Asya Danielle Branch was crowned Miss Universe United States of America 2020 and earned the opportunity to represent USA at Miss Universe 2020. She succeeded Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst. Asya made history as she became the first African American woman to be crowned Miss Mississippi in 2018 but her list of accomplishments only increased as she became the first Mississippian to win Miss USA 2020.
Hailing from Booneville, Asya is 22 years old who attended Harvard University for summer school at the age of 17 and this experience transformed her life and allowed her to grow exponentially as an individual. After Asya was crowned Miss USA, the conversation quickly shifted from her historic win to backlash surrounding her connections to President Donald Trump. In 2018, Branch had attended a criminal justice reform roundtable meeting with President Trump. Since then, she has faced criticism for her political beliefs and her upbringing.
Asya now wishes to educate others about with her new platform which is centred on the criminal justice system. Her focus has always been on the lives of the inmates and their relationships with their families because so often children are abandoned by their parents when they are incarcerated.
Asya is also an entrepreneur who is a proud owner of a cosmetic line named ‘Branch Beauty’.