Elle Smith: Biography, Height, Age, Nationality, and More

There’s a particular thrill in watching someone leave a local news desk for a national stage — and Elle Smith has done exactly that. Here’s the essential profile: her height, age, nationality, and the story behind the crown.

Height: 5’10” (178 cm) ·
Born: June 20, 1998 ·
Nationality: American ·
Title: Miss USA 2021 ·
Occupation: Model, Actress

Six details, one pattern: the facts people search for most are the ones that fit on a single line — birth date, height, and title.

Who is Elle Smith?

Elle Smith is an American journalist, model, and beauty-pageant titleholder who became the second woman from Kentucky to win Miss USA, after Tara Conner in 2006 (The Courier Journal, Louisville newspaper). Born Ellen Elizabeth Smith on June 20, 1998, in Springfield, Ohio, she grew up in the state before crossing into Kentucky for college and her first TV job (Wikipedia, community encyclopedia).

Early life and career

• Graduated from Shawnee High School in 2016 as an honors student involved in choir, orchestra, drama, and volleyball (Seventeen, youth culture magazine).
• Earned a broadcast journalism degree with a political science minor from the University of Kentucky in 2020 (University of Kentucky, journalism school).
• Served as vice president of the University of Kentucky’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (University of Kentucky, journalism school).
• Worked on the Southeastern Conference production crew from 2017 to 2019 and interned at WLEX-TV in Lexington in 2019 (NNPA, Black press trade association).

Smith told the University of Kentucky that she began modeling occasionally in her senior year of high school — a side interest that later grew into a second career track (University of Kentucky, journalism school). After graduation, she worked as a Fox News college associate in Washington, D.C., before joining WHAS-TV in Louisville in October 2020 as a multimedia journalist covering Southern Indiana (The Courier Journal; Seventeen).

Miss USA 2021

• Registered to compete in Miss Kentucky USA in December 2020 (University of Kentucky, journalism school).
• Her first pageant was Miss Kentucky USA 2021, which she won representing Germantown, Louisville, according to Wikipedia (University of Kentucky Alumni, official PDF; Wikipedia, community encyclopedia).
• Won Miss USA 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on November 29, 2021 (The Courier Journal, Louisville newspaper).
• Was 23 at the time of the win (USA Today, national news outlet).
• Represented the United States at Miss Universe 2021 (Miss Universe, official organization).

The win surprised pageant watchers precisely because it came on her first attempt. The University of Kentucky Alumni notes that Miss Kentucky USA 2021 was Smith’s first pageant competition (University of Kentucky Alumni, official PDF) — and she left with the state title, then the national one, weeks later.

The pattern is rare in pageantry: a first-time competitor with a journalist’s résumé, not a childhood of state titles, walked away with the crown. That contrast — newsroom training, then a national title — is why her win became a story beyond Kentucky.

How tall is Elle Smith?

Elle Smith is 5’10” (178 cm), a figure listed on the official roster of The Source Models, her modeling agency (The Source Models, her agency). It’s the number casting directors and pageant organizers look up first, because it determines which runway and editorial doors open.

Elle Smith’s height and measurements

Height: 5’10” (178 cm) ·
Bust: 34” ·
Waist: 26” ·
Hips: 37½” ·
Shoe size: 9½ ·
Dress size: 2-4

All six figures come from her agency profile, which is where bookers and casting teams verify them (The Source Models, her agency). In practical terms, her height helps explain her smooth move from a news set to pageant staging and music-video work.

The implication: her physical profile fits the fashion industry’s tall-first preference, but the foundation of her career was built in newsrooms, not on runways. Measurements open doors; the journalism background is what keeps them open.

How old is Elle Smith?

Birthday and age

• Born June 20, 1998, according to Wikipedia (Wikipedia, community encyclopedia).
• As of 2025, she is 27 years old.
• She was 23 when she won Miss USA 2021 (USA Today, national news outlet).

Her birthday places her on the cusp of two professional worlds: she trained in traditional TV journalism, but her Miss USA and modeling work now reaches fans through Instagram and TikTok. That dual foundation matters more than the number itself.

The implication: at 27, Smith is young enough to build a multi-decade career across journalism, pageantry, and acting. If she returns to a news desk, she’d be one of the few recent Miss USA winners with a ready-made TV résumé.

What is Elle Smith’s nationality?

American nationality

• Elle Smith is American: she was born in Ohio and competed as the U.S. delegate at Miss Universe 2021 (Miss Universe, official organization).
• Her pageant titles carry U.S. and state designations — Miss Kentucky USA and Miss USA (The Courier Journal, Louisville newspaper).

Nationality is the least contested part of her profile. She was born in Springfield, Ohio, and her titles are explicitly American: Miss Kentucky USA, Miss USA, and the U.S. slot at Miss Universe.

Birthplace

• Born in Springfield, Ohio, according to Wikipedia (Wikipedia, community encyclopedia).
• Raised in Ohio; attended Shawnee High School there (Seventeen, youth culture magazine).

Smith’s Ohio roots were followed by Kentucky’s university system and Louisville’s news market, which is why she’s often described as a Kentucky figure despite being born in Ohio.

The distinction worth keeping straight: her birthplace is Ohio, her adopted state is Kentucky, and her national platform is American.

Is Elle pronounced El or Ellie?

Correct pronunciation

• “Elle” is pronounced “el,” a single syllable rhyming with “bell” (Merriam-Webster, dictionary publisher).
• In French, “elle” means “she” — the source of the name’s spelling and sound (Merriam-Webster, dictionary publisher).

Merriam-Webster lists “Elle” with the short “e” sound, so the two-syllable reading “Ellie” is a misreading fans frequently ask about.

Common nicknames

• Elle is sometimes used as a short form of Eleanor or Ella in English-speaking naming conventions.
• It also stands alone as a given name, separate from any longer form.

Her birth name is Ellen Elizabeth Smith; professionally, she goes by Elle (Wikipedia, community encyclopedia). So the name works three ways: a full professional name, a nickname for Eleanor or Ella, and the French pronoun. The catch: for fans, the one-syllable “El” is correct, but the “Ellie” misreading is common enough that it keeps appearing in search queries.

Six numbers, one takeaway: Smith’s proportions match the tall, symmetrical brief that fashion and pageant casting teams ask for — all listed by The Source Models, her agency.

Key dates in Elle Smith’s career

Eight milestones, one pattern: every step ran through local media before the national stage.

The pattern is clear: Smith didn’t abandon journalism when she won the crown — she stacked pageantry and screen work on top of her news foundation.

What’s confirmed and what’s still unclear

Not every detail in Smith’s online profiles is equally solid, so here’s the split between documented facts and open questions.

The confirmed items come from institutional or established editorial sources; the unclear items are simply not documented anywhere authoritative.

Quotes and context

“Smith said she began modeling occasionally during her senior year of high school.”

Elle Smith, via University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information

“Miss Kentucky USA 2021 was Smith’s first pageant competition.”

University of Kentucky Alumni, official PDF profile

“Smith became the second woman from Kentucky to win Miss USA, after Tara Conner in 2006.”

The Courier Journal, Louisville newspaper

What this means: the three sources together tell a consistent arc — a high-school modeling sideline, a first pageant in 2021, and a national title that arrived in the same year.

What to watch: Smith now moves between three lanes — broadcast heritage, pageant royalty, and Hollywood credits — and each lane feeds the others. Her appearance in the Jack Harlow and Drake music video “Churchill Downs” gives her music-industry visibility, while The Source Models roster keeps her in the fashion system (IMDb, film database; The Source Models, her agency). For aspiring titleholders from small-market newsrooms, the choice is clear: build the broadcast résumé first and treat the pageant as the amplifier — or chase the crown alone and hope the phone rings.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Elle Smith: Journalist, Miss USA 2021, Leah Williamson’s Partner
• Elle Smith: Biography, Ethnicity, Partner, and More