BY: DM
Published 46 minutes ago
There’s a new pageant queen making waves in the business. Grace Richardson just opened a door that had been closed to queer women in British pageantry. The 20-year-old musical theatre student from Leicester earned the Miss England 2025 title and became the first openly gay winner in the competition’s history.
According to Yahoo News, Richardson grew up in Leicester and started performing as soon as she could walk. She now studies musical theatre at the Leicester College of Performing Arts, where she’s pursuing a Trinity Level 6 Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre. She balances her coursework with multiple part-time jobs and her pageant responsibilities. Here’s a look at her pageant journey.
Grace Richardson Has Made LGBTQIA+ History
Richardson came out as gay at 15 during lockdown, according to Birmingham Live. When she returned to school, the backlash hit hard. She said boys in her class hurled homophobic slurs, mocked her for being “too skinny,” and made school feel hostile instead of safe.
“I feel so powerful and proud of myself,” Richardson said. “My coming out story wasn’t the easiest. My very close friends and family were all very supportive. But for some reason those at school, my peers, just weren’t in the same way that my family were.”
In 2024, she won Miss Leicestershire and then advanced to Miss East Midlands 2025. From there, she moved on to the national finals at Wolverhampton’s Grand Station, where she represented the East Midlands. On Nov. 21, Richardson claimed the Miss England 2025 title. Judges broke a tie with a talent round, and she secured the win with a singing-and-dancing performance. She will now represent England at Miss World 2026.
Richardson Joins a Growing List of LGBTQIA+ Beauty Queens
Richardson has been using her pageant platform to push for more inclusive education and anti-bullying work. “It is important for young people in the LGBTQIA+ community to see people representing them in all types of walks of life,” she said, per The Tab. “I haven’t seen anyone in pageantry talk about sexuality in the way that I have so it is important to me for them to feel seen.”
Richardson’s win comes in an era where more contestants are out and vocal. According to Cosmopolitan, Erin O’Flaherty became the first openly lesbian woman to win a state title in the Miss America system when she was crowned 2016 Miss Missouri. In 2021, Beatrice Luigi Gomez became the first openly queer (bisexual) Miss Universe Philippines and the first openly LGBTQIA+ woman to represent the Philippines at Miss Universe, per The Advocate.
As Miss Universe Myanmar 2019, Swe Zin Htet came out publicly as gay and became the first openly gay contestant to walk the Miss Universe stage, according to CNN. In 2021, Kataluna Enriquez made history as the first openly transgender woman to win Miss Nevada USA and the first to compete at Miss USA, according to NPR. These milestones show how pageants are slowly evolving into platforms where queer people can show up fully and still be celebrated.
Who’s another out queen you think deserves more recognition? Comment below!
