Nancy Fleming

{{short description|American beauty pageant titleholder|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{Infobox person

|name = Nancy Fleming

|image = Nancy Anne Fleming Miss Michigan postcard, front.jpg

|alt =

|caption = Fleming as Miss Michigan in 1960

|birth_name = Nancy Anne Fleming

|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1942|05|20}}

|birth_place = Muskegon, Michigan

|death_date =

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|education =

|alma_mater = Michigan State University

|employer =

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|years_active =

|title = Miss America 1961

|term =

|predecessor = Lynda Lee Mead

|successor = Maria Fletcher

|spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|William Frederic Johnson|1963|1973|reason=divorced}}
{{marriage| Jim Lange|1978|2014|reason= died}}

}}

|children = 2

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Nancy Anne Fleming (born May 20, 1942) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss America 1961 on September 10, 1960.{{cite news |title=People |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,897608,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930095805/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,897608,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |work=TIME Magazine |date=September 26, 1960 |accessdate=July 22, 2015}}

Education

Fleming graduated from Michigan State University in 1964 and earned a teaching certificate from the University of California, Berkeley in 1966. She is listed as one of Michigan State University's "Accomplished Women Graduates."{{cite web |publisher=MSU Archives |title=Accomplished Women Graduates of MSU |url=http://msuarchives.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/accomplished-women-graduates-of-msu/ |date=March 22, 2011}} During her freshman year at MSU, she lived in West Landon Hall on the North Campus, a dormitory for women. Her time at the school was sometimes troubled. Later, she said, "I felt like a freak at MSU. I had just been on television three days before and I entered with a lot of fanfare. There was a lot of weirdness and rudeness. I was pointed out and stared at. It was really creepy."{{cite news |first=Dave |last=LeMieux |newspaper=Muskegon Chronicle |publisher=Booth Newspapers |via=Mlive.com |title=Lookback: Montague's Miss America |url=http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/09/lookback_montagues_miss_americ.html |date=September 9, 2013 |accessdate=July 22, 2015}}

Pageantry

File:Nancy Anne Fleming, Miss America postcard.jpg

A native of Montague, Michigan, Fleming competed in the Miss America pageant as Miss Michigan.{{cite web |url=http://www.missmichigan.org/index.php/miss-michigan/former-miss-michigan |publisher=Miss Michigan Scholarship Program |title=Our Former Miss Michigans |accessdate=July 22, 2015}} She competed in the Miss Michigan pageant as Miss White Lake.{{cite news |first=Brandon |last=Champion |newspaper=Muskegon Chronicle |publisher=Booth Newspapers |via=Mlive.com |title=55 years after Miss America crown, Muskegon County native still taking risks |url=http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2015/06/55_years_after_unexpected_miss.html |date=June 20, 2015 |accessdate=July 22, 2015}}

Career

Before entering show business, Fleming worked as an elementary school teacher.

She later worked in the entertainment industry, as a program host and interviewer for ABC-TV, Cable Health Network (now Lifetime) and PBS.

She appeared in an episode of The Love Boat in 1984, along with Jean Bartel, Miss America 1943; Marian McKnight, Miss America 1957; and Vanessa L. Williams, Miss America 1984.

Personal life

Fleming's first husband was William Frederic Johnson. In 1978, Fleming married Jim Lange, a radio and television personality; their marriage lasted until his death in 2014. Fleming has two children from her first marriage: Ingrid and Steig.{{cite web|first1=Michelle |last1=Tauber |first2=Mike |last2=Neill |first3=Lisa |last3=Russell |first4=Joanne|last4=Fowler |first5=Julie |last5=Dam |first6=Alex |last6=Tresniowski |first7=Samantha |last7=Miller |first8=Steve |last8=Dougherty |first9=Ting |last9=Yu |title=American Beauties: 80 Years |website=people.com |url=https://people.com/archive/american-beauties-80-years-vol-54-no-16/ |date=October 16, 2000}} Fleming also has three stepchildren from her marriage to Lange: Nick, Romney, and Gavin.