Rachel Smith

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about American model. For the British gymnast, see Rachel Smith (gymnast). For the American runner, see Rachel Schneider.
Rachel Smith
Miss Teen USA 2002
(Top 10)
Miss Tennessee USA 2007
(Winner)
Miss USA 2007
(Winner)
Miss Universe 2007

(4th Runner-Up)

Rachel Renee Smith (born April 18, 1985) is an American actress, tv host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the

Miss Teen USA 2002 pageant. She represented the United States at Miss Universe 2007 and placed 4th Runner-Up.[1]

Early life

Rachel Smith at Los Angeles Pride 2011

Smith was born on a U.S. Army base in Panama. She lived in Clarksville, TN after her parents were stationed at

Davidson Academy for high school.[2][3]

Smith graduated

high school.[4] While she was at Belmont, she interned for eight months with Chicago-based Harpo Productions, a company owned by Oprah Winfrey. In January 2007, it was announced that she had been chosen by Winfrey to volunteer for one month at her Leadership Academy for Girls.[5]

Pageantry

Cinderella Scholarship Program

In 1993, Smith competed in the Miniature Miss Division at the Cinderella International Pageant, representing Tennessee. She was later crowned the 1993 International Miniature Miss.

Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2002

Smith won her first major pageant title in 2001 when she was crowned

Vanessa Semrow of Wisconsin
.

Miss Tennessee USA 2007

On October 7, 2006, Smith became the fourth former Miss Tennessee Teen USA to win the Miss Tennessee USA title, following Molly Brown who held the 1984 teen and 1987 Miss titles, Lynnette Cole who held the 1995 teen and 2000 Miss titles and won Miss USA 2000 and Allison Alderson, who held the 1994 teen title and 2002 Miss title. She won the title in a state pageant held at Austin Peay State University in her home town of Clarksville. [citation needed]

Smith is one of three delegates who placed in the final six in the Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2002 pageant to later win consecutive Miss Tennessee USA crowns, after Amy Colley won the title in 2005 and Lauren Grissom won it in 2006. A fourth member of that top six was

Brittany Swann, who placed second runner-up. One month after Smith won her title, Swann won the Miss Georgia USA 2007 title, and both competed against each other at the Miss USA 2007 pageant. Swann and Smith have the same directors, Greenwood Productions, which produce the Tennessee and Georgia state pageants.[7][8]

Miss USA 2007

Smith represented

Los Angeles, California, where she became the second titleholder from Tennessee to win the Miss USA crown. Smith won both the swimsuit and evening gown competitions with consistently high scores. She was crowned by titleholder Tara Conner alongside whom she competed at Miss Teen USA 2002. Smith is the third consecutive former Miss Teen USA delegate to win the title. [citation needed
]

Miss Universe 2007

As Miss USA, Smith represented the United States in the

thumbs-down sign.[9]

After competing in the preliminary competition, Smith made the top 15 during the pageant finals, where she placed sixth in swimsuit and advanced to the top ten. During the evening gown competition, Smith slipped and fell down before quickly getting back onto her feet. She maintained composure as she finished her walk, and advanced to the top 5 despite the fall.

Smith was again booed by the Mexican crowd after she was announced as part of the top five while the local representative from Mexico was not. This continued as Smith answered her final question, finishing by thanking the crowd in Spanish, which finally made the crowd cheer. She eventually placed fourth runner-up, equaling the placement of her predecessor Tara Conner at Miss Universe 2006. The booing and jeering during the pageant was a repeat of a similar incident during Miss Universe 1993, also held in Mexico City, when Miss USA Kenya Moore was loudly booed.[10] The audience reaction was attributed to political issues between the two nations. In August 2007, Mexican tourism officials apologized for the behavior of the audience and said that Smith is welcome back in Mexico any time.[11]

Reign as Miss USA

During her first week as Miss USA, Smith made a number of media appearances, such as

"top ten" list entitled "Top Ten Things I Can Say Now That I'm Miss USA".[12]
She was also a guest on
American Stock Exchange, first on April 24, and then on June 7 with Miss Universe Riyo Mori.[13]

Following a Black Music Month event at the White House, Smith and other entertainers are thanked by President George W. Bush
USO tour
Smith and Hilary Cruz signing autographs at Kadena Air Base in Japan

In early June, Smith travelled to

USO tour along with Kid Rock, Robin Williams, Lewis Black and Lance Armstrong.[14][15]

Smith appeared on the cover and in an editorial spread in the March/April 2008 issue of Supermodels Unlimited magazine. On April 11, 2008, Smith crowned

Las Vegas, Nevada. This was the first time that two women of African American descent had been crowned Miss USA consecutively.[16][17] Smith appeared on the magazine cover and in an interview for the May/June 2011 issue of Select Magazine.[18]

Television

Smith starred in

reality show Pageant Place along with Riyo Mori (Miss Universe 2007), Tara Conner (former Miss USA 2006), Katie Blair (former Miss Teen USA 2006) and Hilary Cruz (Miss Teen USA 2007). The show was first broadcast on October 10, 2007. In August 2010, she appeared on a special "Girls of Summer" week airing of NBC's Minute to Win It
on an episode called "Last Beauty Standing." The episode featured 10 beauty pageant winners competing for $100,000 towards their chosen charities along with a chance to win a $1,000,000 challenge.

She worked as a reporter for

OnTheRedCarpet. She is the former "pop news" correspondent on the Saturday telecast of Good Morning America.[20] She is the co-host of Amazon's Style Code.[21][22]

Smith joined ET, as a New York-based correspondent. Smith served as a guest correspondent for ET, where she's interviewed the likes of Rihanna, Ryan Seacrest, Kelly Ripa, Kim Kardashian, Dua Lipa, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. Smith co-hosts New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash with Bobby Bones on CBS.

References

  1. ^ "Belmont Alumna Rachel Smith Wins Miss USA 2007 Crown | Belmont University News & Media". Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Rachel Smith '03". Davidson Academy. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  3. ^ Erwin, Lee (August 11, 2014). "Television personality is Clarksville's own Rachel Smith". WNZE. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  4. ^ Snyder, Eric (2006-10-06). "Contestants to compete for Miss Tennessee title". The Leaf Chronicle. Retrieved 2006-10-08. [dead link]
  5. ^ Sairro, Jaime (2007-01-10). "Belmont grad to teach at Oprah's school in South Africa". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2007-01-10. [dead link]
  6. ^ "End Drawing Near for Year as Royalty" (PDF) (Press release). Clarksville Montgomery County Economic Development Council. 2002-10-10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-14. Retrieved 2006-10-09.
  7. ^ "Producers - MISS GEORGIA USA® and MISS GEORGIA TEEN USA®". missgeorgiausa.com. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  8. ^ "GREENWOOD PRODUCTIONS INC". greenwoodproductions.com. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  9. ^ Lacey, Marc (3 June 2007). "Why They Booed Her in Mexico". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Miss Puerto Rico crowned 1993 Miss Universe". Reuters. 1993-05-22.
  11. ^ "Mexico Apologizes for Miss USA Jeers". BanderasNews. Townhall.com. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Top Ten Things I Can Say Now That I'm Miss USA". CBS.com.
  13. ^ "Rachel Smith, Miss USA, to Ring the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell". GlobeNewswire News Room. Nasdaq Inc. 4 April 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Aviano USO Tour". Aviano Air Base. USDOD. 2007. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Miss USA Rachel Smith poses for a photo with a servicemember at the 2007 USO Holiday Tour, at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Dec. 17, 2007". www.defense.gov. USDOD. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Supermodels Unlimited Magazine". Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  17. ^ "Rachel Smith, Miss USA". exposingfashion.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
  18. ^ "Select Magazine for health, beauty, well-being". Archived from the original on 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
  19. ^ "Rachel Smith Is Entertainment Tonight's Newest Correspondent | Entertainment Tonight". www.etonline.com. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Rachel Smith". IMDb. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Amazon.com: Video Shorts". www.amazon.com.
  22. ^ Erwin, Lee (11 August 2014). "Television personality is Clarksville's own Rachel Smith". ClarksvilleNow.com. Retrieved 1 May 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rachel Smith.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Miss Universe 4th runner-up
2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Miss USA
2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Lauren Grissom
 Miss Tennessee USA
2007 		Succeeded by
Hailey Brown
Preceded by
Jessica Myers
 Miss Tennessee Teen USA
2002 		Succeeded by
Alicia Selby
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