After winning Miss Missouri, Lee's Summit woman faces a new contest: 'Big Brother'

Bayleigh Dayton of Lee's Summit wanted to make a statement in 2016 as the first African-American to be crowned Miss Missouri USA.

"Now girls have someone to look up to and can have an actual role model,” she told The Star at the time.

Now, Dayton, 25, is preparing for an entirely new challenge: the 20th season of CBS' reality show "Big Brother," premiering Wednesday.

Dayton, a flight attendant who now lives in Atlanta, will join 15 other contestants competing for a $500,000 grand prize. They live together away from any outside influences, including phones, TV, internet and contact with anyone else.

Contestants are eliminated either by leaving voluntarily or getting banished for breaking the rules.

Dayton told CBS her strategy for winning the game is to "be Miss Congeniality and not be too fake or too nice."

"I want to stay clear of the drama and let the bombs self-destruct," she said. "But I also want everyone to fear me just a little. My dad always said that defense wins games. So let's just say, my D is going to be full coverage."

Her competitors range from age 21 to 40 and include a former undercover cop, a Las Vegas entertainer, a day trader and a cyber security engineer, according to CBS.

Longtime CBS news anchor Julie Chen hosts the show, which is scheduled for a two-night premiere at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

This story was originally published June 26, 2018 at 1:25 PM with the headline "After winning Miss Missouri, Lee's Summit woman faces a new contest: 'Big Brother'."