Crowning moments: Tulsa's Olivia Jordan talks about her year as Miss USA
Posted: Sunday, June 5, 2016 12:00 am | Updated: 12:57 am, Sun Jun 5, 2016.
Tulsa’s Olivia Jordan will wrap up her reign as Miss USA when she passes the crown to a successor at the 2016 Miss USA Pageant, which will be broadcast from 6-9 p.m. Sunday on Fox.
The daughter of Jill Thomas and former University of Tulsa football player Bob Thomas, Jordan is a 2007 graduate of Bishop Kelley High School.
Schoolmates knew her as Olivia Thomas, but she changed her name to Olivia Jordan because she wanted to pursue an acting career and there was already an Olivia Thomas in the Screen Actors Guild.
Jordan is the first Miss Oklahoma USA to serve as Miss USA. Her year as Miss USA included a wild moment on stage at the Miss Universe Pageant, when host Steve Harvey misidentified the winner. Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez was initially announced as Miss Universe before the crown was relayed to the “real” winner, Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.
What does Jordan want to say about that night? Who was she excited to meet during her reign? What’s next for her?
She addressed those questions and more during a telephone conversation while in Las Vegas, site of the Miss USA Pageant.
Did your year as Miss USA feel like a year or did it go by quickly?
It’s funny because, looking back, I feel in a lot of ways that was a different person that won the title just because I have had so many incredible life experiences. But on the other end, it has flown by. It has been the fastest year of my life.
What do you want to say about the Miss Universe slip-up?
You know, I think that everyone makes mistakes and that was a raw human moment where Steve Harvey made a mistake. I think in hindsight we have all seen that everyone has made the most out of it that was involved.
Steve had his T-Mobile commercial out of it. He laughed with everyone, instead of feeling like he was laughed at or that it was unforgiveable.
And then Pia, Miss Universe, has really just stepped up and been an incredible Miss Universe and what a bizarre moment for her to go through. Then Ari, the woman I think affected most of all, who had a moment and then it was taken away from her, I think she has been the most impressive because she has catapulted her career. She has turned it into opportunities. She just did a movie with Vin Diesel. She is taking the world by storm.
I think it sent a powerful message to women and, especially, these young girls that are competing. You get really set on this goal and what you can get out of it and what you can do for it. I think that Ari is a really good example that it’s not exactly about the goal. That is part of it, but if you are chasing your dreams, if you are working hard, if your mission is to inspire others and also make the most out of your life that you can and take the opportunities that come to you, I think Ari is an amazing example of that. She didn’t ultimately get to walk away with the crown, but she has turned it into great opportunities. So it has been a joy to sort of watch all that unfold for all three of them.
It was a great chance to show how to handle adversity and move forward.
I still am so impressed. That clip, people will tag me in that clip even now. She really stayed calm. I just feel like she showcased her maturity and strength in that moment because, what a horrific moment that no one wants to go through. You are given your ultimate dream and then you have it taken away in front of millions of viewers. It’s just a crazy thing that you wouldn’t wish on anyone, but she really has been so gracious. Immediately after, her comment was “it wasn’t my destiny” and just to have that grace and confidence, I was just so impressed by how she responded.
You were second-runner up at Miss Universe, which means you were next in line behind them. How do you think you would have handled being in Gutierrez’s situation?
I don’t know. It’s so hard, still, to put myself in that position. I’m glad I wasn’t in that position because Miss USA every year goes on to live with Miss Universe, whoever Miss Universe may be. I think it would have been really difficult to be crowned and have it taken away and then, day in and day out, see the opportunities that Miss Universe is offered, and I think that it would have been hard for Pia, Miss Universe, and I to have connected as much as we did. She has become one of my very good friends, and she has been an incredible roommate and I look up to her in so many ways and I think we are sort of a good balance for each other and inspire each other, and I think that would have been a more difficult place to get to if it was coming from a negative. “That was almost mine.” But, thankfully, I didn’t have to go through that.
Miss USA is probably not supposed to be starstruck, but who were you most jazzed to meet?
I was by far the most starstruck by Oprah. I really wanted to be calm, cool and collected with anyone I met this year. Most people, I am. I have an understanding that this is just a person who has pursued their dreams and made things come true, but, at the end of the day, it’s another human being and I really don’t get starstruck.
And when I met Oprah, I couldn’t find words. I started crying. It was very emotional. But I watched her show growing up. I still watch the OWN Network. She does great pieces now. I listened to her meditation every single morning the whole (Miss USA) competition. She does these 21-day meditations, and I listened to it leading up to Miss USA. I listened to the 21st one on my last day of Miss USA and then won the crown and really felt like she was a part of me staying grounded and true to myself during that whole process. Then actually meeting her as Miss USA, feeling like I owed her a thank you for helping me get here, I was very starstruck.
You attended your first Super Bowl?
Yes, my first Super Bowl! I have always wanted to go to the Super Bowl. I think, everyone growing up in America, you want to go to the Super Bowl. I was actually really excited because I was like, “This is great, I’m going to knock this off my life to-do list. I don’t have to worry about getting tickets in the future.” But I had so much fun. Now I want to go every year. It’s the most fun weekend. There is just such a great energy in the air. It’s great competition. It was a great game. And then, of course, to see Coldplay and Beyonce perform, it was a really fun day.
You lived in New York during your year as Miss USA, and you posted on Twitter you weren’t ready to pack up and go.
I am so not ready. I really do believe that everyone should go live in New York at one point in their life. I have always wanted to live there. Growing up, my cousin went to school at Columbia. My other cousin lived there for a point of time, so I would visit and it just was like this fascinating place where everything is happening and you have everything at your fingertips — the best food and entertainment. It’s all within walking distance.
It’s an amazing place and there are people from all over the world that aspire to be there and end up going there and hustling to make their dreams come true. There’s just a great energy about it, so I loved being there for a year of my life.
I did have to pack up my stuff inevitably, but I hope to go back. I hope that’s not the end of my New York journey. I have lived in a few places in my life and, most places, I have been ready for the next step. Like Boston University, I had such an amazing experience, but I was ready to try a new city and have a new experience. But New York, I wasn’t ready yet.
What’s next?
I have a very busy summer ahead. I’m going to actually go on a speaking tour with Senior Star, my dad’s company, and I’m going to advocate for women. I’m going to be talking about the Alzheimer’s Association. I’m going to be empowering women to speak up on health-care reform. It’s going to be an interesting tour, so that’s my next step after this and then Swim Week (fashion week for swimwear brands) is coming up in Miami in July and then I’ll eventually go back to Los Angeles. I have lived there before, and it is time for me to buckle back down and chase the next dream, which is to be the lead on a sitcom.
Did you squeeze in an audition during your year as Miss USA?
The last couple of months I have been sort of transitioning out of the role. It’s a crazy transition because, overnight, your life changes. You move to New York. You are Miss USA. You are immediately thrown into this media tour. But on the other end, it’s also a crazy transition because you have been so accustomed to this life where your life is scheduled for you and, for better or worse, you know what you are doing tomorrow. And your rent is paid for and you don’t see bills.
It’s this very luxurious life, but it only lasts a year and then reality hits, and I have to figure out what’s next, so they, very graciously, the past couple of months, let me go to a few auditions. I actually was very close. I was even under contract for a show that ended up not working out, but it was encouraging that my dreams aren’t that far away. It’s just a matter of finding the right role and the timing — the right timing.
The contacts you made as Miss USA were probably invaluable.
Absolutely. Everything from this year, the biggest part of this year was honestly the people I have met along the way. I have been so inspired by the people I have met. I have to say I met a lot of world-changers. I have met people that have their own production companies or are actors or models or very successful doctors and lawyers. It was incredible to be in New York, and it was incredible to be exposed to people that are really successful and it inspired me to just always want to keep reaching for the next goal and always be learning and growing and believing that there are bigger and better things out there. You always want to be grateful and appreciative along the way but always keep aiming higher.
Two Oklahoma contestants — Miss Oklahoma USA Taylor Gorton of Glenpool and Miss 52 Alexandra Miller of Oklahoma City — are in the 2016 Miss USA Pageant. Is it OK for you to secretly or outwardly root for an Oklahoman to be your successor?
You know, I haven’t been very secret that I know several of the women competing. Miss California (Nadia Mejia), she was in one of the first pageants I ever competed in. She was Miss Beverly Hills Teen when I was Miss Beverly Hills, so we were crowned on that same night.
Miss Florida (Brie Gabrielle) this year, she and I were in the top three at Miss California USA. It’s kind of crazy how lives have intersected.
And then Taylor Gorton and Alex Miller, who won a social media vote to be Miss 52, they are both Oklahoma girls. I competed with both of them at Miss Oklahoma USA when I won, and I love these girls. I respect them. I know what fierce competitors they are because I had to compete against them, and I very thankfully I am not a judge. I don’t have a say in who wins because I don’t know how they make the decision. It’s so difficult.
But, absolutely, I support my friends and love my friends. Ultimately, I hope the girl that is ready for the job and is the best candidate wins. Who’s to say who that is at this point? But who wouldn’t love to see another Okie take the crown?
http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/features/crowning-moments-tulsa-s-olivia-jordan-talks-about-her-year/article_32067286-3f87-5be1-bd7e-7c9fb39d5fc4.html
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