For the third time in as many years, Jane Granberry stood as one of the final two contestants at the annual Miss Mississippi pageant. But this time, with the crown once again on the line, she didn’t feel nervous.
“It felt really different, and it was because of the perspective shift I pushed myself to have this year,” Granberry said. “Standing there, I felt so at peace because I knew that I had given the stage a performance that 8-year-old Jane would be proud of.”
Those comments came Tuesday during an appearance on Good Things with Rebecca Turner, Granberry’s first statewide radio interview since winning the crown and sash Saturday night in Vicksburg.
After finishing as runner-up during the 2024 and 2025 Miss Mississippi competitions, Granberry explained that she shifted her perspective going into 2026 with her 8-year-old self in mind. She said “young Jane” never wanted to win Miss Mississippi but just wanted a chance to perform in front of people while bringing smiles to their faces.
To do that, the now-24-year-old went back in time and found a video of herself dancing to Otis Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose.” Rather than reinventing the wheel, she decided to perform the same dance again – only this time with 16 more years of experience and polish.
“8-year-old Jane really loved to perform and that’s a part of the reason I re-did a talent and solo that I did at eight years old,” she explained with a big smile. “Because the video is so funny. I am living my life in a blue fringe dress and just shaking it. That is the best representation of who was performing at Miss Mississippi on Saturday night. It was 8-year-old Jane living out the dream of performing and connecting, and so, I hope I did her justice.”
The Hattiesburg native also explained how stepping away from pageants ultimately helped her win the Miss Mississippi crown.
Granberry won Miss Mississippi’s Teen competition in 2019 “on accident,” she said. At the time, she simply wanted an outlet to perform while earning scholarship money to pay for college. She accomplished both, landing at the University of Mississippi, where she was part of the dance team and worked several internships unrelated to pageants.
During college, Granberry didn’t compete in pageants but always felt a pull to return and one day compete for the Miss Mississippi crown.
“I knew that I wanted to come back and compete to be Miss Mississippi and represent the state that raised me and the community that loved me my entire life,” she said. “I knew that in order to do that best I needed to learn more about myself and grow beyond these competitions. While growth does happen inside of them, I think you need to learn a lot more of yourself outside of your comfort zone.”
The hiatus, meshed with steady growth both on and off the stage, paid off for Granberry. Entering this year’s competition as one of the favorites after winning the title of Miss Capital City and finishing runner-up twice, she finally experienced having the crown gracefully placed atop her head.
“It was really 24 years of a culmination of learning about myself and working hard and it ended up being successful on Saturday night,” she said.
Now, just days into her reign as Miss Mississippi, Granberry already has her sights set on winning the Miss America competition later this summer.
“It’s less than 75 days away at this point, which feels short but also feels like a good amount of time at the same time,” she said. “I feel like I have enough time to get prep in order and continuing to do the job of Miss Mississippi while preparing to take on possibly the job of Miss America.
“Even the fact that I’m saying that is kind of insane, because I never anticipated that this would be a reality for me but one that I’m so incredibly grateful for and excited about.”
Miss America preparations will consist of hours of mock interviews, marketing meetings, speaking engagements, and additional media appearances. Granberry will also have to make some decisions, such as what song she will dance to during the national competition. However, she promised it will be “high energy, fun, and funky.”
As part of her duties as Miss Mississippi – which she said is preparation for Miss America in itself – Granberry will continue to advance her community service initiative, “Literacy Without Limits.” The initiative aims to help young readers while reducing the number of Americans – around 43 million – who are considered functionally illiterate.
“The big push for ‘Literacy Without Limits’ is not only advocating for curriculum to best serve our students in the classroom but also providing learning opportunities outside of the classroom,” she explained, adding that the initiative is geared toward K-12 students and adults.
“As a proud public-school graduate of Oak Grove High School…that education piece has always been a really important part of who I am and my story. So, if I can give back in any way, I want to do that and do it at 1,000%.”
Granberry and representatives from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico will compete in Miss America 2026 from Aug. 28 to Sept. 6 in West Palm Beach, Fla. She will look to become the fifth Mississippian to win the national pageant, joining Mary Ann Mobley (1959), Lynda Lee Mead (1960), Cheryl Prewitt (1980), and Susan Akin (1986).
