Miss USA 1979 was the 28th Miss USA pageant, televised live by CBS from the Gulf Coast Convention Center in Biloxi, Mississippi on April 30, 1979. The pageant was won by Mary Therese Friel of New York, who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Judi Andersen of Hawaii. Friel was the second woman from New York to win the Miss USA title and later placed as a semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1979.