year-old Arab American beat out 50 other women to take the 2010 Miss USA title Sunday night, despite nearly stumbling in her evening gown. Rima Fakih of Dearborn, Michigan, won the pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip after strutting confidently wearing a strapless white gown that resembled a wedding dress and saying health insurance should cover birth control pills. When asked how she felt about winning the crown, she said, “Ask me after I've had a pizza.” Fakih, a Lebanese immigrant, told pageant organizers her family celebrates both Muslim and Christian faiths. She moved to the United States as a baby and was raised in New York, where she attended a Catholic school. Her family moved to Michigan in 2003. Pageant officials said historical pageant records were not detailed enough to show whether Fakih was the first Arab American, Muslim or immigrant to win the Miss USA title. Fakih told reporters she sold her car after graduating from university in Michigan to help pay for her run in the Miss Michigan USA pageant. In a moment that was replayed during the broadcast, Fakih nearly fell while finishing her walk in her gown because of the length of its train. But she made it without a spill and went on to win.
