Elle Smith

Ellen Elizabeth "Elle" Smith (born June 19, 1998) is an American model, journalist and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2021. As Miss USA, she represented the United States at Miss Universe 2021, where she was placed in the top 10. Smith had previously been crowned Miss Kentucky USA 2021, and is the second woman from Kentucky to win Miss USA. Early life and education Ellen Elizabeth Smith was born June 19, 1998 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 in Kentucky, before migrating to Ohio in the aftermath of the American Civil War. 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, graduating with a degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in political science in 2020. While a student, Smith served as vice president of the university's chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. After completing her degree, Smith became an on-air reporter with WHAS-TV in Louisville, Kentucky, covering Southern Indiana 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 in the competition, and went on to win the title.