Miss Connecticut Erin Brady was crowned Miss USA at the pageant's ceremony on Sunday in Las Vegas. However, Brady's win is merely the culmination of pain and perseverance, according to the Daily Mail Online.

The beauty queen's relatives described her to the newspaper as an "inspiration" to her younger sisters, one of whom she helped raise while attending college.

Brady grew up the oldest of three sisters in Portland, Connecticut, near Hartford, in a family led by an alcoholic father. Her parents split in a "messy" divorce when she was 8, and the experience forced her to grow up faster.

"Sometimes I feel like a 35-year-old in a 25-year-old body," she told The Hartford Courant in May, "but the struggles helped me be better."

Through the trouble in her childhood, she remained devoted to her family and used her experience as motivation during her life. Brady attended Portland High School, where she was a member of the choir, the track team, and the National Honor Society; she graduated in 2005 after being voted Prom Queen and Best Personality.

She attended college full-time at Central Connecticut State University, where she studied finance and criminal justice. She had also moved out and began working shifts as a waitress at a Glastonbury restaurant to support herself. During her time as a college student, she took in her younger sister Lauren, sharing an apartment with her and keeping her safe from bad influences.

"Erin has always watched out for her sisters," Brady's grandmother told the newspaper.

"She was a real big sister to them, she stepped up to that role and made sure they didn't get involved with drink or drugs or anything like that.

"I don't know where she gets the will to succeed like that -- she has always been that way."

Though she was victorious in this year's state and country-wide pageant, Brady is still relatively new to the scene. She only entered her first Miss Connecticut beauty pageant last year (she came in runner-up), but believed her advanced age and her life experiences could help her through.

"Being older now I think works to my advantage. I think I have more poise, more life experience, and more maturity," she told the Courant.

The new Miss USA had been working as an accountant in Hartford before she won the top prize. She said that she wants to use her platform to aid charities that help the children of alcoholics.

"I grew up in a family influenced by that," Brady told The Associated Press after the ceremony, "and I think it's really important to help the children of families that are suffering from those problems."

Check out photos of Erin Brady's Miss USA 2013 win here.

Tags: Miss USA 2013