About Ellie

Ellie Smith has established herself as a multi-faceted performer, author, philanthropist, former pageant winner/survivor, and now, recording artist. Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, she received her BFA in Music/Dance/Theatre from Brigham Young University.

     Priding herself on experience and versatility, Ellie focused on more non-conventional activities growing up. In 2013, she became a best-selling co-author of the inspirational book Girls Lead, promoting feminist views and leadership ideals. Ellie won a regional Broadway World Award for her portrayal as Eponine in Les Miserables at Artemis Hamm Concert Hall at age sixteen. At seventeen, she was the youngest ever to win the title of Miss Nevada and went on to compete at the famed Miss America Pageant, where she took home a top talent award for her rendition of Queen's 'Somebody to Love.' Ellie also created a nationally renowned anti-bullying campaign and 501(c)(3), entitled 'Bullying: Don't Let It Get to You.' She traveled the United States as a motivational speaker, inspiring over half a million teenagers and promoting her non-profit organization along the way. When Ellie wasn't traveling as a public speaker, she was traveling the country singing the National Anthem almost every weekend for NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL games and events. Ellie was privileged to sing both the American National Anthem and the Canadian National Anthem at the NBA All-Star Rookie game in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. 

     Through these shaping experiences, theatre has remained a constant love for Ellie. A few of her favorite and most notable credits include Grease at famed Cape Playhouse in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where she starred as Sandy, Maureen in RENT at San Antonio Broadway Theater, Sandy (again) in Grease at the Argyle Theater on Long Island, Chess at Pioneer Theater Company, The Light Rail at Feinstein's 54 Below in New York City, the pre-Broadway workshop of Michael Mott's In The Light, the United States premier of Frank Wildhorn's Count of Monte Cristo, three seasons at Tuacahn Center for the Arts, and a season at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. She made her feature film debut as evil, eccentric Mira in Greg Sestero’s Miracle Valley, which played in cinemas worldwide.

2024 has been the beginning of Ellie’s newest, biggest adventure yet: her debut album PLAY THE VILLAIN. It’s a personal, raw look at navigating love, life, trauma, and New York City in your twenties. Combining a powerful blend of agile vocals, melancholic pop, and an alt-rock undertone, Ellie’s sound delivers a message of revenge, survival, and screaming your truth. Her debut single “everybody loves me” is a twisted, self-love anthem at its core, blending the mixture of electric guitar, powerful vocals, and Ellie’s signature theatricality. Dark, heavy, and brutally honest, play the villain is- at its core- an album of stepping into your power, claiming your voice, and finding the hope in the middle of the madness.

Co-written/ produced by Frankie Moreno and mixed by Pat Thrall.

     Ellie is based in New York City, and usually distance running up and down the West Side Highway when she is not traveling or on a contract. She is represented by Avalon Artists Group.