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Chelsi Mariam Pearl Smith (born August 23, 1973) is a former beauty pageant titleholder from the United States who became the first Miss USA in fifteen years to capture the Miss Universe crown on May 12, 1995. She was crowned by former Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen. Smith was born in Redwood City, California to 19-year-old parents Craig Smith, an African American maintenance man, and Denise Trimble, a White American secretary. Her parents divorced before she was two, and her mother, an alcoholic at the time, granted Smith's grandparents Barnie and Jeanette custody of her. Smith and her... MORE

Chelsi Mariam Pearl Smith (born August 23, 1973) is a former beauty pageant titleholder from the United States who became the first Miss USA in fifteen years to capture the Miss Universe crown on May 12, 1995. She was crowned by former Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen. Smith was born in Redwood City, California to 19-year-old parents Craig Smith, an African American maintenance man, and Denise Trimble, a White American secretary. Her parents divorced before she was two, and her mother, an alcoholic at the time, granted Smith's grandparents Barnie and Jeanette custody of her. Smith and her maternal grandparents moved to Kingwood, Texas when she was 7, where they would later get divorced as well, causing Smith to grow up in a divided home while she attended high school in Deer Park. Prior to her win at Miss USA, she was a sophomore majoring in education at San Jacinto Junior College. 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. The following year she competed again as Miss Galveston County USA, and won the title, as well as the Miss Congeniality award. Smith, a Multiracial American, LESS