Kentucky Woman Crowned Winner Of Miss USA 2021

A Kentucky woman will represent the country on an international stage after she was crowned Miss USA 2021.

Elle Smith, a graduate of the University of Kentucky and a reporter at WHAS11, represented the Bluegrass State during the 2021 Miss USA pageant on Monday (November 29) and took home the crown. She originally represented Georgetown while competing for the title of Miss Kentucky, which she won earlier this year. The 23-year-old is only the second Miss Kentucky to win Miss USA, following Tara Conner's win in 2006.

Smith graduated from UK in May 2020 with a bachelor's in broadcast journalism and a minor in political science. During her time as a student, she was a reporter for the UK Student News Network, a videographer for UK Athletics and SEC Network, and served as the vice president for the UK chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Smith's news family congratulated her on her win, highlighting her response when asked about how to be environmentally conscious.

"I think we've got to look at it from a macro level and also a micro level," she said. "So at a macro level countries need to switch to green energy. I think that's something we can all agree on. But then at the micro-level, we all know how to reduce, reuse, recycle. Those are things we can implement in our daily lives."

Since she was crowned Miss USA, Smith will now advance to the Miss Universe pageant, currently set for December 12 in Israel.