Miss Nevada with alopecia ditches wig in Miss USA preliminary round

RENO, NEVADA: Miss Nevada USA Mary Sickler is gaining national attention for competing in the Miss USA pageant while living openly with alopecia universalis.

On Wednesday, October 22, during the preliminary round, she made a bold statement by forgoing her wig and instead sporting a bold, bejeweled headscarf.

Mary Sickler's shining silver headscarf becomes a stand-out moment 

Mary Sickler, 22, inspired the crowd in Reno by confidently embracing her appearance without hair. Her shining silver headscarf was complemented by a heavily beaded silver evening gown with an impressive train.

This bold move celebrated her identity as she walked past Mona Lesa Brackett (Miss New Hampshire), who wore a hijab, creating a powerful moment of diverse beauty on the pageant stage.

Notably, the Miss USA crown winner will be announced on Friday, October 24.

Mary Sickler opens up about alopecia diagnosis

Mary Sickler’s life changed drastically after being diagnosed with alopecia in early December 2024. The condition progressed from a few patches to complete hair loss, deeply affecting the pageant veteran and model.

Explaining the emotional toll in her interview with PEOPLE, 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 totally gone, I had no eyebrows, and I honestly couldn't recognize myself anymore."

Sickler said she felt that her entire career had been taken away by alopecia, noting that her last shoot was for a Louis Vuitton campaign. "At that time, I thought, 'Well, how can a model have no hair? How can anyone view her as beautiful without it?'"

Fear of losing her career led her to step away from modeling without much explanation, which ultimately resulted in her contract being canceled. For a while, she also hid her alopecia from many of her loved ones.

Mary Sickler breaks barriers as first contestant with alopecia

Even after losing confidence, Mary Sickler chose to return to pageantry. She was the first runner-up at Miss Texas USA in May 2025. In July, she competed for the Miss Nevada USA 2025 title and won, qualifying her for the national contest.

Although driven to make it to the Miss USA pageant, she wasn’t yet ready to publicly discuss her alopecia. Her hesitation wasn’t rooted in fear but in wanting to control her own story. "I knew if I talked about it in the interview room, I would cry, and that wasn't the message that I wanted to send," she told PEOPLE. "I wanted to send that I was strong, so I decided not to tell anyone."

Sickler is the first woman with a publicly disclosed alopecia diagnosis to win the Miss Nevada USA crown and compete at Miss USA.

Reflecting on her journey, she said, "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."