Heather French Henry
French Henry in 2000
Second Lady of Kentucky
In role
October 27, 2000 – December 9, 2003
Lieutenant GovernorSteve Henry
Preceded byJudi Patton
Succeeded byRuth Ann Cox
Personal details
Born
Heather Renee French

(1974-12-29) December 29, 1974
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
(m. 2000)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of Cincinnati (BA, MDes)

Heather Renee French Henry (born December 29, 1974)[1] is a Miss America title holder, fashion designer, and veterans advocate. She is married to former Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry.[2]

Biography

Raised in Augusta, Kentucky, Heather French Henry graduated from the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning. She competed in pageants through her teens, including the Miss Ohio pageant. The vocalist competed in the Miss Kentucky Pageant four times before winning the state title on her fifth attempt in 1999. In September 1999, Heather won the Miss America pageant, the first Miss Kentucky to do so. She was the second native of Kentucky to win the Miss America title after Venus Ramey won in 1944, competing as Miss District of Columbia. Heather spent the year as Miss America 2000 promoting the scholarship pageant program and advocated her cause of support of American veterans.

Heather's platform for her reign was raising awareness of homeless veterans; her father was a wounded veteran of the Vietnam War. She received numerous awards for her work with veterans, including Kentuckian of the Year by Kentucky Monthly.[3]

On October 27, 2000, Heather married Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry, 21 years her senior, in Louisville.[4] The wedding led to controversy over state resources being expended as part of the wedding and planning. The Henrys repaid the state $3,200 for services related to their wedding rendered to them by state employees.[5] The couple have two daughters, Harper Renee (born 2001) and Taylor Augusta (born 2003).[6]

In October 2003, French Henry struck and subsequently killed Karola Stede, 44, a native of Germany and mother of four who was crossing against the traffic light in a Louisville intersection. French said that the accident deeply affected her, and she subsequently recounted her story in venues such as The Oprah Winfrey Show.[7]

In November 2007, she was named to Kentucky Governor-elect Steve Beshear's transition team.[8] On July 1, 2014, Beshear appointed Henry Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs.[9]

French Henry was the 2019 Democratic nominee for Secretary of State of Kentucky.[10] She lost the general election to Michael Adams.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kentucky Birth Index, 1911-1999". Ancestry.com. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
  2. ↑ Contributor, Tops Louisville. "There She Is". www.topslouisville.com. Retrieved 2018-10-13. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. ↑ "Miss America : 2000". Archived from the original on 2008-09-20.
  4. ↑ Ex-Miss America becomes Mrs. Steve Henry today
  5. ↑ Cheves, John (2009-12-23). "Plea agreement reached in Henry fund-raising case". Kentucky.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-17.
  6. ↑ "Louisville Wedding-Weddings in Louisville-Louisville-Kentucky". Archived from the original on 2008-12-04.
  7. ↑ "Heather French Henry relives pain on 'Oprah'". Cincinnati Enquirer. November 15, 2003. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Richmond Businessman Lee Murphy to Serve on Governor's Transition Team" (Press release). Richmond, Kentucky: Chapel Communications. November 16, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  9. ↑ "Veterans Affairs : KDVA Commissioner". Archived from the original on 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2014-08-25.
  10. ↑ WKYT: Heather French Henry wins Democratic nod for Secretary of State
  11. ↑ "Republican Michael Adams wins KY secretary of state race | Lexington Herald Leader". Archived from the original on 2019-11-06.
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