Photos: Meet Abbie Stockard, the REAL Miss Alabama 2024

Abbie Stockard is the new Miss Alabama. Stockard, 21, was crowned Saturday night of June 29, 2024, at Samford University’s Wright Center in Birmingham.

She competed as Miss Hoover, beating 39 other contestants for the 2024 state title. 

Stockard will move on to represent Alabama at the Miss America competition. 

Stockard takes over the role of Miss Alabama from Brianna Burrell, Miss Alabama 2023. 

Burrell crowned her successor at the Wright Center on Saturday and Stockard was presented with a bouquet of roses. 

In late May and early June 2024, some social media users expressed outrage when they saw the winner of a "Miss" pageant in Alabama. 

A plus-size model, Sara Milliken won the top spot in an Alabama pageant and the internet had a meltdown. 

Some protested the fact that Sara Milliken's win promoted "unhealthy lifestyles." 

One asked whether a pageant would reward a "chain smoker" with the same prize. 

A third, also mentioning the Miss Maryland USA crown that went to a trans woman in June 2024, called out what they saw as "fake awards." 

After an interview she gave to Mobile, Alabama, TV station, WKRG, Milliken, the station and the reporter received an onslaught of attacks, including on a Facebook post that shared the report. "Embracing and cheering on obesity is insane to me…," a commenter wrote. "she's extremely unhealthy and this is a slap in the face to the young girls who have worked hard and maintained a diet to actually be a beauty queen.. This is an embarrassment to the state of Alabama." 

Milliken responded on her official Facebook page: 

The things that has been said about me is truly disgusting and I cannot fathom how people think it's ok to say these things. The easy thing would be to give up. I could hide my face. Stop posting on social media. Make no appearances. Stay low key until Nationals. I could even give in and give up my title. But instead I say WATCH ME. Watch me serve my community. Watch me give my all into preparing for nationals. Watch me find the shy girl in the room and learn her name. Watch me continue to pour positivity into social media. Watch me crush every goal I set. Watch me chase this dream. Watch me show every single hater why a plus size woman can and should be a titleholder. Stand back and watch me show everyone who doubts me wrong. You are more than your body and more importantly… you are more than the evil things people say about your body. I gave this dream up for 6 years because of the hurtful things someone said about me. Never, ever again. 

But as the uproar continued, it became clear that, intentionally or not, many commenters did not seem to make a distinction between different pageants in the U.S., each of which gives varying levels of importance to physical appearance, as opposed to skills and personality. 

The title of Miss Alabama comes with a $15,000 scholarship. The first runner-up receives $5,000; the second runner-up receives $3,000; the third runner-up gets $2,500; the fourth-runner up receives $2,000, all in scholarship money.

Sara Milliken

Abbie Stockard

The top 13 semifinalists this year were: 

Dominique Verville, Miss Cahaba Valley 

Imani Muse, Miss Birmingham 

Chloe Yates, Miss Phenix City 

Maddi Heath, Miss Jubilee 

Lauren Vance, Miss Covered Bridge 

Mikella Anderson, Miss Appalachian Valley 

Ibby Dickson, Miss Historic Springville 

Emma Terry, Miss Jefferson County 

Mary-Coker Green, Miss Auburn University 

Marissa Luna, Miss University of Alabama 

Abbie Stockard, Miss Hoover 

Emma Wright, Miss Tennessee Valley 

Hannah Adams, Miss Mobile Bay

THE TOP 5: 

Abbie Stockard, Miss Hoover (winner) 

Emma Terry, Miss Jefferson County (first runner-up) 

Maddi Heath, Miss Jubilee (second runner-up) 

Marissa Luna, Miss University of Alabama (third runner-up) 

Hannah Adams, Miss Mobile Bay (fourth runner-up)