13 things about Miss Arizona USA 2012 Erika Kirk

Erika Lane Frantzve Kirk represented Arizona, United States in the 61st edition of Miss USA. It was won by Olivia Culpo of Rhode Island, USA.

Kirk’s husband Charlie Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA. They have a daughter and a son together.

BIOGRAPHY

Erika is an American businesswoman, real estate agent and beauty queen born in Arizona to Kent Randall Frantzve and Lori Ann Frantzve. Raised in a tight-knit Catholic family, Erika lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, in Phoenix, Arizona and in Brooklyn, New York, USA.

After graduating from Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale, Erika attended Regis University in Denver, Colorado, USA, Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, USA and Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, USA. She competed in Miss Arizona USA twice and Miss Colorado USA twice.

On November 20, 2024, Erika turned 36. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. In 2007, she graduated from Notre Dame Preparatory High School.
2. She attended Regis University from 2007 to 2009 and she was a member of the women’s basketball team of the university from 2008 to 2009.
3. She attended Loyola Marymount University from 2009 to 2010 and Arizona State University from 2010 to 2012.
4. She was Miss Colorado USA 2009 third runner-up.
5. She was Miss Colorado USA 2010 fourth runner-up.
6. She was Miss Arizona USA 2011 first runner-up.
7. She won Miss Arizona USA 2012.
8. She was a Miss USA 2012 candidate.
9. From 2017 to 2019, she attended Liberty University where she earned a master’s degree in law and from 2019 to 2022, she attended the same university where she earned a doctoral degree in Christian leadership.
10. In 2018, she joined The Corcoran Group and she launched a faith-based clothing line called Proclaim Streetwear.
11. She met Charlie in 2019 and married him in 2021.
12. She gave birth to her first child in 2022 and her second child in 2024.
13. In 2025, she became the chief executive officer of Turning Point USA after Charlie’s death in Orem, Utah, USA.

TIMELINE

Erika is 5’8″ tall. She wore high-heeled shoes for the first time in 2002.

2000s

• In December 2006, she co-founded Everyday Heroes Like You in Arizona to raise funds for under-recognized charities.
• On October 12, 2008, she competed against 62 other Miss Colorado USA 2009 candidates. She was third runner-up to Patrice Williams.
• On November 1, 2009, she competed at Miss Colorado USA 2010 at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley, Colorado. She was fourth runner-up to Jessica Hartman.

2010s

• On November 21, 2010, she competed at Miss Arizona USA 2011 at the Ikeda Theater of the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona. She was runner-up to Brittany Dawn Brannon.
• On November 20, 2011, she represented Phoenix at Miss Arizona USA 2012 at the Mesa Arts Center and won the title.
• In May 2012, she graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University with a dual bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations.
• On June 3, 2012, she represented Arizona at Miss USA 2012 and competed against 50 other candidates at The AXIS in Paradise, Nevada, USA. She was unplaced.
• On January 6, 2013, she crowned her successor Miss Arizona USA 2013 Rachel Kasang at the Mesa Civic Center in Mesa.
• In October 2018, she joined The Corcoran Group in New York as a real estate agent.
• In December 2018, she started Proclaim Streetwear in New York.

2020s

• On May 8, 2021, she and Kirk got married in Arizona.
• On August 23, 2022, she gave birth to her daughter.
• On May 15, 2024, she gave birth to her son.
• On September 10, 2025, Kirk, her husband, was assassinated by Tyler Robinson while speaking at a rally at Utah Valley University in Orem.
• In a speech she delivered on September 12, 2025, she said, “To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die.”
• On September 18, 2025, she was named CEO of Turning Point USA.
• On September 21, 2025, she said she forgave Robinson in a speech she delivered at Charlie’s funeral at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
• On October 14, 2025, she accepted the U.S. highest civilian honor called the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which Trump posthumously awarded Charlie.
• On October 29, 2025, she delivered her first college tour public remarks during a “This Is the Turning Point” campus tour event at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi, USA.