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

Miss USA 2021 Miss USA 2021 was the 70th Miss USA pageant, held on November 29, 2021, at the Paradise Cove Theater of River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The competition was hosted by Zuri Hall and Patrick Ta, while Nicole Adamo served as a lounge ...

. 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 December 13, 2021. At the end of the event, Andrea Meza of Mexico crowned Harnaaz Sandhu of India as Miss Universe 2021. It is India's fi ...

where she was placed in the top ten. Smith had previously been crowned Miss Kentucky USA 2021, and is the second woman from Kentucky to win Miss USA.

Early life and education

Smith was born in Springfield, Ohio 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 A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, before migrating to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in the aftermath of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. 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 to enroll in the

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

, 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, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

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 an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...

. 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 ru ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, covering

Southern Indiana Southern Indiana is a region consisting of the southern third of the state of Indiana. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be par ...

within the Louisville metropolitan area.

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. However, she ultimately did not sign up for a pageant until eight years later, with Miss Kentucky USA 2021 being her first ever pageant. She represented

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...

in the competition, and went on to win the title.

Miss USA 2021

As Miss Kentucky USA, Smith received the right to represent Kentucky at

. Miss USA 2021 was ultimately held on November 29, 2021, in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. In the competition, Smith advanced to the Top 16, and later the Top 8, before being announced as the competition's winner. Following her win, Smith became the second entrant from Kentucky to ever 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 r ...

was crowned

Miss USA 2006 Miss USA 2006 was the 55th Miss USA pageant, held at the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, Maryland on April 21, 2006. Fifty-one state titleholders competed for the title, which was won by Tara Conner of Kentucky. Conner was crowned by outgoing t ...

. Smith was also the first titleholder under the new Miss USA Organization. In the final question portion of Miss USA, 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 responded: As Miss USA, Smith represented the United States at

, where she placed in the top ten. In addition to the opportunity to compete at Miss Universe, Smith moved to Los Angeles to participate in events for the year of her reign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Elle 1998 births African-American beauty pageant winners African-American female models African-American women journalists American beauty pageant winners American female models 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 Female models from Kentucky Female models from Ohio