teenager. She wanted to be a psychologist and excelled in academics, cheerleading, and pageantry all while remaining deeply connected to her Vietnamese heritage. 

During her junior year, Nguyen won the title of Miss Teenage America and received the opportunity to share her voice with the young readers of TEEN Magazine. One of her Miss Teenage America duties was writing a monthly column, which allowed Nguyen to fall in love with writing. She was encouraged to go to college and pursue a career in journalism, so she attended UCLA where she earned a degree in Communication Studies. 

Here, Nguyen was heavily involved in journalism, serving as president of the Society of Professional Journalists chapter and even earned a Mark of Excellence journalism award. At this time she was also interning during the O.J. Simpson trial and published an article in TEEN Magazine about her experience. 

After graduating from UCLA in 1999, Nguyen began building her resume even more as she was working for many television stations across the country as a reporter and anchor. She became known for her intriguing and investigative reporting style, which later earned her multiple Associated Press Awards and an Emmy nomination in 2009 for her coverage during the Casey Anthony trial. 

Even with her success in journalism and as a teen beauty queen, Nguyen's ambitions continued to evolve. She made the decision to earn her JD at the Florida State University College of Law and eventually became a public defender and attorney in Florida. 

Mary Nguyen has extended her name far past a pageant title, bringing Vietnamese representation to national television as one of the first Vietnamese American women to gain visibility in the industry, long before AAPI representation was mainstream.