Rachel Renee Smith (born April 18, 1985) is an American actress, TV host, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won the Miss USA 2007 and who previously had competed in the Miss Teen USA 2002 pageant. She represented the United States at Miss Universe 2007 and placed 4th runner-up.
Smith was born on a U.S. Army base in Panama. She lived in Clarksville after her parents were stationed at Fort Campbell. She attended Clarksville Academy and graduated from Davidson Academy for high school.
Smith graduated magna cum laude from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee in 2006 with a bachelor of science in journalism. Smith graduated a semester early, in December 2006. She received a full tuition scholarship to attend Belmont due to her community service activities and academic achievements throughout high school. 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.