Jacquelyn Joy Mercer (January 7, 1931 – February 2, 1982) was Miss America in 1949. Biography Mercer was born in Thatcher, Arizona. In 1949, she won the title of Miss America. She is mentioned (usually by title, once by name) several times in the 1997 Philip Roth novel, American Pastoral. She married and divorced her high school sweetheart, Douglas Cook, during her reign as Miss America. After this, a rule was enacted which requires Miss America contestants to sign a pledge vowing they have never been married or pregnant. While a student at the Arizona State College at Tempe, Mercer acted in a professional stage production of Hay Fever at the Sombrero Playhouse in Phoenix during February 1953, alongside Miriam Hopkins, Wilton Graff, and George Nader. On February 2, 1982, Mercer died in Los Angeles, California References External links Jacque Mercer profile from the Miss America Organization Arizona Archives Online 1931 births 1982 deaths People from Thatcher, Arizona Miss America 1940s delegates Miss America winners Miss America Preliminary Talent winners Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners People from Litchfield Park, Arizona 20th-century American people