Kaye Lani Rae Wilson (née Rafko; born August 26, 1963) is the winner of the 1988 Miss America Pageant. She is from Monroe, Michigan, where a street is named for her.
Kaye Lani Rae Rafko | |
|---|---|
 Rafko in 2007 | |
| Born | August 26, 1963 Monroe, Michigan, United States |
| Occupation | Nurse |
| Title | Miss Monroe County 1987 Miss Michigan 1987 Miss America 1988 |
| Predecessor | Kellye Cash |
| Successor | Gretchen Carlson |
| Spouse | Charles Wilson |
| Children | 4[a] |
Biography
editOn September 19, 1987, Rafko was named Miss America 1988 after winning the 1987 Miss Michigan pageant.[1] In the Miss America competition her platform included help for hospice services and her talent was Tahitian dancing. Rafko has participated in various fundraising activities and been a vocal advocate for nursing and hospice programs. She has addressed medical professional organizations around the world on the topic of nursing, including groups in Malaysia, Paris, Rome, and Singapore.
Rafko is a registered nurse and is married to Charles (Chuck) Wilson. They have three children. Rafko is the executive director of Gabby's Ladder, a bereavement program for children and their families, an organization she founded after the death of her fourth child.[2] Other family included a younger brother, Nick, who played football at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1989 to 1993 and was killed in a car accident in 1994.
Rafko co-hosts Only in Monroe, a monthly public-access television program, with Michelle Baumann. The show was taken over by Late Show host Stephen Colbert for the July 2015 episode, with Wilson and rapper Eminem as guests.[3] Colbert returned as guest host on May 22, 2026,[4] the day after his run hosting The Late Show ended.
Rafko appeared in the 1989 documentary Roger & Me.
References
edit- ↑ Zibart, Eve (September 21, 1987). "Just What the Judges Ordered". The Washington Post.
- ↑ Kaye Lani Rae Rafko at IMDb
- ↑ Only In Monroe --- July 2015
- ↑ Colbert, Stephen (May 22, 2026). "Only in Monroe: May 22, 2026" – via YouTube.
- ↑ One child is deceased.
External links
edit- Kaye Lani Rae Rafko profile on MissAmerica.org
- Kaye Lani Rae Rafko at IMDb
- Former Miss Michigans
- "After the reign" from The Toledo Blade (2003)
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