On August 14, 1999, the 15th Annual Miss Asian America Pageant took place at the prestigious Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California. The event featured 18 contestants of diverse ethnic backgrounds. The highlight of the evening was the crowning of 18-year-old Oakland resident, Amy Truong, as Miss Asian America. Truong, a pre-med student at UC Santa Cruz, advocated for “Self Respect and Integrity” as essential qualities for independence, self-reliance, and character development.

Amrapali Ambegaokar, a 21-year-old fine arts major at UCLA, earned the title of first runner-up and was also recognized as Miss Talent for her captivating Northern Indian Kathak dance performance. This dance form combines intricate footwork with animated facial expressions to convey a compelling narrative. Other notable winners included Second Princess Shalene Atanacio, a recent UC Berkeley graduate at 24, and Third Princess Ha Thai, who, at 22, had recently been promoted to assistant vice president at Bank of America.

Coquico Rodriquez, an aspiring fashion designer, was honored with the title of Miss Congeniality by her fellow contestants. Noel Mika Yi, a freshman at Cornell University studying international marketing, secured the title of Miss Scholastic Achievement.