Ashley Zais

Who is Ashley Zais?

Ashley Derham Zais is an American beauty pageant titleholder from Newberry, South Carolina. She competed in the Miss USA pageant in 2007 and the Miss South Carolina Teen USA pageants from 2002–2003, making the semi-finals of the 2003 event and placing first runner-up at Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2004. In 2005 she competed in the Miss South Carolina USA pageant for the first time and in 2006 won the 2007 title. She was crowned by outgoing titleholder Lacie Lybrand of Lexington. Her sister titleholder was Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2007.

Zais represented South Carolina in the nationally televised Miss USA 2007 pageant which was broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 23, 2007 and placed in the top 15.

Zais graduated from Wofford College with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and a minor in religion. She was a recipient of the Palmetto Fellowship for academic excellence. Her professional modelling career has taken her to Tokyo, Japan. Her father, Dr. Mitchell M. "Mick" Zais, a retired Brigadier General in the United States Army, was the president of Newberry College and was elected to the position of South Carolina State Superintendent of Education in 2010.