Meet Annette Addo-Yobo, the first Miss Texas to be born outside of the country.

Making history, Annette Addo-Yobo of North Texas was crowned Miss Texas 2024. The Charles W. Eisemann Centre for Performing Arts in Richardson hosted the esteemed beauty contest on Saturday night.

Addo-Yobo’s triumph is significant since it makes her the first Miss Texas winner to be born outside of Ghana and the first immigrant. She defeated fierce opposition while running for Miss Southlake to win this title.

Addo-Yobo, who was born and reared in Ghana and Canada, attended the University of Texas at Dallas to further her studies. In 2020, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

She described the difficulties she encountered as a result of her citizenship status in a moving post on the “Miss Southlake” account, which prevented her from taking advantage of numerous chances while she was a teenager and a college student. She did not obtain her U.S. citizenship until 2022.

In an Instagram message, Addo-Yobo expressed her appreciation for being the 87th Miss Texas, writing that she is “humbled, honored, and grateful” and that she is looking forward to “continuing to make history with the Texas community and the Miss Texas class.” She will get a $20,000 scholarship and the chance to represent Texas in the Miss America pageant after winning the Miss Texas 2024 pageant.

Addo-Yobo, who won the title of Miss Dallas in 2023 before, used the talent competition of the pageant to raise awareness of autism. Her commitment to this cause was highlighted by her spoken word performance. She has been deeply involved in this since her younger brother Andrew was identified as having autism at the age of four.

“I want to put autism safety, awareness, and education at the forefront of our legislative and programming efforts. As an immigrant to our nation, my younger brother Andrew faced a significant learning curve, Addo-Yobo remarked.

Addo-Yobo’s resolve to use her platform, The SPARK Project, to confront the systemic injustices experienced by people with autism has only grown stronger as a result of her pageant victory. “Being the sister of someone with autism, I became aware of the systematic injustices and inadequate education and training at a young age. In her Instagram post, she stated, “It is my duty to elevate the voices of the autistic community and make sure that lawmakers, policymakers, and people of the community recognize us and fight for us.

Her social media presence as Miss Southlake showcases some of her prior accomplishments, such as her March efforts to raise awareness of autism on Capitol Hill as the lone volunteer advocate for Autism Speaks.

The final winners of the 2024 Miss Texas competition are as follows:

– Miss Texas: Miss Southlake, Annette Addo-Yobo
– 1st Runner-Up: Miss Space City, Chloe Burke
– 2nd Runner-Up: Miss Southeast Texas, Anyssa Mujica
– 3rd Runner-Up: Miss Plano, Sadie Schiermeyer
– 4th Runner-Up: Miss Burleson, Nicole Wingard