The former Miss USA who became a Super Bowl advertising favourite is Ali Landry.
And the bonus answer? The famous crisps commercial was the Doritos “Girl in the Jacuzzi” Super Bowl advertisement — the spot that made her instantly recognizable to millions of viewers and turned a beauty queen into a pop-culture phenomenon almost overnight.
Born July 21, 1973, in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, Ali Landry was already making waves before Hollywood came calling. Raised in the heart of Cajun country, she grew up surrounded by the distinctive culture, food and warmth of southern Louisiana. Friends and classmates often remembered her not just for her looks, but for her confidence and easy charm — qualities that would later translate perfectly to television cameras and advertising campaigns.
Her first major national breakthrough came when she won Miss Louisiana USA, earning the right to compete in the Miss USA pageant. In 1996, she captured the crown of Miss USA, becoming one of the most prominent pageant winners of the decade. The victory brought instant media attention, magazine features and a flood of modeling opportunities. Unlike many pageant winners whose fame fades quickly, Landry arrived at exactly the right moment: the late 1990s, when television advertising, celebrity culture and emerging internet buzz could transform a single commercial into a national event.
That event came during Super Bowl XXXII in 1998.
Doritos unveiled the now-famous “Girl in the Jacuzzi” commercial, and Ali Landry was its undeniable star. The ad was simple, playful and expertly timed. In an era when Super Bowl commercials were becoming almost as anticipated as the game itself, Landry’s appearance stood out immediately. The combination of humor, glamour and her memorable slow-motion entrance made the commercial one of the most talked-about ads of the year.
Virtually overnight, she became known as “The Doritos Girl.”
What made the campaign so effective was that it didn’t just sell crisps — it sold a personality. Landry projected confidence without seeming untouchable, glamorous without appearing distant. Viewers remembered her face, her timing and the playful energy she brought to the screen. Advertising executives quickly realized they had discovered someone with genuine crossover appeal.
The success of the Doritos campaign led to a remarkable period of visibility. Landry appeared in major magazines, entertainment programs and red-carpet events, becoming one of the late 1990s’ most recognizable advertising faces. At a time when Super Bowl ads could create celebrities in a single evening, she was one of the clearest examples of that phenomenon.
But Ali Landry did not remain confined to commercials.
She pursued acting opportunities in both television and film, building a résumé that included guest appearances on popular series such as Felicity, Clueless, Eve, and Las Vegas. These roles allowed her to demonstrate comic timing and screen presence beyond the polished image of a pageant winner. While she was never positioned as a traditional dramatic powerhouse, she became a reliable television personality who could bring charm, humor and glamour to a wide variety of projects.
Her film appearances included comedies and ensemble productions, and she became a familiar face on entertainment television throughout the 2000s. Producers often cast her in roles that capitalized on her elegance and confidence, but she also showed a willingness to poke fun at her own image — a trait that helped her maintain public affection long after the initial Doritos craze had faded.
The 2000 Los Angeles photo shoot mentioned in your clue captures Ali Landry at a fascinating moment in her career. She had already achieved the rare trifecta of pageant success, advertising superstardom and emerging television recognition. The photos from that era often featured the glossy, high-fashion aesthetic that defined celebrity photography at the turn of the millennium: dramatic lighting, sleek styling and a sense of effortless California glamour.
What is particularly interesting about Landry’s career is how effectively she navigated the transition from beauty queen to media personality. Many Miss USA winners struggle to establish a lasting identity beyond the crown. Landry, however, became associated with a specific cultural memory. Mention late-1990s Super Bowl commercials, and her name still appears almost immediately.
She also became a staple of red-carpet culture during the early 2000s. Entertainment reporters frequently sought her out for interviews, fashion coverage and celebrity events. Her polished presentation made her a favorite of photographers, and she developed a reputation for consistently strong red-carpet appearances. In an industry where visibility is often as important as any single acting role, Landry understood how to maintain a recognizable public brand.
Her personal life occasionally attracted significant media attention as well, particularly during the height of tabloid celebrity culture. Yet she managed to emerge from those headlines with her public image largely intact, focusing increasingly on family, lifestyle projects and entrepreneurial ventures.
In later years, Landry expanded into areas such as wellness, parenting and digital media, adapting to the changing entertainment landscape rather than relying solely on traditional Hollywood opportunities. That adaptability is one reason she has remained a familiar name decades after her initial breakthrough.
Looking back, the Doritos commercial now feels like a perfect time capsule of late-1990s America. Super Bowl advertising was becoming an entertainment spectacle in its own right, and Ali Landry embodied the era’s blend of humor, glamour and mass-market appeal. The ad’s slow-motion reveal became iconic precisely because it was instantly understandable to viewers: it was playful, cinematic and designed to be remembered long after the game ended.
For many people, she represents a very specific kind of star that flourished during that period — not necessarily defined by blockbuster movies or chart-topping albums, but by ubiquity. She was on television during the biggest sporting event of the year, in magazines at supermarket checkouts, on red carpets, and in sitcom guest spots. Her fame was woven into the everyday media experience of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
So the answer is Ali Landry, the 1996 Miss USA from Louisiana who became a Super Bowl advertising sensation thanks to the Doritos “Girl in the Jacuzzi” commercial. More than just a beauty queen, she became one of the era’s most memorable advertising icons — a woman whose camera confidence, comedic timing and unmistakable screen presence turned a single snack commercial into a lasting piece of pop-culture history.
