Profile Spotlight: Interview with Athenna Crosby (Miss World America)
- LA Today
- Jun 1
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 29
Athenna Crosby is the recently crowned Miss World America 2024 who represented the United States at Miss World, where she achieved a TOP 20 placement. The Los Angeles-based entertainment professional excels as an actor, model, and host with extensive experience across multiple platforms. She has collaborated with major brands including TikTok, Tubi, Marriott, and Disney, while staying true to Miss World's "Beauty With a Purpose" mission by actively volunteering with non-profit organizations throughout the year.
7 QUESTIONS
WITH ATHENNA CROSBY
1. You’ve got so much going on — press, media, competitions, and everything behind the scenes, what’s been the most challenging part for you? And, is there anything you’ve found that really helps you deal with it all?
Pageants certainly have an extra amount of pressure to it because not only am I representing myself but I'm representing the entire country of the United States on the global stage. With that said, I feel like life is the best preparation for anything. I have so many other interests outside of pageants like my career as an entertainment journalist and TV host, and as an actor and a model, you get rejected all the time. There's that saying that it takes one-hundred "no's" to hear your first "yes." So really, I have trained myself over the years to be comfortable with anything, to be able to talk to anybody, to go into any room, and be able to perform and really do the best that I can. You want to show up and show out and do your best but at the end of the day whether they pick you or whether they don't, you're already winning just by being in the room.
2. When the "no" comes, are there certain things you do to move past it mentally?
Coming from the pageant community, which is extremely competitive, my best advice would be: it's never rejection, it's only redirection to something greater, and I also live by the motto that it's not "no," it's just "not yet." Right? If something's not meant for you yet, it doesn't mean that it will never come or that it's going to pass you by. In my experience, it has taken me 20 years to be able to go to a contest like Miss World and to achieve my lifelong dream of representing the United States of America, so that was loss after loss after loss after loss, and at a certain point, you definitely feel like, "Geez, should I just give up at this point? Like, is it not meant to happen for me?" But, just like many actors and other creatives here in Hollywood can attest to, if it's your passion, if it's something that wakes you up every single day and drives you, it behooves you to keep trying. I mean, you have nothing to lose by continuing to try over and over again. So I went from being a runner-up, like fourth place, third place, second place, getting really, really close to finally achieving that dream, and in retrospect, I could say that everything happened exactly as it was meant to, and now my dream came true, but it took 20 years to get there. So whoever is watching this, do not give up—your "yes" is coming.
3. For personal branding, is there something you’ve done that’s really worked for you?
I would say try everything. That's really been my motto. If I get an opportunity that's presented to me, why not just say yes and go for it? Even if it seems like something I normally wouldn't be interested in, I can only learn and grow from it. So, for that reason, I'll post everything I can on social media, even if I think it's cringe, even if I think people aren't going to like it, it doesn't matter. The worst that they could do is just scroll past it and not care, so I post everything. I try and delve into different aspects of myself that I like, so I love to sing as well. I'm not Mariah Carey, but I'll post singing videos, and my friends like it and comment on it and hype me up. I'll take dance classes, I'll do my different hosting and entertainment journalism content, and I'll post that too, and I'll post pageant content. I feel like I'm just not afraid to do what I want with my own brand. Also, if I get invited to an event, even if it's a small, tiny grassroots event, or if it's a giant gala with Hollywood A-listers, I try to go. You never know who you're going to meet along the way, and oftentimes those people will help you, they will cheer for you, they're going to root you on, so you really want to meet as many people as you can, because you never know where that's going to take you.
4. Do you feel like doing it that way, that there is certain content where you realize, “Oh, I didn't know this was going to work!"
Yes, the thing that comes to mind for me was something that I almost didn't post, that has done the best on my social media compared to any other posts I've made, and that was a video of a compilation of all of my last pageants, of me losing, and losing, and losing again, and then finally winning. So I spliced together videos of me getting like a runner up in this pageant, a runner up in that pageant, a runner up in this, and then finally winning at the end, and I wrote a motivational caption about what that experience meant to me, and how it felt to finally achieve that. I didn't think anybody was going to care, to be honest, especially because I post so much pageant content, like they're probably sick and tired of seeing it, but that got the most likes, comments, views—it went viral, it got shared by so many different platforms, because people love to see the journey. It's okay if you've lost, it's okay if you didn't get that job, or that role, or that promotion—that's relatable, people actually want to see you lose, and they want to see you get back up on your feet again and keep trying. Again, I almost didn't post it, but that's the thing that people comment to me about the most; so don't overthink it, just post.
5. You're based in LA, but where are you from originally?
Well, I am a Cali girl, born and raised. I'm from Northern California. I was born and raised in San Jose, and I actually just moved to LA about two years ago. So most would consider me to be still a newbie. At the same time, I grew up coming to LA a lot, being from Northern California and growing up in the entertainment industry, coming down here for various activities. So it definitely felt like home as soon as I came.
6. Since you've been in LA a couple years, do you have a favorite district or neighborhood?
Well, when I moved to LA, I didn't realize that I was moving right next to Ventura Boulevard. And I just love, you know, Tom Petty sings about that and free falling. He's like "Ventura Boulevard." And then he sings about Mulholland Drive and all these places that I always grew up hearing about. And then I moved and I'm right at the intersection of all of those places. So I feel like my neighborhood is very special to me because it's something that I had always dreamt about and heard about. And then now getting the chance to actually live here.
That being said, I'm discovering a new town, a new neighborhood, a new region of LA every single day; it's like they're multiplying; I just cannot keep up with all the new cool hot places to be. So, I would say anywhere other than Hollywood Boulevard — tourist trap! I made the mistake of taking one of my friends there once to visit and it was a nightmare; so everywhere outside of there is amazing. I mean, I think I scarred my friend for life. They're like, "This is LA? Wow." What did you guys see? We saw, like, people dressed up in very homemade DIY costumes. Oh, you didn't know about that? I think they started, like, they were chasing us down for money and, you know, the street performers. Some of them were good. Some of them, you know, it was a work in progress.
I also went to Griffith Observatory with this friend and it was just crowded like you're like sardines in a can, you couldn't go anywhere so that I'd say was a little bit a little bit claustrophobic, but I love Ventura Boulevard, I love, um, even Skybar in Hollywood, there's the LA Today event, red carpet F1 Watch Party was there. There's so many restaurants and bars and clubs out there which are really cool. Santa Monica is great if you do want to have a little bit more of a touristy feel and go down to the pier and ride some rides. I also love the Arts District in Downtown, so many trendy coffee shops and restaurants that you can hit up, I mean even like Glendale—they have the Galleria, they have great shopping out there, so many fun places in LA.
7. Thank you Athenna, you are truly inspiring to so many people. One last thing, we always have to ask, what is your absolute, favorite place to visit in LA?
Casa Vega on Ventura Boulevard is my favorite Mexican restaurant. It's so iconic; so many celebrities. Some of Hollywood's best have gone there and they've got their pictures up on the wall. So, that gives a little bit of element of Hollywood fun if you're taking someone in from out of town. They can see some of their fan favorites on the wall. But I also just love Mexican food, and that's one of the best parts about living in Southern California-is the amazing Mexican food. So Casa Vega, you have my heart.
I mean, the Mexican food, as I mentioned, is unbeaten here. You literally cannot get any better Mexican food. I feel like I am trying new foods every single day and they're all beating each other. Every single place I go, it's like, it surprises me in some other way. If I had to shout out another place, Osteria La Bucca, which is also on Ventura Boulevard, is delicious Italian food. They handmade everything, including the pasta. Delicious, delicious Italian food at Osteria La Bucca, and it's super underrated, so check it out.
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