History of Leanza Cornett in Timeline
June 10, 1971
Eva Leanza Cornett (June 10, 1971 – October 28, 2020) was an American television personality and beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned Miss Florida 1992 and Miss America 1993 the same year.
1991
Cornett was the first actress to play a live-action version of Ariel, the title character from The Little Mermaid, at the "Voyage of The Little Mermaid" show at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World Resort in 1991. She was also a member of the contemporary Christian music group Area Code, which released their single album, One Big World, before Leanza's big break.
July 22, 1995
Cornett married broadcast journalist Mark Steines on July 22, 1995. Weeks after their wedding, Cornett was let go from her Entertainment Tonight position and immediately replaced by Steines himself. Cornett and Steines had two sons, Kai Harper (born on February 19, 2002), and Avery James (born on November 4, 2003). The couple later divorced after 17 years of marriage. She died on October 28, 2020, after being hospitalized for a head injury incurred in a fall at her home in Jacksonville, Florida.
2006
Cornett was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, and was a 1989 graduate of Terry Parker High School. She was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2006.