Ellen Elizabeth "Elle" Smith (born June 19, 1998) is an American journalist and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss USA 2021 Miss USA 2021 was the 70th Miss USA pageant, held at the Paradise Cove Theater of River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma on November 29, 2021. The edition marked the first year of the competition under Crystle Stewart's directorship. At ...

. As Miss USA, she represented the United States at

Miss Universe 2021 Miss Universe 2021 was the 70th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Universe Dome in Eilat, Israel on 13 December 2021. At the end of the event, Harnaaz Sandhu of India was crowned Miss Universe 2021 by Andrea Meza of Mexico. It was India's f ...

, where she was placed in the Top 10. Smith had previously been crowned

Miss Kentucky USA The Miss Kentucky USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Kentucky in the Miss USA pageant. It is currently directed by Proctor Productions and it was formerly directed by Connie Clark Harrison, Miss Ken ...

2021, and is the second woman from Kentucky to win Miss USA.

Early life and education

Ellen Elizabeth Smith was born June 19, 1998 in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...

, to parents Samuel Clayborne and Lydia Smith; she is biracial, being born to a black father and a white mother. Her black ancestors were enslaved on a

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, before migrating to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

in the aftermath of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Smith graduated from Shawnee High School in 2016, where she was an honors student involved in choir, orchestra, volleyball, and drama. Afterwards, she moved to

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, to enroll in the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

, graduating with a degree in

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

and a minor in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in 2020. While a student, Smith served as vice president of the university's chapter of the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and professional organization of African Americans, African American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 197 ...

. After completing her degree, Smith became an on-air reporter with

WHAS-TV WHAS-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Tegna Inc., the station maintains studios on West Chestnut Street in Downtown Louisville, and its transmitter is located in rur ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, covering

Southern Indiana Southern Indiana is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern third of the U.S. state of Indiana and borders the states of Illinois to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Ohio to the east. Spanning the state's southe ...

within the

Louisville metropolitan area The Louisville metropolitan area is the 43rd largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States. It had a population of 1,395,855 in 2020 according to the latest official census, and its principal city is Louisville, Kentucky. T ...

Pageantry

Smith first became interested in competing in pageantry after one of her high school classmates, Brittany Reid, was crowned Miss Ohio Teen USA 2013. She did not complete in a pageant herself until eight years later, when she entered and won Miss Kentucky USA 2021, representing

Germantown, Louisville Germantown is a neighborhood three miles southeast of downtown Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Germantown is also a general term for an area of Louisville from the Original Highlands, Louisville, Original Highlands to St. Joseph, Louisville, St Joseph ...

Miss USA 2021

As Miss Kentucky USA, Smith represented Kentucky and won at Miss USA 2021, on November 29, 2021, in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. Smith became the second entrant from Kentucky to be crowned Miss USA, after

Tara Conner Tara Elizabeth Conner (born December 18, 1985) is an American model, television personality, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2006 and has also competed in the Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe pageants. Apart from her rol ...

was crowned in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

. In the final question portion, Smith picked judge Ty Hunter, who asked "Sustainability is becoming more and more important in professional landscapes. How can we encourage business to be more environmentally conscious?," to which she answered: Smith moved to Los Angeles to participate in events for the year of her reign.

Miss Universe 2021

As Miss USA, Smith represented the United States at Miss Universe 2021, where she reached the top 10.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Elle 1998 births African-American beauty pageant winners African-American women journalists African-American journalists American beauty pageant winners American women television journalists American television reporters and correspondents Living people Miss Universe 2021 contestants Miss USA winners People from Louisville, Kentucky People from Springfield, Ohio University of Kentucky alumni Journalists from Kentucky Journalists from Ohio