Miss Congeniality is a 2000 American action comedy film directed by Donald Petrie, written by Marc Lawrence, Katie Ford, and Caryn Lucas, and produced by and starring Sandra Bullock as Gracie Hart, a tomboy agent who is asked by the FBI to go undercover as a contestant when a terrorist threatens to bomb the Miss United States pageant.

Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, Candice Bergen, William Shatner, and Ernie Hudson star in supporting roles.

During a sting against Russian mobsters, she ignores protocol to save a mob boss who appears to be choking, causing one of her fellow FBI agents to be shot; Gracie is then demoted to a desk job.

Soon, the agency receives news of a bomb threat from notorious domestic terrorist "the Citizen", alluding to an act of terrorism at the upcoming Miss United States beauty pageant in San Antonio, Texas.

Beauty pageant coach Victor Melling teaches Gracie how to dress, walk, and behave like a "lady".

She enters the pageant as "Gracie Lou Freebush", representing New Jersey, and becomes friends with Cheryl Frasier, Miss Rhode Island.

Several suspects are identified as being "the Citizen", including the current competition director and former pageant winner Kathy Morningside, her assistant Frank Tobin, veteran MC Stan Fields, and even Cheryl, who has a history of involvement with a radical animal rights activist group.

While on their way home, Victor informs Eric that Frank is actually Kathy's son, a fact they had tried to hide from the FBI because of his criminal record.

Ellen DeGeneres claims that the writer was inspired when watching her training to walk in high heels and a dress in preparation for her role co-hosting the Emmys.

[2] Although DeGeneres's first time hosting the ceremony on her own was not until November 2001, nearly a year after the film had been released,[3] she did co-host the 46th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1994 alongside Patricia Richardson.

[11] A. O. Scott of The New York Times described it as "a standard-issue fish-out-of-water comedy" which "seems happily, deliberately second-rate, as if its ideal audience consisted of weary airline passengers".

[12] Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "It isn't bad so much as it lacks any ambition to be more than it so obviously is" although he had some praise for Sandra Bullock's performance.