Miss USA contestant Mary Sickler is proudly embracing her alopecia on the runway!
The current Miss Nevada, 22, boldly competed in the 2025 Miss USA preliminary round on Wednesday, October 22, without her wig during the evening wear portion of the competition.
Sickler initially came out for the swimsuit round in a long brunette wig, while rocking a red two-piece, per footage posted online. But when it came to the evening gown portion of the preliminaries, held in Reno, Nevada, Sickler made a bold statement by covering her head with a bejeweled silver headpiece, which matched her shimmering silver gown.
“I cannot believe I just walked THE Miss USA stage!!” Sickler wrote on Instagram after Wednesday’s preliminaries.
She continued, “This dream has been so many years in the making, and to finally step into this moment feels surreal. I never imagined I would walk that stage in this way, but I always hoped I would do it with confidence, authenticity, and grace. I am so proud to have achieved that goal, especially by being the first woman to walk the Miss USA stage without hair.”
“What makes this even more special is knowing it isn’t just about me. I am the first woman with alopecia universalis to compete at Miss USA,” Sickler wrote. “I am living proof that no trial can stand in the way of your wildest dream.”
“Tonight, I walked with gratitude — for Nevada, for my sisters, and for every step that brought me here,” she concluded.
In the comments section, many of Sickler’s friends and followers praised her for embracing her natural look on stage.
“My Queen!! You add so much value to the world!!” wrote makeup artist Anna Cantu. “Thank you for trusting in me and all the hard work you have shown for the last 3 years !! You belong on a big stage!! You are already a ICON!! Love u so much.”
Another person wrote, “Literally brought tears to my eyes watching you live out your dream tonight, and in the most inspiring way! Your beauty was radiant! 🤍”
Sickler first opened up about her alopecia diagnosis in September. In an interview with People at the time, the pageant queen said she began losing her hair in December 2024. She was initially diagnosed with partial hair loss, before her doctor told her she had alopecia universalis, which causes complete hair loss.
“[The doctor] basically said, ‘I’ve tried everything I could,’ and that was like a dagger in my heart,” she said. “I remember coming home, and I looked in the mirror and I had never felt uglier. My hair was all in patches, my eyelashes were completely gone, I had no eyebrows, and I honestly couldn’t recognize myself anymore.”
After experimenting with wigs and regaining her confidence, in July, Sickler won the Miss Nevada competition and the right to compete in Miss USA.
“I lost all my hair, and I definitely didn’t think that I would be walking on the Miss USA stage without any hair, but I am,” the model said. “It took me a long time to finally be able to see myself as beautiful, and I think that’s the first step. I think if you see yourself as beautiful and you own it, then other people will too.”
