Sandra Windland "Wendy" Smith Rice (January 19, 1970 – May 31, 2005) was an American nature and animal

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

Biography

Sandra Windland Smith-Rice was the first child of

Frederick W. Smith Frederick Wallace Smith (born August 11, 1944) is an American business magnate and investor. He is the founder and chairman of FedEx Corporation, the world's largest transportation company. On June 1, 2022, Smith stepped down as CEO to become exe ...

, founder of FedEx and Linda Smith Grisham McFarland. She had five sisters and three brothers, including Arthur Smith, the current

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of the Atlanta Falcons. FedEx's first plane in 1973 was named "Wendy" after her. She was born on 19 January 1970 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She graduated from St. Mary's Episcopal School in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

and studied drama at Duke University. She pursued an acting career in Hollywood; she had two minor movie roles and two roles television episodes over a span of about three years. Rice became a nature photographer, completing commissions for organizations such as

Fujifilm , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from the ...

, the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...

, and Nature's Best Photography magazine. Her work won several awards and has been exhibited in the

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

. Nature's Best Photography's annual Windland Smith Rice Awards are named after her. She served on the Nature's Best Photography board and was the Master of Ceremonies Master for Nature's Best Photography Awards events. She was known for her encouragement of other photographers. Her interest in working with wildlife was exemplified by her membership on the board of the Earthfire Institute, an organization "dedicated to protecting wildlife by creating a bridge between humans, and animals in the wild," by rescuing animals that can no longer live in the wild. Rice died suddenly in Memphis, Tennessee, on May 31, 2005, of Long QT Syndrome Type 2 while visiting her mother, Linda. The Mayo Clinic opened the Windland Smith Rice Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory to study this and similar diseases. Her family and friends established a memorial fund in her name under the Sudden Arrythmia Death Syndromes Foundation. Rice's sister,

Molly Smith Molly Smith is an American theatre director and the artistic director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. She was formerly artistic director of the Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska, which she founded in 1979 and led until 1998. Biography S ...

, dedicated the 2007 movie '' P.S. I Love You'' in her memory. A portfolio of Rice's nature pictures of

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

are featured in the Memphis Zoo's Teton Trek.

References

General references

* * * 1970 births 2005 deaths American women photographers Nature photographers 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women {{US-photographer-stub