Meet Queen Naomi Stillitano, 2024 Rose Queen

Arcadia Senior Naomi Stillitano was crowned the 135th Rose Queen in a ceremony on the front steps of the Tournament House in Pasadena Friday afternoon led by 2024 Tournament of Roses President Alex Aghajanian.

During the coronation ceremony, President Aghajanian presented Rose Queen Naomi Stillitano with a Mikimoto crown featuring more than 600 cultured pearls and six carats of diamonds.

The 1940 Rose Queen, Margaret Huntley Main, the longest-living Rose Queen at 102 years old, watched Naomi Stillitano be crowned live on the Tournament of Roses YouTube channel.

Queen Naomi is not only an academic achiever but also a young woman of many talents. She currently holds the position of co-president of the Italian Culture Club at Arcadia High School and showcases her artistic flair as a dancer and actress with the Arcadia Stage Theater.

In addition to her love for the arts, Stillitano was a swimmer on the Rose Bowl Swim Team and enjoys playing musical instruments such as the guitar and piano. Her hobbies also include singing, traveling, cooking, drawing, roller skating, and bike riding.

Born and raised in Italy for seven years, Stillitano is fluent in Italian and has a good understanding of Spanish. With aspirations to create her own fashion brand, she is considering studying fashion design and marketing at prestigious institutions such as the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Milano Fashion Institute, Pasadena City College or the University of Southern California.

Stillitano is the daughter of Piero Stillitano and Nerida Gonzalez and has two brothers, Toraino and Taaj.

Queen Naomi and the other six members of the 2024 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Royal Court will attend a variety of community events and serve as local ambassadors before riding in the Jan. 1 Rose Parade and attending the Rose Bowl Game.

The other members of the Royal Court are:

• Olivia Bohanec, La Salle College Preparatory;
• Trinity Dela Cruz, Marshall Fundamental School;
• Phoebe Ho, South Pasadena High School;
• Mia Moore-Walker, Flintridge Preparatory School;
• Jessica Powell, Flintridge Preparatory School; and
• Emmerson Tucker, Blair High School

The Royal Court will ride on a float in the 135th Rose Parade on Jan. 1 and attend the 110th Rose Bowl Game.

The court members were chosen from 28 finalists, whittled down from an original pool of more than 350 applicants from 36 area schools, according to the Tournament.

Court members are chosen based on criteria including public speaking ability, academic achievement, youth leadership and community and school involvement.

All seven members of the court receive $7,500 in educational scholarships.

The history of the Rose Queen goes back to 1905 when Hallie Woods was selected to ride in a horse-drawn carriage down Colorado Blvd.  Since then, Rose Queens have had a wide range of success. From May Sutton, queen in 1908, the first American player to win the singles title at Wimbledon, to the 2000 queen, Sophia Bush, an actor nominated for a People’s Choice award for her role on “Chicago P.D.”