Nancy Amanda Redd (born April 28, 1981) is an American author who was

Miss Virginia The Miss Virginia competition is a scholarship pageant for women, with the titleholder representing Virginia in the Miss America pageant. The competition was founded in 1953 as a scholarship contest for young women, although women had represente ...

in 2003 and competed in

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

, finishing in the top ten and winning the preliminary "Lifestyle & Fitness in Swimwear" competition. Redd authored the body positive nonfiction book ''Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers'' (2007), and hosted the show HuffPost Live. She is also the author of ''Diet Drama: Feed Your Body! Move Your Body! Love Your Body'' (2010) and ''Pregnancy, OMG!: The First Ever Photographic Guide for Modern Mamas-to-Be'' (2018). Redd has since authored the

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

''Bedtime Bonnet'' (2020) and ''The Real Santa'' (2021).

Early life and education

Nancy Amanda Redd was born in Martinsville,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

on April 28, 1981. As a child in Virginia, she was active in

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

, and was in Girls State in high school. In February 2002, while attending

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, Redd won $250,000 on ''

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (WWTBAM) is an international television game show franchise of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (British game show), British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, cu ...

'', and donated a considerable amount of her winnings to 4-H. Redd was one of Glamour's ''Top Ten College Women'' in October 2002. Redd graduated from Harvard with honors in 2003, with a degree in women's studies.

Pageantry

Miss Virginia 2003

Miss America 2003

Career

Books

Redd is the author of many nonfiction books, including the

New York Times bestseller ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...

''Body Drama''. Her other nonfiction works on women's bodies include ''Diet Drama'' and ''Pregnancy OMG!''. Redd's first children's book, ''Bedtime Bonnet'', was released in 2020. She wrote the book for her daughter to celebrate "black nighttime hair routines". Redd's second children's book is entitled ''The Real Santa'', which was released in 2021. The book's goal was to fill a demand in the black community for representation of a black

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

Hosting

Redd was a longtime host of HuffPost Live, which ran from 2012 to 2016. Redd hosted her last segment in 2015. Redd would go on to host the show ''SoMe'' in 2016.

Personal life

Redd is married to Indian-American actor Rupak Ginn. They have two children, a son named August and a daughter also named Nancy.

Bibliography

* ''Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers'' (2007) * ''Diet Drama: Feed Your Body! Move Your Body! Love Your Body!'' (2010) * ''Pregnancy, OMG!: The First Ever Photographic Guide for Modern Mamas–to–Be'' (2018) * ''Bedtime Bonnet'' (2020; with illustrator Nneka Myers) * ''The Real Santa'' (2021; with illustrator Charnelle Pinkney Barlow)

References

External links

Official website
* * Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers by Nancy Redd 1981 births American beauty pageant winners Harvard University alumni Living people Miss America 2004 delegates Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners People from Martinsville, Virginia Miss Virginia winners {{US-pageant-bio-stub