Davuluri , the first Indian American to win the Miss America pageant ( and the second Miss New York in a row ) , held the title of Miss America 2014 from September 15 , 2013 to September 14 , 2014 . In doing so , she followed in the footsteps of a previous Miss Syracuse/Miss New York , Vanessa Williams , who ( as Miss America 1984 ) was the first African American winner of the pageant . She is also the second Asian American contestant to be crowned Miss America ( the first was Filipino American Angela Perez Baraquio in 2001 ) . NPR 's Michael Martin commented on this aspect of her win by noting that " there were five Asian-Americans competing for the crown . That 's the highest number in pageant history . Three of you were in the top five . Two of you were the finalists , and this in a contest where initially the requirements were that contestants be of good health and of the white race . " Drawing on her background in Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam , Davuluri danced to the song " Dhoom Taana " from the film '' Om Shanti Om '' for her talent performance '' . '' Her routine , the first time Bollywood appeared on the Miss America stage , was developed in conjunction with Nakul Dev Mahajan as a fusion of Bollywood and Indian classical dance . After being crowned Miss America , she said that she was told that she was " never going to win with a Bollywood talent so just go back to singing if you are serious about winning . " During the final moments of the pageant , one of the hosts Lara Spencer , approached the only contestants left on the stage , Davuluri and Miss California Crystal Lee and asked them how they were " feeling . " Davuluri replied that both she and Lee were " so proud . We 're making history right here , standing here as Asian-Americans . " She later described that part of the pageant as " very surreal . " Shortly after she was crowned Miss America 2014 , Davuluri became the target of xenophobic and racist commentary in American social media . The news media compared this response to the backlash against Vanessa Williams after she became Miss America 1984 . Congresswoman Grace Meng additionally linked Davuluri 's experience to the antisemitism that Jewish American Bess Myerson faced as Miss America 1945 . Many of the comments demanded to know why Davuluri was chosen over the soldier , Miss Kansas Theresa Vail , misidentified her as Muslim or Arab ( equating both terms to the word " terrorist " ) , or associated her with groups such as Al-Qaeda . They also noted the pageant date relative to the September 11 anniversary , and generally expressed anti-Indian sentiments and anti-Arab sentiments . Davuluri later said that she was prepared for the social-media response because she faced a similar situation a few months earlier when she was crowned Miss New York
Miss America 1984
Miss America 1984
Nina Davuluri