Danica McKellar Joins Celebrity Judging Panel for 2015 MISS AMERICAN Competition

The MISS AMERICA Organization, dick clark productions and ABC announced today that actress, New York Times bestselling author, mathematician and education advocate Danica McKellar will be a judge on the "2016 MISS AMERICA Competition."

She joins previously announced celebrity judges including country star Brett Eldredge, author and wife of the late U.S. Navy SEAL "American Sniper" Chris Kyle, Taya Kyle, entrepreneur and businessman of ABC's "Shark Tank," Kevin O'Leary, 2014 Paralympic SNOWBOARDING bronze medalist, Amy Purdy and television and recording star, Zendaya. TV personality Chris Harrison (ABC's "The Bachelor") will host alongside actress and entrepreneur Brooke Burke-Charvet, who returns as co-host. Nick Jonas will serve as the official music curator of the evening.The "2016 MISS AMERICA Competition" returns to Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 (9:00 - 11:00p.m./ET) on the ABC Television Network. The evening will be filled with glitz and glam as 52 women compete for the coveted crown and scholarship.

"The MISS AMERICA Organization shares my passion for the advancement of women in the STEM fields and celebrates smart, strong women- exactly aligning with the messages in my math books aimed at empowering young women," said Danica. "I am proud to be part of the show and an organization that is such a huge advocate for education."

Danica McKellar, best known as "Winnie Cooper" on The Wonder Years and from her roles in hit shows like The West Wing, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER and The Big Bang Theory, is also the New York Times bestselling author of Math Doesn't Suck, Kiss My Math, Hot X: Algebra Exposed, and Girls Get Curves: Geometry Takes Shape. She is breaking the stereotype of the "math nerd" with her highly entertaining and illuminating books, which teach tweens and teens how to master tough mathematical concepts, with the underlying theme that smart is sexy! She is an avid advocate of education, speaking before a subcommittee of Congress about the importance of women in math and science. Her mathematical research has been published in Britain's esteemed Journal of Physics, and has been featured on the front page of the Science section of The New York Times. In addition to her academic and acting talents, Danica is a gifted dancer, reaching the quarterfinals on Season 18 of Dancing with the Stars. Most recently, she starred in the romantic comedy Perfect Match and will appear this holiday season in the romantic TV movie, "Crown for Christmas." For the latest updates on Danica, including her next series of educational books, please visit her on Twitter @danicamckellar and Instagram @danicamckellar.

The final judge for the "2016 MISS AMERICA Competition" will be announced in the coming weeks.

Voting for America's Choice continues through September 10 at 11:59p.m. ET. For the first time in MISS AMERICA history, fans have the opportunity to cast their vote entirely on social media for America's Choice. The winner of America's Choice will move forward to the Top 15 in the competition. Fans can vote on both Facebook and Twitter by posting a status and/or tweet with the name of the state they are voting for and the hashtag #MissAmericaVote.

Tickets for "The 2016 MISS AMERICA Competition" are now on sale and can be purchased atticketmaster.com. For more information on "The 2016 MISS AMERICA Competition," please visit MISS AMERICA Organization's website at www.missamerica.org.

For the latest news, be sure to follow MISS AMERICA on social and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #MissAmerica.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/missamerica
Twitter: https://twitter.com/missamericaorg
Instagram: https://instagram.com/missamericaorg
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MissAmericaOrg
Tumblr: http://blog.missamerica.org/
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+missamerica/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/missamericaorg/
Join the Conversation: #MissAmerica

Executive Producers for the "2016 MISS AMERICA Competition" are Anthony Eaton, Sam Haskell and dick clark productions' Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan and Mark Bracco. Tall Pony Productions produces.

About The MISS AMERICA Organization
The MISS AMERICA Organization, a 501(c) 4 non-profit corporation, provides millions of dollars in annual college scholarship assistance making it the largest scholarship program for women in the United States. MAO is comprised of 52 licensed organizations, which includes all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. MAO contestants contribute tens of thousands of community service hours annually and have raised over $10 million for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and MISS AMERICA scholarships since 2007.

About dick clark productions
dick clark productions (dcp) is the world's largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the "Academy of Country Music Awards," "American Country Countdown Awards," "American Music Awards," "Billboard Music Awards," "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest," "Golden Globe Awards," "Hollywood Film Awards" and the "Streamy Awards." Weekly television programming includes "So You Think You Can Dance" from 19 Entertainment, a division of CORE Media Group and dcp; "World's Funniest" from Jukin Media and dcp; as well as "BOOM!" from Keshet DCP, the joint venture between Keshet International (KI), the global distribution and production arm of Keshet Media Group and DC Media, the parent company of dcp. dcp also owns one of the world's most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with more than 55 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.

Image: @danicamckellar

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