In 1976, a young woman named Tawny Godin walked onto the Miss America stage and walked off with the crown. That moment launched a television career and kept her name in public memory for decades. Many people still search for her today — some curious about the pageant, others about her marriages, and some trying to piece together her full life story.
This article covers what is publicly known about Tawny Little: her background, her Miss America win, her work in television and film, and her family life. Where details come only from entertainment databases or secondary sources, that context is noted.
From Portland to the Miss America Stage
Tawny Little was born Tawny Elaine Godin on September 15, 1956, in Portland, Maine. She grew up in two places far from each other — Yonkers, New York, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
If you’ve seen her name written two different ways, there’s a simple reason. “Tawny Little” and “Tawny Godin” are the same person. Godin is her birth surname. She later became known professionally as Tawny Little after her first marriage, which will be covered in the section on her personal life.
Some secondary sources, including a profile on AmoMama, identify her parents as John and Constance “Connie” Godin. That detail is worth noting, but it comes from a single secondary source and hasn’t been confirmed by primary records, so it should be treated with some caution.
Miss New York 1975 and Miss America 1976
The clearest and most consistently documented fact about Tawny Little is her Miss America title. She won Miss New York in 1975, which qualified her to compete at the national level. The following year, she won Miss America 1976 — and that’s the achievement most people associate with her name.
This title is confirmed across multiple sources, including Wikipedia, IMDb, and Plex. It’s the foundation of her public identity and the reason she remains a recognizable name today.
The mid-1970s was a time when the Miss America crown carried real national visibility. Winners of that era often used the platform to move into broadcasting or on-screen work. Tawny Little followed that path. The pageant gave her a public profile that opened doors in television — something that was fairly common for Miss America winners of her generation.
Her Television and Film Work
After winning Miss America, Tawny Little built a career as a television personality. She worked in broadcasting during a period when pageant winners frequently crossed over into media roles.
She also appeared in film and television acting roles, though her screen work was not extensive. IMDb lists her among the cast of Rocky II, V (the miniseries), and Money Talks. These credits place her as an occasional actress rather than a prominent or recurring film star.
It would be an overstatement to describe her as a major Hollywood figure. A more accurate picture is this: she was a former beauty queen who used her national platform to build a career in television and picked up some screen credits along the way. That path was quite typical for Miss America winners of her era.
Her Marriages and the John Schneider Connection
Tawny Little has been married multiple times. The timeline below is drawn from IMDb and Wikipedia, so individual details should be understood as coming from entertainment database records rather than fully verified primary sources.
First Marriage: Fanning Miles Little
According to IMDb, her first marriage was to a man named Fanning Miles Little. That marriage lasted from 1977 to 1981. This is also where the surname “Little” comes from — she kept it professionally, and it’s the name most people know her by today.
Second Marriage: John Schneider
In 1983, Tawny Little married actor and musician John Schneider. That marriage ended in divorce in 1986. Schneider is best known for playing Bo Duke on the long-running television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He also had a successful country music career alongside his acting work.
Many people search for Tawny Little specifically because of this connection to Schneider. It’s worth being clear, though — her identity and public significance don’t depend on that marriage. She was Miss America before she ever met Schneider, and she had a career of her own. He is a former spouse, not the defining chapter of her story.
Third Marriage: Don Corsini
After her divorce from Schneider, Tawny Little married Don Corsini, identified in available sources as a television executive. This appears to have been her longest and most settled marriage. The couple had two sons together, Joseph John Corsini — known as J.J. — and Chris Corsini.
Fourth Marriage: Richard Jon Welch
IMDb also records a marriage to Richard Jon Welch beginning in 2000. According to the same source, Welch passed away in 2014. This information is presented here as it appears in entertainment records, though it hasn’t been independently confirmed through obituaries or other primary documents.
Children and Family Context
Tawny Little has children from more than one relationship. Her two sons from her marriage to Don Corsini — J.J. Corsini and Chris Corsini — are the most consistently referenced in public sources, including both Wikipedia and IMDb.
IMDb also references a son named Cole from her relationship with Richard Jon Welch. That detail comes primarily from the entertainment database and should be noted with appropriate care.
Beyond these points, the personal lives of her children are private. No addresses, workplaces, or other personal details about them are publicly documented in reliable sources, and this article does not speculate on any of that.
For those who come across Tawny Little’s name through genealogy websites or family-tree tools, it’s worth remembering that an entry in an online family tree isn’t automatically verified. Marriage records, reputable biographies, and primary documents offer a stronger basis for confirming relationships than a database entry alone.
Why People Still Search for Her
Tawny Little keeps showing up in search results for a few different reasons. Some people remember her from the 1976 Miss America pageant and want to know what happened next. Others come across her name while researching John Schneider and end up curious about his former wife. A smaller number find her through genealogy tools and want context.
For celebrity-focused readers who want well-researched profiles, resources like BusinessVerb can be a useful starting point for understanding a public figure’s documented history.
What’s clear is that Tawny Little built a recognizable public profile on her own terms — starting with a Miss America crown, moving into television, and living a full life beyond the spotlight. Most available information about her centers on the 1970s and 1980s, which suggests she has largely stepped back from public life in recent years. No reliable current sources confirm an active public career, ongoing media work, or other public activities at this time.
A Quick Summary of What We Know
- Born: Tawny Elaine Godin, September 15, 1956, Portland, Maine
- Raised: Yonkers, New York, and Toronto, Ontario
- Pageant titles: Miss New York 1975, Miss America 1976
- Career: Television personality and occasional actress
- Film credits: Rocky II, V, Money Talks (per IMDb)
- Marriages: Fanning Miles Little (1977–1981), John Schneider (1983–1986), Don Corsini, Richard Jon Welch (2000–2014)
- Sons: J.J. Corsini and Chris Corsini (from Don Corsini marriage)
Final Thoughts
Tawny Little is primarily known for winning Miss America in 1976 — a title she earned under her birth name, Tawny Godin. That win led to a television career and a life that continued well beyond the pageant stage.
Her connection to John Schneider is real, but it’s one chapter in a longer story. She had a career, multiple marriages, and children, and she appears to have moved into private life in the years since her television work. Most of what is publicly documented focuses on the years when she was most visible — and that’s where the strongest, most reliable information sits.
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