Photo from MIss Alabama Facebook page
Miss Hoover Emma Terry, center, was crowned Miss Alabama 2025 on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at Samford University’s Wright Center. Others with her include, from left, third runner-up Miss Tennessee Valley Lauren Vance, first runner-up Miss Phenix City HannahAdams, second runner-up Miss University of Alabama Ruby Tilghman and fourth runner-up Miss Hidden River Abby Sosa.
After a week of remarkable performances, Miss Hoover Emma Terry stole the show in the Miss Alabama 2025 finals Saturday night, earning the Miss Alabama title and crown.
The emotional moment was made even more unforgettable as the reigning Miss America (and former Miss Hoover), Abbie Stockard, placed the crown on Terry.
Terry, a 22-year-old from Leeds who just earned her master’s degree in accounting from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, now advances to represent Alabama on the national stage at the Miss America 2026 competition in January.
Rounding out the top five in the Miss Alabama competition Saturday night were first runner-up Miss Phenix City Hannah Adams (from north Shelby County), second runner-up Miss University of Alabama Ruby Tilghman, third runner-up Miss Tennessee Valley Lauren Vance and fourth runner-up Miss Hidden River Abby Sosa.
Others in the top 13 included Miss Vestavia Hills Evie Smith, Miss Birmingham Chloe Yates, Miss Eastern Shore Rylie Dewley, Miss Iron City Jada Winston, Miss Marshall County Emily Morring, Miss Samford University Jayla Duncan, Miss Trussville Regan Hanson and Miss West Alabama Emma Walters.
Terry’s win marks a proud moment for the city of Hoover. This is the second year in a row that a Miss Hoover has won Miss Alabama.
Terry lit up the stage and captured the attention of judges and audiences alike throughout the competition, earning two preliminary awards earlier in the week. First was her elegant evening gown presentation Wednesday evening and then came her ballet en pointe talent performance on Friday night.
“It’s the greatest honor of my life to say I am Miss Alabama 2025!” Terry wrote on her Instagram page. “To every girl in the Miss Alabama Class of 2025: thank you. Your heart, your talent — it lit up the stage and inspired me in ways I’ll carry with me forever. I’m better because I walked this week beside you. To my family, my friends and every person who believed in me, thank you for holding me up. You’ve prayed over me, encouraged me, reminded me of who I am and who I’m called to be. I feel so covered in love and support.”
Terry, a veteran Miss Alabama contestant who placed first runner-up behind Stockard a year ago, also noted in a Facebook post how she had to overcome some challenges this year that she had never foreseen. She had heart surgery in March after doctors discovered an extra concealed pathway in her heart that was causing dangerously high heart rates at unexpected times.
“It was a challenge to figure out that I had a problem and then find a way to fix it, and then getting back in the studio was hard,” she said. “But I continued to refine my technique, continued to get stronger. I’m super thankful to UAB Medicine and Dr. Blake Smith for taking care of me. My choreographer, Shea Sullivan, has been so supportive.”
Terry’s social impact initiative is “Stomping out ALS one step at a time” — an effort to increase awareness about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and encourage involvement in the ALS Association’s Walk to Defeat ALS. Her grandfather, who died in April of last year, lived with the disease for 22 years after his diagnosis.
“It’s taught me how to be a resilient person because I saw someone who I loved most in the world fight every single day,” Terry said in a previous interview with the Hoover Sun. “He was never going to give up that fight. To see him be able to smile through a disease like ALS taught me to be grateful to walk, talk and appreciate the independence I have.”
