Bess Myerson (July 16, 1924-December 14, 2014) was an American model, television actress, politician and civil rights activist who was crowned Miss America in 1945. At the time of her death Myerson was the only Jewish Miss America. Myerson won the Miss America beauty pageant at a time when World War II had just ended. Myerson's winning the title of Miss America took on a heightened significance in light of newly emerging information about the Holocaust. In her obituary from The New York Times, it was noted that she was seen as a "hero to the Jewish community". Myerson's biographer Susan Dworkin said: "In the Jewish community, she was the most famous pretty girl since Queen Esther".