Sophia Wootten Wins Miss Georgia After 20 Surgeries Taught Her to Sing

Sophia Wootten walked into the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in Columbus on Saturday as Miss Northwest Georgia and walked out as Miss Georgia 2026. The 21-year-old from Peachtree City, an undergraduate at the University of Georgia studying communication sciences and disorders, took the crown after four days of competition that put 98 contestants on the Miss Georgia stage.

Behind the sash is a less visible story: Wootten was born with a cleft lip and palate, underwent 20 surgeries before her 20th birthday, and built her singing voice through speech therapy that began at age 5. She left Columbus with $25,300 in scholarships and a year-long platform that includes federal cleft policy advocacy through the global nonprofit SmileTrain. The 81st annual Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition began June 17 and ran through Saturday’s finals at the uptown Columbus venue. Wootten will represent Georgia at the 2027 Miss America competition this September in Florida.

A Crown Earned Across 20 Surgeries

Wootten told the Ledger-Enquirer the moment her name was called felt unreal. “I was so flustered that my name was called. I was excited. I did not even know what to say. I was speechless, and I still feel a little bit speechless. I’m on cloud nine,” she said. The interview, republished by Georgia Public Broadcasting, ran the day after the crowning.

She learned to sing in the same rooms where she learned to speak. Voice lessons began at 5 to address the speech impediment her cleft had caused, and she has not stopped since. Singing, she said, became her speech therapy. The Miss Georgia talent portion put her voice on stage at the RiverCenter; the rest of the week put her in a dressing room with 97 other women she now calls best friends. “There were nights where we were staying up, talking until 3 a.m., even if we had a hair-and-makeup call at 6 a.m. the next morning,” she said.

• $25,300 in personal scholarships over the four-day competition
• $85,000+ in total scholarships distributed across the field
• 2026 Kia Sorento awarded at Kia Autosport on Whittlesey Boulevard in Columbus
• 81st annual Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition
• June 17 to June 20 competition window at the RiverCenter

What the Pageant Cost 98 Women to Build

“This week, 98 women hit the Miss Georgia stage, and 98 women were not competing against each other,” Wootten said. The Miss Georgia Scholarship Organization confirmed 98 contestants in the Miss division and 47 more competing for the Miss Georgia’s Teen title that Melony Tidmore won.

Wootten stood at the moment of crowning holding hands with Aleks Arwood, a friend and fellow contestant. She said she felt peace before the announcement, however it landed. The four-phase competition includes talent, interview, evening gown, and an on-stage question.

WSB-TV reported on the scholarship breakdown: runner-ups earned $1,000 to $6,500, with semifinalists collecting $500. Over $85,000 in scholarships was distributed across the field. Wootten’s personal haul was $25,300 in scholarships over the four days, plus a 2026 Kia Sorento handed over at Kia Autosport on Whittlesey Boulevard. Tidmore, the new Miss Georgia’s Teen, took a $5,000 scholarship and a place at Miss America’s Teen in Florida.

The 81st Miss Georgia competition is the feeder into the national Miss America system. Miss Georgia contestants must win a local preliminary before the state finals. WTVM reported the 81st annual competition opened June 17 at the RiverCenter. Wootten arrived as Miss Northwest Georgia, her local title. She leaves as the state titleholder and the 2026 face of the pageant.

From a Cleft Palate to a Communications Sciences Classroom

Wootten majors in communication sciences and disorders at UGA, a major that sits between speech-language pathology and audiology. Her high school, Trinity Christian School in Sharpsburg, said she is one of only two students in a 100-person cohort pursuing an audiology path. The school said she entered UGA as a sophomore in 2023 after earning dual enrollment credits. She graduated from Trinity Christian in 2023.

Her graduate plan is a Doctor of Audiology degree at Auburn University, a four-year program with a clinical residency. The choice points back to her own hearing aids and the audiologists who fitted them. The high school reported Wootten underwent a major reconstructive procedure in 2019 and came back to perform in “High School Musical” three weeks after jaw surgery during her freshman year.

Wootten has worn hearing aids most of her life and recently switched to wearing two pink sparkly ones. The Miss Georgia 2016, attending her 10-year anniversary, brought her daughter, who also wears two hearing aids, to meet Wootten within five minutes of the crowning. Wootten said the moment was surreal. Trinity Christian reported she served as Student Council president and delivered her graduation speech. UGA student government also selected her, the only non-pre-law student in her cohort.

The Platform Behind the Pageant

Wootten’s service initiative is AccessAbility: Disability Advocacy in Education, which helps students with disabilities secure classroom accommodations. The Ledger-Enquirer reported Wootten, who wears two pink sparkly hearing aids, designed the initiative around her own experience. The high school confirmed she has advocated at UGA for accessibility improvements in online learning. The initiative is now a registered 501(c)(3). Wootten told the Ledger-Enquirer she chose pageantry to remove the barriers people told her she could not cross. “Pageantry took away all of those barriers for me,” she said.

Trinity Christian School reported SmileTrain, the international cleft nonprofit, recently added Wootten as a SmileTrain Youth Advocate. The role has her supporting the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act, or ELSA Act, which would expand insurance coverage for cleft and craniofacial procedures. Wootten told the school the ELSA Act would “help with more insurance coverage for cleft/craniofacial procedures and help to eliminate the gray area that we currently have where surgery is deemed cosmetic instead of necessary.” An ELSA Act Advocacy Day was scheduled for the 21st, the same week she was being crowned.

What Wootten Says the Crown Means

In her Sunday interview with the Ledger-Enquirer, Wootten described her younger self as “so scared to speak in public” and “so scared to even wear my hearing aids in public.” The Miss Georgia stage, she said, gave her hearing aid malfunctions and a victory in the same week. The crown, she said, lets her hand a different mirror to children who look like she did.

Wootten comes from a blended family of half-siblings and a wide network of in-laws, partners, and cousins, all of whom she said were weeping at the crowning. She credited her family with carrying her through the hardest moments. Outside of pageantry, Wootten bedazzled the Lover bodysuit from Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour with 77,000 rhinestones after one surgery. She is a self-described crafter, baker, and theatergoer.

Wootten also pointed to a contestant who has become a close friend and to a community of 98 women she now calls best friends. The interview framed the crown not as a finish line but as the first week of a year of service.

The Miss Georgia year runs from June to June and ends with a successor at the next finals. Wootten’s platform will travel with her to Florida in September for Miss America 2027. The Kia Sorento will travel with her through the year as a working vehicle. The audiology doctorate will wait until she finishes her reign. For now, Wootten said she is on cloud nine.

It means that no label defines me. It’s so important that children can see somebody that looks like them, somebody that has the same experience as them, or maybe a child doesn’t have a cleft, doesn’t have hearing aids or 20 surgeries, but they can see me in the face of opportunity and the power of change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Miss Georgia 2026?

Sophia Wootten, Miss Northwest Georgia, was crowned Miss Georgia 2026 on June 20 at the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in Columbus, Georgia. She will represent the state at the 2027 Miss America competition.

What is Sophia Wootten’s service initiative?

AccessAbility: Disability Advocacy in Education helps students with disabilities gain accommodations and confidence in the classroom. The initiative is now a registered 501(c)(3) and is her official Miss Georgia platform.

What is the ELSA Act?

The Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act is federal legislation that would require insurance coverage for cleft and craniofacial procedures currently classified as cosmetic. Wootten is advocating for the bill through her SmileTrain Youth Advocate role.

Who is Sophia Wootten’s SmileTrain affiliation with?

SmileTrain is an international nonprofit that funds cleft lip and palate surgeries in low- and middle-income countries. Wootten joined the organization as a SmileTrain Youth Advocate in the spring of 2026.

When is the next Miss America competition?

The 2027 Miss America competition will be held in Florida in September 2026. Wootten will compete for Georgia; Melony Tidmore will compete for Georgia at Miss America’s Teen in the same Florida window.