Miss Kentucky, Elle Smith, Becomes 3rd Black Woman in a Row to Win Miss USA Competition

Nationwide — Elle Smith has made history as yet another African American woman to win the 2021 Miss USA competition. The winners for the past three years have been Black women, and now Smith is set to compete in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant.

She bested 50 women from across the nation and won the crown in this year’s Miss USA pageant. She excelled during the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and has displayed outstanding performance on the question and answer portion in which she eloquently stated how businesses can be more environmentally conscious.

Smith, who has had a passion for writing since she was a child, started working as a local TV reporter at Louisville ABC affiliate WHAS11 in October 2020 after graduating from the University of Kentucky with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Political Science.

In her college years, she became the vice president of the University of Kentucky’s National Association of Black Journalists chapters and she was also a reporter and videographer for school publications. She loves traveling and she actually moved to different cities for internships and studies.

Smith, whose first pageant was when she won Miss Kentucky in May 2021, will go on to represent the United States in the Miss Universe pageant on December 12 in Eilat, Israel.

Learn more about the competition at MissUSA.com

Follow Elle Smith on Instagram @OfficialElleSmith