Mary Sickler makes a striking statement on the Miss USA 2025 preliminary round as the first contestant with alopecia to compete without a wig.

23 October 2025

Reza Venegas

At just 22 years old, Mary Sickler, the outgoing Miss Nevada USA 2025, illuminated the competition on October 22 in Reno, confidently shedding her wig and revealing her bald embrace of life with Alopecia Universalis. Diagnosed in December 2024, Sickler faced a rapid onset of complete hair loss that stripped away not only her physical identity, but also the promise of a flourishing modeling career. She recalled the moment she looked in the mirror and did not recognize the reflection confronting her: her eyebrows gone, eyelashes vanished, and patches of hair all over missing.

The journey for Sickler had been arduous. A young entrant into pageantry from the age of ten, she had navigated modeling campaigns and early successes until the diagnosis forced her into the shadows. She withdrew from modeling, expecting her contracts to evaporate, and initially kept her condition hidden from friends and industry until stepping back into the pageant world with renewed resolve. When she returned to competition as Miss Texas USA first runner-up in May 2025 and later as Miss Nevada USA, the public disclosure of her condition finally arrived a month before the national competition via social media videos.

On the preliminary evening of Miss USA she embraced her truth in full view. Sickler entered the swimsuit round in a brunette wig, the familiar façade of pageant tradition, yet when it came to the evening-wear segment she walked the stage with no wig at all. Instead she wore a silver bejeweled headpiece that framed her bald head, paired with a shimmering silver gown that hugged the stage lights and the audience’s attention. The effect was magnetic. The moment underscored a broader narrative about redefining beauty and seeing beyond traditional expectations within the pageant world and beyond. She shared, “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.”

For Sickler the act was not merely performative but deeply personal. In the lead-up she admitted that at first she believed her value as a model, as a pageant contender, depended entirely on her hair. Once it vanished, she said she felt as though her entire brand was stripped away. But in reconciling her condition with her ambition she found a new strength. She told interviewers that the hardest part was re-seeing herself as beautiful and owning it so that others would too. “If you see yourself as beautiful and you own it, then other people will too,” she said.

Sickler stands as the first contestant with a public diagnosis of alopecia to compete for the Miss USA crown, an achievement in itself. The decision to discard the wig in that moment touched far beyond the stage lights; it challenged the idea that women must adhere to conventional hair-based aesthetics to deserve visibility or success. It sent a message that vulnerability and authenticity can be as powerful as any sash or crown.

The ripple of her moment was felt immediately. Media outlets framed it as bold, historic, and resonant with anyone who has felt compelled to hide or alter a part of themselves to fit into an established mold. One article described it simply as a “powerful statement” from someone stepping fully into their truth.

Behind the public moment lies a story of resilience. Diagnosed just under a year ago, Sickler weathered loss of career, identity, and confidence. She endured the anxiety of losing her hair and not knowing how the world of modeling and pageantry would respond. She did not publicly reveal her condition until she felt ready to carry the narrative. This autumn evening in Nevada marked not the end of her story but a pivot a turning point where the competition stage became a platform for something more than a title; it became a platform for acceptance, for changing the definition of beauty.

As the Miss USA finals approach on October 24, viewers will see Sickler go beyond the gown and pizazz. They will see someone who has transformed her challenge into a statement of strength. The national spotlight may crown one winner, but for Sickler the stage has already offered a different kind of triumph: embracing who she is and showing others that beauty shines in unexpected ways.