Personal Information for Bess Myerson




	Personal Information for Bess Myerson Born: July 15, 1924 Occupations: Government Employees, Journalists, Public Officers Subjects: Journalism, Political Science Biographical Information: A pioneer in both beauty pageants and social and political awareness, Bess Myerson was born in the Bronx on July 15, 1924. She grew up during the Depression, living with her family in the Sholom Aleichem Cooperative, which housed 250 Jewish families. Myerson attended the High School of Music and Art, where she studied piano and flute. In 1945, she graduated from Hunter College with a degree in music. She had always dreamed of being a conductor, but that was not seen as a woman's job. Her sister Sylvia entered Myerson's photograph in the Miss New York City contest, which she won. Myerson then decided to pursue the ultimate beauty pageant crown: Miss America. When she won, she became the first Jewish Miss America—the only one, to date, up to 2002. As Miss America, Myerson faced open anti-Semitism. She was told to hide her ethnicity by changing her name, which she adamantly refused to do. Judges were warned not to vote for the Jewish contestant. Myerson was also denied admission into a country club because of her religion. Three out of five sponsors of the pageant withdrew their support when she was crowned. Because of all the hatred in her experience, Myerson began to work for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), speaking out against hate in school and halls across the country. She married Allan Wayne and gave birth to a daughter, Barbara. They later divorced. Later, she married Arnold Grant and he adopted her daughter. During this time, Myerson became very active politically. She was the commissioner of Consumer Affairs under Mayor Lindsay. She heightened consumer protection awareness by using the media wisely. In 1979, she wrote The Complete Consumer and in 1982, helped write The I Love New York Diet, with Bill Adler. Myerson became the campaign chair for Ed Koch in 1977. She lost the Democratic nomination for Senate, but was the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs from 1983-1987. (Source: Leora Botnick) Related Collections (2) Related Resources (1) Related Collections American Jewish Women of Achievement Oral History Collection National Conference on Soviet Jewry, Women's Plea Related Resources Oral Histories American Jewish Women of Achievement Oral History Collection - Bess Myerson How to Cite This Page For a bibliography: Jewish Women's Archive. "Personal Information for Bess Myerson." <http://jwa.org/archive/jsp/perInfo.jsp?personID=891>. For a footnote: Jewish Women's Archive, "Personal Information for Bess Myerson," <http://jwa.org/archive/jsp/perInfo.jsp?personID=891>.