Miss America 1981, the 54th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 6, 1980 on NBC Network. It was the first time Ron Ely hosted, replacing Bert Parks who had hosted for 25 years.[1] It was also historic as two black women, Lencola Sullivan of Arkansas and Doris Hayes of Washington, made the finals for the first time.[1]
The winner, Susan Powell of Oklahoma, later became co-host of the series Home Matters on the Discovery Channel.