1. Chelsi Mariam Pearl Smith was an American actress, singer, TV host and beauty queen who was crowned Miss USA 1995 and Miss Universe 1995.
15 Facts About Chelsi Smith
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Chelsi Smith was born in Redwood City, California, to 19-year-old parents Craig Chelsi Smith, an African-American maintenance man, and Mary Denise Trimble, a white American secretary.
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Chelsi Smith's parents divorced before she was two, and her mother, an alcoholic at the time, granted Smith's maternal grandparents Barnie and Jeanette custody of her.
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When Chelsi Smith was seven years old, she moved to Kingwood, Texas, where her grandparents would later get divorced.
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Chelsi Smith grew up in a divided home while she attended high school in Deer Park, Texas.
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Chelsi Smith competed in her first major beauty contest in 1994, when she was a semifinalist in the Miss Texas USA pageant, as Miss South East Texas USA.
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Chelsi Smith went on to compete and win at Miss USA 1995 on February 10,1995.
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Chelsi Smith became the seventh woman from her state to hold the Miss USA title and won the Miss Congeniality award as she had at her state pageant, becoming the only Miss USA winner and Miss Texas USA in history to win this award.
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Chelsi Smith was the highest placed contestant after the preliminary competition, which pushed her into the top ten.
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The first runner-up was Manpreet Brar of India, and Chelsi Smith became the first Miss USA and sixth representative to win Miss Universe in 15 years.
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Chelsi Smith made appearances on Martin, Due South and the TLC documentary The History of the Bathing Suit.
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Chelsi Smith co-hosted Beyonce's special Beyonce: Family and Friends Tour on pay-per-view and appeared on HBO in Saladin Patterson's short film One Flight Stand with Marc Blucas and Aisha Tyler.
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Chelsi Smith was a judge at the 2006 Miss Teen USA pageant and a guest judge for the Miss Peru 2016 beauty pageant.
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Chelsi Smith married and later divorced fitness coach Kelly Blair, and after her reign as Miss Universe moved to Los Angeles.
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Chelsi Smith died at her mother's home in Mifflin, Pennsylvania, aged 45 on September 8,2018.