Ask three people to name “Elle Smith” and you will get three different answers: a Kentucky TV reporter who won Miss USA, a British actress, or a model called Ella Rae — the confusion is fair because pageant results, IMDb pages, and headlines rarely pause to say which Smith they mean. The Courier Journal (Louisville newspaper) tracked her path from a Louisville neighborhood pageant to the Miss USA 2021 crown, and that path is the clearest starting point for sorting the other Ella Smiths.
Born: June 20, 1998, in Springfield, Ohio, USA · Notable title: Miss USA 2021 · Height: 5’10” · Known for: Miss Universe 2021 participation and early screen credits
Quick snapshot
- Miss Kentucky USA 2021 was her first pageant — and she won it (University of Kentucky Alumni (official alumni record))
- Won the Miss USA 2021 title (AL.com (Alabama news outlet))
- Exact birth date: public sources list both June 19 and June 20, 1998 (Wikipedia (volunteer-maintained encyclopedia))
- The nature of her screen credits — pageant telecasts and the 2022 “Churchill Downs” music video, not a feature-film run (IMDb (crowd-sourced film database))
- 1998: Born in Springfield, Ohio (IMDb (crowd-sourced film database))
- May 2021: Won Miss Kentucky USA 2021 (University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information (official university college profile))
- October 2020: Joined WHAS-TV in Louisville (New Hampshire Public Radio (regional public radio network))
- Represented the U.S. at Miss Universe 2021 in Israel (National Newspaper Publishers Association (Black press trade association))
Key Facts at a Glance
Six rows, one pattern: the anchors of her public biography point to American newsrooms and pageant stages — and the disputed day of birth is a reminder to check the source.
| Full Name | Elle Smith |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | June 20, 1998 (some sources list June 19) |
| Place of Birth | Springfield, Ohio, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Model, Beauty Pageant Titleholder, Journalist |
| Height | 5’10” |
The row that matters most: “Occupation.” The public record puts journalism and pageantry first, with screen credits a distant third.
Who Is Elle Smith?
The simplest answer comes from her work history: Elle Smith is a broadcast journalist and model who holds the Miss USA 2021 title. The “actress” label that appears in searches is where the confusion begins.
Miss USA 2021 biography
- Served as vice president of the University of Kentucky’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information (official university college profile))
- Held journalism and production internships in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Washington, D.C. (National Newspaper Publishers Association (Black press trade association))
- Worked in the Fox News Washington, D.C., bureau as a college associate (National Newspaper Publishers Association (Black press trade association))
Her pageant run was short and decisive. The Courier Journal (Louisville newspaper) reported that she entered the Miss Kentucky USA 2021 contest as Miss Germantown, a Louisville neighborhood. She won the state title in May 2021, according to the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information (official university college profile), and the national title followed later that year, when AL.com (Alabama news outlet) covered Miss Kentucky USA taking the Miss USA crown. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2020 with a bachelor’s in broadcast journalism and a political science minor (University of Kentucky Alumni (official alumni record)).
The whole run took less than a year — a fast arc that still defines how the public meets her. For the full pageant-season breakdown, see our full guide: Elle Smith: Miss USA 2021 Winner, Journalist, and Model.
Elle Smith is a pageant winner whose entire pageant résumé is one title long: she entered once, won, and moved on. That brevity is exactly what makes her easy to confuse with actresses who have decades of credits.
Modeling career and representation
- Her Miss USA biographical statement identified modeling, photography, and videography as creative interests (AL.com (Alabama news outlet))
- Represented by The Source Models in Miami; her agency profile lists her at 5’10”
Modeling is part of her background, but the public record ties her commercial identity to pageants and news first, with modeling filling out the profile rather than defining it.
For anyone researching “Elle Smith” today, that split — journalist and titleholder, not movie actress — is the distinction that fixes most mix-ups.
The distinction matters because a search for “Elle Smith actress” can land on the wrong biography.
Is Leah Williamson in a Relationship with Elle Smith?
This is the question that brings many readers here, and the answer is much shorter than the rumor mill suggests.
The origin of the rumor
- No official statement from Elle Smith addresses the rumor.
- No official statement from Leah Williamson addresses it either.
- None of the sources reviewed for this article document a relationship.
The question clearly circulates — it is a common related-search query — but the public record contains zero confirmation.
Public statements and evidence
Statement from Elle Smith: none published · Statement from Leah Williamson: none published · Documented evidence: none found
That triple negative is the honest answer to the question.
The Williamson rumor keeps circulating without a primary source. Until Smith or Williamson publishes a statement, any “confirmation” of the relationship is secondhand.
The implication: treat every viral post on the topic as unverified, no matter what photo it attaches to the names.
Elle Smith Nationality and Ethnicity
Nationality and ethnicity are separate questions, and the record treats them differently.
What is Elle Smith’s nationality?
- Born in Springfield, Ohio (key facts table above)
- Competed through Kentucky titles: Miss Germantown, Miss Kentucky USA, Miss USA
- Delegated for the U.S. at Miss Universe 2021 (see timeline below)
The Ohio-Kentucky split is a common source of confusion. She was born in Ohio, competed through Kentucky’s pageant system, and worked as a journalist in Louisville.
Known ethnic background
- No published biography in the reviewed sources itemizes an ethnic background.
- Trade-press coverage identifies her as a Black journalist, a framing quoted below.
- Her own published bios emphasize journalism and pageant work, not heritage details.
That silence is the finding: the confirmed facts are American nationality and a journalism career; ethnic background stays in the unconfirmed column.
What this means: nationality is firm; anything beyond it is inference, not biography.
How Old Is Elle Smith and Other Ella Smiths?
Age is the fastest identity test for the Elle/Ella group, because each public figure sits in a different decade.
Age of Elle Smith (Miss USA 2021)
Born: 1998 · Age in 2025: 27 · Day: June 19 or June 20, per source
Wikipedia (volunteer-maintained encyclopedia) records the day as either June 19 or June 20, 1998; the year itself is the consistent anchor.
How old is Ella Smith?
Born: 1992 · Age in 2025: 32 or 33 · Known for: “We Are Lady Parts”
This Ella Smith is the British actress — a different person from the American titleholder, and roughly six years older.
How old is Ella Rae Smith?
Birth year: not consistently published · Reliable anchor: film and TV credits
Ella Rae Smith’s profiles emphasize credits over chronology, so treat a precise birth date found on a fan site as unverified.
How old is Ella now?
The related search “how old is Ella now?” has no single answer; it depends on which public figure the asker means.
The pattern: “how old is Ella now?” only makes sense once you add a surname and a career marker.
How Tall Is Ella Rae Smith and Other Similar Celebrities?
Height is another quick filter, but only when the rest of the name matches first.
Ella Rae Smith’s height
Ella Rae Smith: 5’9″ · Elle Smith (Miss USA): 5’10” · Actress Ella Smith: not consistently published
Modeling profiles typically list Ella Rae Smith at 5 feet 9 inches. The Miss USA titleholder is listed at 5 feet 10 inches by The Source Models, the Miami agency that represents her.
Other Elle/Ella Smiths
- Elle Smith (Miss USA 2021): 5’10”, represented by The Source Models in Miami
- Ella Rae Smith (model-actress): 5’9″ in modeling-profile roundups
- Ella Smith (actress): no consistent height in the reviewed profiles
The one-inch gap is small; the hyphen between “Ella” and “Rae” is not.
The trade-off: measurement quotes drift across fan sites, so use height as a check, not as proof.
What Movies and TV Shows Has Ella-Rae Smith Been In?
If you are tracking the hyphenated Ella-Rae, the credits are the stable part of her record.
Filmography highlights
- “The Girl with All the Gifts” (2016)
- “The Night Manager” (TV miniseries)
- Additional British television credits under the “Ella-Rae Smith” billing
Those two credits anchor her identity as an actress; they are the ones that separate her from the pageant winner.
Acting career overview
- Elle Smith (Miss USA 2021): pageant-era credits — the 2021 Miss USA telecast, a Miss Teen USA appearance, and the 2022 “Churchill Downs” music video
- Ella-Rae Smith: film and TV roles, not pageant telecasts
- The titleholder’s IMDb record is a pageant-era list, not a filmography
A search for “Elle Smith actress” can land on the titleholder’s page and stop there, which is why the hyphen matters.
The catch: the film career belongs to the hyphenated Ella-Rae, not to the Miss USA winner.
Who Is Ella Anderson and Other Celebrities Named Elle?
Who are some famous celebrities named Elle?
Search results for the name merge generations: Ella Hunt, Ella Anderson, and every variant of Elle/Ella in one list. The query has no single answer; it depends on which public figure the asker means.
Ella Anderson’s age and career
Born: 2005 · Career: actress · Generation: youngest name in this group
Ella Anderson is an actress born in 2005, which makes her the youngest person in this grouping by several years.
Other notable Ellas
- Related searches mix Ella Hunt, Ella Anderson, and every variant of Elle/Ella in one list.
- The query “How old is Ella now?” has no single answer; it depends on which public figure the asker means.
- The fix is always the same: add the surname and the career marker.
No amount of name-list curation fixes that; only precise searching does.
Why this matters: the next “celebrities named Elle” list you see will probably merge three generations, and the birth years are the only reliable separator.
Elle Smith vs. Ella Smith vs. Ella Rae Smith: Side by Side
Who is Ella Smith?
Ella Smith is the British actress known for “We Are Lady Parts,” born in 1992 — a different person from the American titleholder.
Three people, one name pattern, and a contrast that matters: they work in different industries, and the public records reflect it.
| Elle Smith (Miss USA 2021) | Ella Smith (actress) | Ella Rae Smith (model/actress) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best known for | Miss USA 2021 and TV reporting | “We Are Lady Parts” | “The Girl with All the Gifts” |
| Birth year | 1998 | 1992 | Not consistently published |
| Height | 5’10” | Not widely published | Typically 5’9″ |
| Nationality | American | British | British |
The pattern: one name, three careers — and the surname plus credit list, not the first name, resolves the identity.
Elle Smith’s Timeline: From Louisville News to Miss Universe
Most of these dates come from university records, radio coverage, and film databases, and the arc is unusually compact.
- : Born in Springfield, Ohio (IMDb (crowd-sourced film database))
- : Joined WHAS-TV in Louisville as a multimedia reporter (New Hampshire Public Radio (regional public radio network))
- : Won Miss Kentucky USA 2021 (University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information (official university college profile))
- : Crowned Miss USA 2021 at River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa, Oklahoma (University of Kentucky Alumni (official alumni record))
- : Represented the U.S. at Miss Universe 2021 in Israel (National Newspaper Publishers Association (Black press trade association))
- : Credited in the “Churchill Downs” music video (IMDb (crowd-sourced film database))
Why this matters: a first pageant in May 2021 and a Miss Universe stage by December — that speed is why the public record reads more like a lightning round than a slow career.
Confirmed Facts vs. What’s Still Unclear
Confirmed facts
- Won the Miss USA 2021 title as Kentucky’s delegate (AL.com (Alabama news outlet))
- Miss Kentucky USA 2021 was her first pageant (University of Kentucky Alumni (official alumni record))
- Worked as a multimedia reporter at WHAS-TV in Louisville (New Hampshire Public Radio (regional public radio network))
What’s unclear
- Exact birth date: June 19 vs. June 20, 1998 (Wikipedia (volunteer-maintained encyclopedia))
- Relationship with Leah Williamson: no official confirmation from either party
- Ethnic background: not publicly detailed in the reviewed biographies
- Acting career depth: the public credit list is pageant-era and music-video sized, not a feature filmography
The takeaway: the high-confidence facts are pageant and journalism records; identity details and relationship status stay unconfirmed.
The Headlines That Framed Elle Smith
Three headlines show how the press framed her in a single pageant season — and each one pulled a different identity hook.
“The new Miss USA is Elle Smith, a local TV reporter from Kentucky.”
— New Hampshire Public Radio (regional public radio network)
“Black Journalist, Miss Kentucky, Becomes Miss USA 2021.”
— National Newspaper Publishers Association (Black press trade association)
“Miss USA 2021: Miss Kentucky USA takes the crown.”
— AL.com (Alabama news outlet)
What this means: reporter, Black journalist, Kentucky winner — each headline chose a different identity, and search engines echo all three.
The Takeaway
Elle Smith of Miss USA 2021 is a journalist, model, and titleholder — a documented biography with a short, pageant-era screen record. The other Ella Smiths are separate people with separate careers, and the only reliable way to tell them apart is their credits and birth years. Verify the surname spelling and the career marker before repeating a claim, or the next viral headline will sort Elle Smith from Ella Smith for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Elle Smith’s nationality?
American. She represented the United States at Miss Universe 2021 and holds titles tied to Kentucky.
How old is Elle Smith?
Born in 1998, she is 27 as of 2025. Public sources list her birth date as either June 19 or June 20.
How tall is Elle Smith?
The Source Models, the Miami agency that represents her, lists her at 5 feet 10 inches.
What is Elle Smith known for?
Winning Miss USA 2021 — in her first pageant — and working as a multimedia TV reporter at WHAS-TV in Louisville. Prefer the compact version? Read Elle Smith: Miss USA 2021 Biography, Age, and Pageant Career.
Is there a connection between Elle Smith and Leah Williamson?
No official confirmation from either party has been published, and none of the sources reviewed for this article document a relationship.
Is Elle Smith the same person as Ella Smith the actress?
No. The Miss USA titleholder is American, born in 1998, and works in journalism and modeling; the actress is British, born in 1992, and known for “We Are Lady Parts.”
What movies has Ella-Rae Smith been in?
She appeared in “The Girl with All the Gifts” and the BBC miniseries “The Night Manager.”
George Thompson is Senior Reporter at UrbanMixr.uk, covering breaking culture, lifestyle and general news stories across the UK.