Jody-Anne Maxwell (born 1986) is from

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

and was the winner of the 1998

Scripps National Spelling Bee The Scripps National Spelling Bee (formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and commonly called the National Spelling Bee) is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The bee is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scri ...

at the age of 12. She made history as the first non-American to win the competition. According to ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...

'' magazine, Maxwell, who was also the competition's first Black winner, was viewed as a

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

on her return to Jamaica. Maxwell also attained significant fame in Jamaican communities within the United States. Maxwell qualified for the Scripps competition by winning Jamaica's National Spelling Bee Championship, which her sister Janice had also won in 1990. Her prizes for winning the national bee included $10,000 cash, and an education trust fund of $11,000 (U.S). She later went on to host the local Jamaican program ''The KFC Quiz Show'' with various co-hosts, (the first two being Dominique Lyew and Damar Pessoa) up until 2004 when the post was handed off to Samantha Strachan and Raine Manley Robertson. Maxwell was also a contestant on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's game show ''Figure it Out'' in 1998. She successfully stumped the panel of judges for all three rounds. In 2012 she attended the

Norman Manley Law School The Norman Manley Law School is a law school in Jamaica. Building and location The Norman Manley Law School is located on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, yet it is a distinct and separate institution. Its building, design ...

at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

, Mona Campus. Maxwell is also a past student of the prestigious

Ardenne High School Ardenne High School is a prominent coeducational, first-to-sixth form secondary school located in St. Andrew, Jamaica. The institution is best known for its high academic standards, among the highest in the Caribbean, and for its achievements in ...

in Kingston, Jamaica.

References

External links

New York Times articleJames Maguire's book American BeeJamaica Trade Point pageChoices magazine article
Jamaican spellers Spelling bee champions Contestants on American game shows Living people Scripps National Spelling Bee participants University of the West Indies alumni People from Kingston, Jamaica People associated with the Norman Manley Law School 1986 births {{Jamaica-bio-stub

See also

References

External links