Everything You Need to Know About Miss USA Winner Elle Smith
We have a new Miss USA! On November 29 at the River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the highest national pageant honor was awarded to Elle Smith, Miss Kentucky 2021. Here’s everything you need to know about the newly crowned queen as her year-long reign begins.
She finished in the Top 10 of the 2021 Miss Universe pageant. Elle represented the United States in the event, which was held in Eilat, Israel on Sunday, December 12. She made it to the Top 10 of the international pageant, competing in the swimsuit and evening gown categories, but did not advance to the Top 5. Miss India Harnaaz Sandhu was crowned winner.
During the competition, Elle explained the importance of local journalism and the impact it has had on her life: “I work as a reporter in Louisville, Kentucky, so I’ve always loved to write. Working as a journalist in local news, I know the importance of journalism in society, and we ask the hard questions. We get those answers and we educate the community, so it’s something that I’m extremely passionate about every single day.”
Elle now fully steps into her role as Miss USA, where she will advocate for cervical cancer education and awareness. It’s a cause extremely important to Elle, after she lost her grandmother to the disease in 2015.
She grew up in Springfield, Ohio. Elle is an Ohio native and graduated from Shawnee High School in 2016. Growing up, she participated in choir, orchestra, drama, and volleyball, and was an honor student.
She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020. Elle majored in broadcast journalism with a minor in political science.
While at the University of Kentucky, she served as vice president of the school’s National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) chapter. She attended the organization’s 2020 virtual convention and credited them in helping her land her first full-time position in broadcast journalism. She wrote on Instagram, “Thank you National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) @uk_abj @njabofficial for providing me, and countless more, a place to network, learn and grow from professionals in our respective fields.” The NABJ is a nonprofit that provides networking opportunities and resources for emerging and professional Black journalists.
She is a broadcast news reporter for WHAS11 in Louisville, Kentucky. Elle is a multimedia journalist for the ABC-affiliated station, responsible for reporting on hard news stories in southern Indiana. She started her position in October 2020.
She competed in her first pageant just six months ago. The Miss Kentucky pageant in May 2021 was Elle’s very first competition. “I’ve been thinking about [entering pageants] since I was 15,” Elle said in an interview with WHAS11. “But I waited until I had my ‘big girl job’ because that’s when I could afford it.”
She is the leader of her local National Cervical Cancer Coalition chapter. Advocating for cervical cancer awareness and prevention is a cause near and dear to Elle’s heart, after her grandmother passed away from the disease in 2015. It’s a mission she will continue to invest in as Miss USA.
She attributes her success in pageants to her journalism background. Elle uses her strong communication skills to stand out in pageant competitions, telling WHAS11: “[Miss USA] should be able to speak with a 3-year-old, she should be able to speak with a 90-year-old veteran, or the CEO of a business, and we [journalists] do that every single day at work.”
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