68 years ago, Miss America refused to take swimsuit photos. Now her daughter is judging Miss Alabama

Updated Jun 6, 7:14 PM; Posted Jun 6, 1:34 PM

Dolly Fox, second from left, with Nan Teninbaum, president of Miss Alabama, Debra Talley, state field director of Miss Alabama, and Heather Whitestone McCallum, former Miss Alabama 1994 and Miss America 1995.

By Abbey Crain | acrain@al.com

Dolly Fox came home this week.

Fox, daughter of Yolande Betbeze Fox, a Mobile-native and the first Miss Alabama to be crowned Miss America in 1951, is in Birmingham to judge this year’s Miss Alabama.

“It’s really bittersweet--it’s wonderful,” Fox said. “I wish my mother was here to share it with me. I kind of feel her presence and it’s just, I’m just really honored to be here, and thrilled to be doing something my mother did.”

This year is the first year Miss Alabama will not have a swimsuit competition. The Miss America pageant ended it last year. Betbeze Fox famously declined to make appearances in a swimsuit during her reign as Miss America in 1951.

“I'm an opera singer, not a pinup,” Betbeze Fox said according to the New York Times.

Fox said her mother evolved with the times, and would never have been considered “old-fashioned.” She said Betbeze Fox would have welcomed the competition change, but she would have made it into a business opportunity.

“She would say well they’re missing a huge opportunity,” Fox said. “They can be a class act and not show all the skin, but they should do a partnership with a fitness brand to show the athleticism of the competitors.”

Fox is no stranger to Alabama. She grew up visiting her grandmother in Point Clear at least once a year and came back several times to star in theater productions at what is now Red Mountain Theater Company in Birmingham.

Fox and her mother lived all around the country and abroad, with stints in Paris and Los Angeles. Fox skipped following in her mother’s footsteps with the pageant route, but held her own in modeling and theater. She is also the mother of Yolande “Paris” Campbell.

She now lives in New York City, but returned to Point Clear in January to bring back her mother's ashes. Betzbeze Fox passed away in 2016.

Today Fox is a business woman and mentor for young people looking to get into theater. She also serves on the board of a non-profit benefiting foster children in New York.

“Youths today are our future and unless we help them we are doomed,” Fox said.

Fox said she feels the same about the young women competing this week for the title of Miss Alabama, and is inspired by their dedication to social initiatives.

“I’m really excited to [be a judge,]” Fox said. “My mother judged in 2000. I’m excited to have been asked and that they feel I am worthy to do this.”

Preliminaries for the competition last until Friday. The winner will be crowned Saturday, June 8, at 7 p.m. at the Wright Center.

https://www.al.com/news/2019/06/68-years-ago-miss-america-refused-to-take-photos-in-a-swimsuit-now-her-daughter-is-judging-miss-alabama.html