As Miss Iowa, Abbey Curran, 20, competed in the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas April 11, making her "the first person born with a disability to compete in a Miss USA contest," according to CBS' "The Early Show." Access Hollywood also did a report about her, with a syrupy headline "Miss USA Miracle!" (Miss Texas Crystle Stewart won the pageant.)
Born with cerebral palsy that affects her balance while walking, Curran "was told as a child she would never walk without holding onto something," according to CBS.
Curran is a sophomore at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, with a full course load, and she also takes piano and flying lessons. Curran says she is enjoying learning how to pilot a plane.
"It's a blast; it's fun," Curran told CBS. "I can't run that well so to be in a plane that just soars through the skies, it's amazing."
Curran has placed in more than five pageants and developed a non-profit pageant for young girls and women with special needs and challenges, according to a St. Ambrose release. The Miss You Can Do It Pageant has been held for five years, and Curran would like to take the pageant national at some point.
