After weeks of anticipation, the Miss USA beauty pageant was held on Sunday, and a new winner was crowned at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, Nev. Connecticut's Erin Brady took down the top honor, and she will now be representing the United States in the Miss Universe pageant.

The two hour event, which is the brainchild of entrepreneur Donald Trump, was estimated to draw a television audience of over 250 million people Sunday night. With the whole world watching, Brady beat out fifty other women in her quest for the tiara.

Brady is 25-years-old and hails from East Hampton, Conn. She graduated from Central Connecticut University with a degree in finance and a minor in criminal justice. Brady is a financial accountant for Prudential Retirement in Hartford, but of course, will now be holding the full-time job of representing Miss USA around the world. 

Standing at 5'8" with a statuesque frame and stunning good looks, it is easy to see why she was a contender. What really sealed the deal, however, was her endearing personality and personal story of triumph.

"Erin was raised in a home heavily influenced by alcohol and substance abuse and she sadly remembers the lack of support and places to turn to for the children of addicts, such as her," recounts her biography.

Since that time, Brady has made it her goal to break the cycle of addiction in her family and plans on raising awareness for the cause through her newfound title as Miss USA. Additionally, she has already worked with a handful of other charities, including Ferrari and Friends Concorso, Susan G. Komen, Walk for The Cure and Habitat for Humanity.

Brady looked stunning in both the evening gown and swimsuit sections of the event, but was also impressive during the preliminary interview and questioning part of the competition. Due to her background in criminal justice, she was asked what she thought about a Supreme Court ruling that suspects could be subjected to DNA testing.

"I would agree with this," she responded. "I think if somebody's being prosecuted and they committed a crime that's that severe then they should have a DNA test. I think that there are so many crimes going on in this world that if that's one step closer to figuring out who's done it, I think we absolutely should do so."