[9] John Schultz and Gary Hill founded Miss'd America as a themed party at their nightclub, Studio Six, in Atlantic City in the early 1990s.

[2][20][18] Miss'd America was originally satirical in nature, with the first-ever winner, Alexia Love,[9] awarded a paper Burger King crown and a bouquet of dead roses.

[18][21] The second edition of the pageant took the form of a fundraiser for the AIDS Alliance of South Jersey, which brought it to wider public notice.

[12] When Rich Helfant, Miss'd America's current executive producer, founded the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance in 2010, he approached Schultz and Hill with a proposal to revive the pageant as a fundraising event for the charity.

[26] Harrah's Atlantic City, Trump Entertainment Resorts and Grey Goose all sponsored the 2010 pageant, which was held in Boardwalk Hall.

[12] The year's judging panel included Village Voice journalist Michael Musto, Philadelphia Gay News publisher Mark Segal and horseback rider Annika Bruggeworth.

[12] In its present form, Miss'd America is professionally staged, directed and choreographed; takes place in a popular Atlantic City hotel or entertainment venue; and structurally resembles its mainstream counterpart, requiring contestants to compete in four categories, issuing a cash prize, and featuring a celebrity guest performer each year.

[32] Each year, the pageant gives a portion of its profits to the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance and to other local LGBT charities and causes, such as the Schultz–Hill Foundation.

The Miss'd America 2020 competition was surrounded by controversy over the fact that the eligibility requirements were updated to ban transgender participants in early 2019.

[38] Because of the exclusionary change to the entrance criteria, the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, where Miss'd America had been housed since 2014, withdrew its offer to host the contest again.

The organization went as far as threatening legal action to prevent Miss'd America from taking place, though charges were never brought to court.

Before the 2013 editions of both pageants, executives of the Miss America Organization and that year's celebrity judges attended a dinner reception held by Schultz and Hill.

[27] Contestants of at least 21 years of age from anywhere in the United States can apply to compete in Miss'd America, though the majority of entrants are based in the Northeast.

[25][28][30][37] In the first round of the process, each candidate submits a three-minute video of their talent together with an application form, and the judging panel selects the year's finalists from this pool.

[1][36] The finalists travel to Atlantic City to compete in a live show featuring swimsuit, evening gown, interview and talent categories.

[24][25][42] The winner receives a $5,000 prize and is crowned Miss'd America for the coming year, during which she is to make appearances at events such as Pride celebrations and is to serve as an ambassador of the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance.