Every so often a résumé comes along that refuses to fit a single box. Elle Smith earned her Miss USA title on November 29, 2021, after spending her early career as a television reporter in Louisville, Kentucky — a path recorded in her University of Kentucky alumni profile — and her name has since traveled well beyond pageant circles, most often alongside England footballer Leah Williamson.
Age: 26 (as of 2024) · Miss USA title: 2021 · Profession: Journalist, model, public speaker · Instagram followers: 162,000 · Partner: Leah Williamson
Quick snapshot
- Won Miss USA 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma (University of Kentucky alumni profile)
- Graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020 (University of Kentucky alumni profile)
- In a relationship with England footballer Leah Williamson (PinkNews)
- Exact birth date — sources differ on June 19 vs. June 20 (IMDb)
- When the relationship with Williamson actually began (PinkNews)
- Ethnic background — no public record
- 2021: Miss Kentucky (May) to Miss USA (Nov. 29) (University of Kentucky alumni profile)
- March 2025: Smith posts a video of the two together on a sea float (PinkNews)
- September 2025: Williamson posts a photo that reads as confirmation (PinkNews)
- 2025: Smith’s film credit Untamed is reported to premiere (details unconfirmed)
- Watch for a direct statement from the couple — so far the confirmation has been visual (PinkNews)
The pattern: the confirmed part of Smith’s record is early and institutional; the recent part is visual and still settling.
Seven facts anchor this profile, and one pattern stands out: Smith’s public identity was built in a newsroom before it was ever capped with a crown.
| Full name | Ellen Elizabeth Smith |
|---|---|
| Born | June 19, 1998 (some profiles list June 20 — IMDb) |
| Hometown | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Education | University of Kentucky, broadcast journalism, class of 2020 (University of Kentucky alumni profile) |
| Title | Miss USA 2021 (University of Kentucky alumni profile) |
| Partner | Leah Williamson, Arsenal and England defender (PinkNews) |
| Known for | Miss USA win, TV journalism, modeling, screenwriting |
The through-line: one degree, one title, one partner — and a career that keeps adding chapters rather than closing them.
Who is Elle Smith and what is she known for?
Elle Smith is an American journalist, model, and pageant titleholder whose profile jumped in November 2021, when she won Miss USA. According to her University of Kentucky alumni profile — the university’s official alumni publication — she graduated in 2020 with a degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in political science, then joined WHAS-TV, the ABC affiliate in Louisville, as an on-air reporter. All of that came before she ever entered a pageant.
- May 2021 — wins Miss Kentucky USA in her first-ever pageant (University of Kentucky alumni profile)
- November 29, 2021 — wins Miss USA in Tulsa, Oklahoma (University of Kentucky alumni profile)
- 2021 — represents the U.S. at Miss Universe in Eilat, Israel, reaching the Top 10 (University of Kentucky alumni profile)
Her Instagram bio, quoted below, lists Wilhelmina Models among her representation — a reminder that the pageant win opened doors beyond broadcasting.
The university alumni profile is the deepest verified source on Smith’s pre-pageant life. Claims about her later career — film work, endorsements, income — come from thinner ground, so they deserve a different standard of proof.
The implication: her résumé was already unusual before the crown arrived, and that mix of newsroom and stage is what has kept attention alive since.
How old is Elle Smith?
Elle Smith was born in June 1998, which makes her 26 as of 2024. The exact day is where public records split: most profiles record June 19, while the film-and-TV database IMDb lists June 20 as an alternative.
The same database places her birth in Springfield, Ohio — a detail that surprises readers who assume her Kentucky roots go back to birth. Her documented hometown is Louisville, Kentucky, where she later worked as a reporter.
- Born: June 1998 (sources differ on June 19 vs. June 20)
- Age as of 2024: 26
- Partner’s birth date: March 7, 1997 (Leah Williamson, age 27 as of 2024)
The takeaway: Smith is 26, Williamson is 27, and every age-adjacent headline should be checked against those two dates.
What is Elle Smith’s ethnicity?
The direct answer: Elle Smith’s ethnic background has not been publicly detailed. No official profile, interview record, or verified source used in this article documents her ancestry.
- Birthplace per IMDb: Springfield, Ohio (IMDb)
- Documented hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
- Ethnic background: no public record
The takeaway: on ethnicity, the honest answer is “not on the record” — and a gap in the record is not a detail.
Who is Elle Smith’s partner?
Elle Smith’s partner is Leah Williamson, an England international footballer and Arsenal defender. In UK coverage, Williamson is usually the headline name; in US coverage, the Miss USA title leads — a split that explains why the relationship gets framed so differently depending on where you read about it (PinkNews).
How long have Leah Williamson and Elle Smith been together?
- 2022: media reports place the start of the relationship
- 2023: the couple became publicly visible around the Women’s World Cup
- 2024: multiple outlets still list them as a couple
- 2025: shared holidays and public posts
Neither woman has given an official start date. PinkNews has noted that media reports linked the pair romantically well before either of them explicitly confirmed the relationship — and much of the “confirmation” has come through photos rather than statements.
The pattern: this relationship went public through context — shared holidays, shared events, shared circles — rather than through a single announcement.
What condition does Leah Williamson have?
Williamson tore her ACL in 2023 — an injury that usually means a long spell on the sidelines — and Smith was a visible presence during the recovery. The medical timeline, not the pageant calendar, frames the couple’s most public years to date.
Leah Williamson’s injury is an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, suffered in 2023. The recovery period anchored Smith and Williamson’s first fully public year together, and it’s the backdrop that made the relationship feel real to audiences who don’t usually follow pageant news.
What this means: the ACL injury is the medical fact most readers encounter when they search either woman today — and it’s also why so much of the coverage around the couple is set against football fixtures rather than red carpets.
The signal: the relationship is real in the public record, but the specific timeline — when it started, how it progressed, when it became exclusive — remains in the domain of media inference rather than direct confirmation.
Are Leah Williamson and Elle Smith still together?
As of the latest public evidence, yes. Photos and posts from 2025 show the couple together, and the relationship’s status shifted from “reported” to something close to confirmed that year, according to PinkNews.
- March 2025: Smith posts a birthday-related video of the two together on a sea float (PinkNews)
- Summer 2025: the pair holiday in Majorca before UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 (PinkNews)
- May 2025: Smith shares a photo with Williamson after Arsenal win the 2024–25 UEFA Women’s Champions League (PinkNews)
- September 2025: Williamson appears to finally confirm the relationship with a photo of Smith at the Ballon d’Or awards (PinkNews)
Notice the pattern: every confirmation so far has come through images, not statements. PinkNews’s September headline uses “appears” deliberately, reflecting that neither woman has issued a direct public statement about the relationship.
What age is Leah Williamson?
- Born: March 7, 1997
- Age as of 2024: 27
- Position: Defender
- Teams: Arsenal, England
Williamson is roughly 15 months older than Smith. Both are in their mid-20s and at the peak of fast-moving careers, which is exactly why their relationship timeline gets tracked in near-real time.
The takeaway: the age narrative that sometimes follows the couple has never matched the actual dates — they are effectively the same generation, on and off the pitch.
The implication for readers: public curiosity about this couple will likely continue to be fed through shared posts and event appearances rather than through formal announcements, making social media the primary source for relationship tracking.
Key moments, from the newsroom to the film set
The milestones below mix verified records with reported details, and each one carries its source weight.
- June 19, 1998: Elle Smith is born; some records list June 20, and IMDb places the birth in Springfield, Ohio (IMDb)
- 2020: graduates from the University of Kentucky and joins WHAS-TV in Louisville (University of Kentucky alumni profile)
- 2021: wins Miss Kentucky USA (May), Miss USA (Nov. 29), and reaches the Top 10 at Miss Universe (University of Kentucky alumni profile)
- 2022: media reports place the start of her relationship with Williamson (PinkNews)
- 2023: Williamson suffers an ACL injury; the couple becomes publicly visible around the Women’s World Cup (PinkNews)
- March 2025: Smith shares a birthday video of the two together (PinkNews)
- May–September 2025: UWCL photo, Majorca reports, and the Ballon d’Or post that reads as confirmation (PinkNews)
- 2025: Untamed, a film written by Smith, is scheduled to premiere (reported, not independently confirmed)
Reading the list sideways: almost every milestone after 2023 comes from a sports context or a public photo. The pageant chapter is closed; the current chapter is being written in real time.
What’s confirmed about Elle Smith — and what isn’t
Separating the two lists matters because Smith’s story now travels through three very different kinds of sources: a university record, an entertainment database, and LGBTQ+ media covering her relationship.
Confirmed facts
- Miss USA 2021, won November 29, 2021, in Tulsa, Oklahoma (University of Kentucky alumni profile)
- University of Kentucky class of 2020; former WHAS-TV reporter (University of Kentucky alumni profile)
- Born June 1998 (IMDb)
- In a relationship with Leah Williamson, evidenced repeatedly through public appearances and posts (PinkNews)
Still not on the record
- Exact birth date (June 19 vs. June 20)
- Exact start date of the relationship (2022 is reported, not confirmed)
- Ethnic background
- Salary and net worth
- Height — no official figure published
- Production details of the film Untamed
The pattern: everything solid in Smith’s story comes from institutional records or repeated journalistic reporting. Everything soft sits in the gaps between them — and the gaps are where most search queries actually land.
In their own words
Smith’s social media bios are the closest thing to first-person statements she has made public. Together they describe where she is and who represents her — but stay deliberately quiet about the relationship.
“NYC @wilhelminamodels @evmglobal @kensingtongrey”
— Elle Smith, Instagram bio
“tall, dark and handsome NYC”
— Elle Smith, TikTok bio
Neither bio mentions Williamson, pageantry, or journalism. The most direct confirmation-adjacent statement in the public record comes not from Smith herself but from a headline about her partner.
“Leah Williamson appears to finally confirm relationship with photo of girlfriend at the Ballon d’Or awards”
The implication: Smith’s public voice is brief and curated. Nearly everything substantive about her personal life has been narrated by third parties — which is exactly why the source of each claim matters.
The unfinished part of her story
Elle Smith’s biography is unusual in how it divides: the early chapters come from a detailed university record, while the current ones are being written in real time through photos, posts, and football fixtures. The through-line is the combination that first made her interesting — a journalist who treats the crown as one line on a longer résumé, and who now appears to be adding “screenwriter” to the list. For Elle Smith, the next professional move is clear: let the 2025 film Untamed do the talking, or risk being remembered as a pageant winner whose most-covered story belonged to someone else.
Frequently asked questions
What is Elle Smith’s full name?
Her full name is Ellen Elizabeth Smith. She has used “Elle” publicly since her pageant days.
Where did Elle Smith study?
She studied broadcast journalism at the University of Kentucky, with a minor in political science, and graduated in 2020 (University of Kentucky alumni profile).
When did Elle Smith win Miss USA?
She won Miss USA on November 29, 2021, in Tulsa, Oklahoma — six months after winning Miss Kentucky USA, her first pageant (University of Kentucky alumni profile).
What films has Elle Smith written?
Her most frequently cited film credit is Untamed, reported to premiere in 2025, though official sources have not confirmed the project details.
Does Elle Smith have children?
There is no public record of Elle Smith having children.
What is Elle Smith’s net worth?
No reliable net worth figure has been published. Numbers circulating online are estimates without a documented basis.
How tall is Elle Smith?
Her height has not been confirmed by any official source.
Does Leah Williamson have a husband?
No — Leah Williamson is not married. She has been publicly linked to Elle Smith since 2023 (PinkNews).
Related reading
- Elle Smith: Miss USA 2021, Age, Partner, and Biography (Urbanmixr guide)
- Elle Smith: Biography, Height, Age, Nationality, and More (Urbanmixr guide)
George Thompson is Senior Reporter at UrbanMixr.uk, covering breaking culture, lifestyle and general news stories across the UK.