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 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

, finishing in the top ten and winning the preliminary "Lifestyle & Fitness in Swimwear" competition. She authored the book ''Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers'' and is a host of

HuffPost Live HuffPost Live was an Internet-based video streaming network run by ''The Huffington Post'', a news website in the United States. The network produced original programming as well as live conversations among users via platforms such as Skype and G ...

. She is also the author of ''Diet Drama: Feed Your Body! Move Your Body! Love Your Body'' and ''Pregnancy, OMG!: The First Ever Photographic Guide for Modern Mamas-to-Be''.

Early life and education

Nancy Amanda Redd was born in Martinsville,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

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 i ...

, and was in

Girls State The American Legion Boys State and American Legion Auxiliary Girls State are summer leadership and citizenship programs for high school juniors, which focus on exploring the mechanics of American government and politics. The programs are sponsor ...

in high school. In February 2002, while attending

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, Redd won $250,000 on ''

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

'', and donated a considerable amount of her winnings to 4-H. Redd was one of

Glamour Glamour may refer to: Arts Film * ''Glamour'' (1931 film), a British film * ''Glamour'' (1934 film), an American film * ''Glamour'' (2000 film), a Hungarian film Writing * ''Glamour'' (magazine), a magazine for women * ''The 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 Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

Hosting

Redd was a longtime host of

, 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