0:51
- culture
- October 29, 2020
Leanza Cornett, former Miss America, dies at 49
The Miss America Organization confirmed the beauty queen's passing.
The organization declined to reveal her cause of death, writing, \"At the moment, we do not have any further information regarding a service for Leanza and we ask that you please respect her family during this difficult time.\"
Cornett's ex-husband Mark Steines, who shared sons Kai, 18, and Avery, 16, with her, took to Instagram to honor his late wife, vowing, \"We will always remember the wonderful times shared during her short time here on earth. I find comfort knowing Kai and Avery will forever have the best guardian angel watching over them as they navigate life's path.\"
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Mark Steines (@marksteines) on Oct 28, 2020 at 5:16pm PDT
Cornett went on to play the first live-action Ariel in \"The Little Mermaid\" stage production at Walt Disney World, and had cameos in shows such as \"Weeds\" and \"Saved by the Bell: The New Class.\"
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/miss-america-winner-leanza-cornett-dies-49/story?id=73902477","legacySlug":"/culture/story/miss-america-winner-leanza-cornett-dies-49-73902477","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"16:08","publishDate":"10-29-2020","updatedTime":"16:48","updatedDate":"11-03-2020","socialImage":{"alt":"In this Dec. 1, 1992, file photo, Leanza Cornett is crowned Miss America 1993.","credit":"John Barrett/ZUMA Press via Newscom, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/leanza-cornett-nc-jt-201103_1604420388302_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"10/29/2020 16:08:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":73902477,"headline":"Leanza Cornett, former Miss America, dies at 49","mediaAssetTitle":"LEANZA CORNETT DIES","description":"The Miss America Organization confirmed the beauty queen's passing.","duration":"0:51","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/04/260416_abcn_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["72075500","73783471","73898610"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"May 5, 2021","headline":"Meghan wins final copyright claim in tabloid lawsuit over letter to her estranged dad","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/duchess-meghan-embroiled-tabloid-lawsuit-72075500","id":72075500,"image":{"alt":"Meghan wins final copyright claim in tabloid lawsuit over letter to her estranged dad","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/meghan-04-as-gty-200730_1596127104630_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"October 27, 2020","headline":"'GMA' Book Club November pick: Read 'Memorial' by Bryan Washington","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/memorial-bryan-washington-gma-november-2020-book-club-73783471","id":73783471,"image":{"alt":"'GMA' Book Club November pick: Read 'Memorial' by Bryan Washington","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/GMABOOKCLUB_102220_V01_BV_1603383435794_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABC News Photo Illustration","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"October 29, 2020","headline":"Jamie Lynn Spears talks life in quarantine, her sister Britney and 'Zoey 101'","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/jamie-lynn-spears-talks-life-quarantine-daughters-sister-73898610","id":73898610,"image":{"alt":"Jamie Lynn Spears talks life in quarantine, her sister Britney and 'Zoey 101'","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/spears-1a-abc-ps-201029_1603977294107_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABC News","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Leanza Cornett, former Miss America, dies at 49","description":"The Miss America Organization confirmed the beauty queen's passing.","duration":"0:51","uploadDate":"10-29-2020","publication":"10-29-2020","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/04/260416_abcn_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2026/04/260416_abcn_headlines_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/miss-america-winner-leanza-cornett-dies-49-73902477"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Leanza Cornett, former Miss America, dies at 49","pubTime":"12:08","pubDate":"10-29-2020","modTime":"11:48","modDate":"11-03-2020","taxonomyTags":"none","id":73902477,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Leanza Cornett, former Miss America, dies at 49","mediaAssetTitle":"LEANZA CORNETT DIES","videoId":73902477,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/miss-america-winner-leanza-cornett-dies-49-73902477"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/73902477","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/73902477","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};