sMothered’s Gabriella Vigorito prepared for Miss Connecticut USA 2023 by walking with flamingos Wed 3 January 2024 08:02 Celine Byford
Daniel Johnston
Published Apr 05, 2026
Gabriella Vigorito was seen practising for the Miss Connecticut USA 2023 pageant on sMothered. She even tried out her model walks with flamingos at the zoo, to prove her dedication to her craft! She has since revealed where she placed in the contest after all her hard work.
The sMothered star hopes to follow in her mom Catherine’s footsteps by winning the Miss Connecticut pageant. Mother and daughter duo Gabriella and Catherine Vigorito from Clinton, Connecticut, are pageant queens. They joined the TLC show’s cast for season 5 in December 2023.
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Gabriella strives for Miss Connecticut USA 2023
Gabriella has been recorded preparing for Miss Connecticut USA 2023 on her show sMothered. She even walked with the flamingos at the zoo to strut her model walk with her mom, Catherine.
No matter where she placed, her mom is beaming with pride and wrote: “I am so proud of you and all of your hard work and accomplishments. Your potential is limitless. I love doing life with you.”
Catherine hopes to see Gabriella become Miss Universe and Miss USA in the future, but their goal while filming was to tick off Miss Connecticut USA 2023 first!
Gabrielle has some ‘big shoes to fill’
Gabriella doesn’t just idolize her mother Catherine, she has a blown-up poster of her hanging in her room! Catherine describes her daughter as her “mini me,” which Gabriella took as a compliment.
“Imagine growing up and your mom being Miss Connecticut USA. Those are some big shoes to fill,” Gabriella told cameras. “When I win, she’s going to come up on stage with her sash.”
Gabriella now appears on television with DIY segments, hosting, and offering inspirational commentary. She was Miss Connecticut U.S.A’s 1988 pageant contestant and competed back in her early 20s.
She ‘gave it her all’ in contest
Gabriella revealed she “gave it her all” when competing for Miss Connecticut USA 2023, and soared to the top five. She spent an entire year preparing to take the crown her mom held for so long.
The TLC star live-streamed every pageant, and even went all the way to New York to gather the best fashionable items for her catwalk wardrobe. She said: “Pageantry is in my blood, I’m not giving up now.”
She competed in the contest back in April 2023. The competition was won by Karla Aponte Roque, and yes, Gabriella’s name is officially listed in the top five on the Pageant Update page and appears in the photos.
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