For more than two decades, the world has known Elizabeth Smart through the unimaginable. At 14, she was kidnapped at knifepoint from her Salt Lake City bedroom by drifter Brian David Mitchell, who threatened to kill her family if she made a sound. Mitchell — a religious fanatic who claimed Smart was his “wife” — held her captive in makeshift campsites in the Utah mountains and San Diego for nine months, where she was raped and endured repeated abuse from him and his accomplice, Wanda Barzee. The case transfixed the nation, becoming one of the most high-profile child abduction stories in modern history.
Since her rescue in 2003, she’s spent much of her life transforming pain into purpose. Smart, who shares children Chloe, 11, James, 9, and Olivia, 7, with husband Matthew Gilmour, has become one of the world’s most visible advocates for victims of sexual violence while building a life far beyond the headlines: wife, mother, bestselling author, speaker and survivor.
But in April, Smart stunned even longtime followers when she posted photos from a bodybuilding competition. Wearing a blue bikini, sky-high heels and a deep tan, she confidently posed onstage — fearless, sculpted and unapologetically visible. The images quickly went viral, drawing thousands of comments and more attention, she says with a laugh, than her recent Netflix documentary, media appearances and December memoir, Detours, combined. “I could not believe the response,” Smart, 38, tells Us Weekly. “I thought there would be a reaction, but I wasn’t expecting this at all.”
The response wasn’t just about the physical transformation, but also about what the moment represented. “I always felt like there was a way I needed to present myself,” she says. “Bodybuilding has helped free me.” For Smart, it’s become about more than just fitness — a way to honor her body and challenge the narrow labels that have followed her for years. “I am not just a victim or a kidnapping survivor,” she says. “I’m not just one thing. I am many things.”
Sitting down with Us, Smart opens up about her journey into bodybuilding, defying expectations and why she feels stronger, more confident and more fully herself than ever before. “I don’t want to live a life where I was too afraid to actually live,” she says. “I want to make the most of it.”
On April 21, you shared the photos from your bodybuilding competition. Were you surprised by the reaction?
I couldn’t believe it. Honestly, I can’t believe we’re even having this chat. One of the program directors at my foundation, Miyo, who had come there to support me, posted that picture to her [Instagram] story, and I reposted it. Then over the weekend, I was like, Do I actually say something about it? I sat there kind of debating it, and then I was like, I’ve had enough DMs [asking], “What are you doing?” “Why are you doing this? “Is this AI?” Then I decided, I’m gonna do it.
This was actually your fourth time competing, and you’d been keeping this side of your life private. Were you nervous about what the public’s response might be?
I would say 90 percent of it was fear [of how people would respond]. Even if I’m at a pool in my bikini, I’ve had people make comments. So when Miyo was like, “Do you mind if I post it and tag you?” At first, I was like, I’m not sure I’m ready for this yet. But she’s actually one of the strongest women I know. She’s embraced being a sexual being, and yet she is one of the biggest advocates for women I know. And I just [thought], I can be both. I can be sexy, and I can be an advocate. I am more than just one thing. I understand why I was scared to share, but those are the same exact reasons why victims don’t share. And so I [decided] I should do this because it’s empowering for me, but also maybe it’s empowering for other victims to be like, If Elizabeth Smart can step up on stage in a bikini, I can go report to the police.
You started bodybuilding last January. How did you get into it?
I had been running for a long time, and I loved it. But one of my knees was starting to hurt, and on the weekends, when I did my [marathon] training runs, it got to a point where they were just so long that once I finished them, I didn’t want to do anything the rest of the day. I just wanted to lie on the sofa and eat chips. And I’ve got three little kids who don’t want to just lie on the sofa and eat chips. And also, honestly, I found out that you cannot outrun treat overload. There was a vanity aspect to it.
Why bodybuilding?
I had a friend I’d trained with years before. She reached out and [asked] “Hey, do you want to train together again?” I was like, You know what? This seems serendipitous. I need a new challenge. She’d done bodybuilding in the past and made it to the pro level. So [I asked her], “Do you think I could do this? I’d kind of like to try.” She’s like, “Yeah, I think you can. It’s a lot of work.” But I didn’t know just how much work it was gonna be.
Was there something about the discipline that appealed to you?
I’ve always liked having a goal. From when I studied music in school to marathon running and wanting to improve my time and then bodybuilding, having a very clear, defined goal with a due date, I think it really appealed to me that way.
What has surprised you most about bodybuilding so far?
There’s the funny little surprises, like, oh my goodness, so many layers of tan! And then how incredible the human body actually is. I had three kids, I’ve done so much running, can my body still change? And to see it happen, wow, it really can.
Were you nervous to start?
Stepping into something that I felt so out of place in and didn’t know anything about, I honestly still do kind of feel like I’m on my back foot. There are some incredibly talented women [competing], and they have so much confidence when they walk, and, in my mind, I’m like, “Just smile. Make it across the stage. Don’t trip!”
You placed first in your division at your most recent competition. What does competing represent to you on a personal level?
I always want to look like I at least deserve to stand on stage. But at the same time, I already feel like I won by stepping up [there], because that is such an intimidating thing for me to do. And from my first show to my most recent, I look at the progression, and it would not have mattered if I’d [come in] last because I’ve seen so much improvement in myself.
What’s the hardest part of training?
It’s always the eating. I like working out. If I don’t, I feel like something’s missing, even if it’s a rest day. [But] I really enjoy food. If a show is further out, my coach will be like, “It’s OK, you can have a fun meal or a treat with your kids once a week.” The more consistent and the stricter you are, the bigger results you’ll see.
How has your relationship with your body evolved through this?
I was raised very conservatively, and even in school, [we were taught] the more conservative you dress, the more likely you are to get a job. Covering up your body is how you’re going to be taken seriously. We see this a lot, particularly in the field of victims. It’s very easy to sit back and judge victims and be like, “Well, did you see how she was dressed?” I don’t even want to say it, but clearly she’s just, you know…
Asking for it.
Asking for it. I have said for years, it shouldn’t matter how you’re dressed or what you’re doing, you could be walking down the street naked, and you still wouldn’t be asking for that. I believe that wholeheartedly. So I feel like this bodybuilding journey has made those words more true to me. They already were, but it validated it even more because stepping on stage in a bikini is not me trying to sexualize my body [or] inviting unwanted attention, it’s not an invitation sexually for anyone. This is me being, like, I have worked so hard on my body.
Did you ever have any hesitation about entering a space where your body is judged?
Yes, absolutely. I mean, my whole life it was, it doesn’t matter what’s on the outside, it matters what’s on the inside. Don’t judge a book by its cover, and all of a sudden, your cover is what matters. But kind of going back to honoring my body — we didn’t talk about my favorite book, did we?
We didn’t.
My very favorite book is Jane Eyre, and there’s a part where Mr. Rochester is talking to Jane, and he’s comparing her to a bird in a cage, and he is like, I could crush this cage, but I’d never get at the bird inside. And I mentioned this quote in my first book, when I talked about what actually happened to me when I was kidnapped. My captors could hurt my body, but my body always protected my spirit. I felt that way through my whole life; my body has carried me through every worst day. It’s given me my children. My body has been through a lot, but it has never let anyone crush my spirit. If it stopped protecting me, then I’d be dead. But here I am alive. So now I feel bodybuilding, for me, is honoring my body. Like, taking the time and the care and the attention that it’s deserved all along, because now it’s stronger. I’m healthier, I’m fitter.
And you’re proud. Do you feel sexy?
Yes, I do. It’s kind of intimidating for me to say that out loud because this comes back to [the idea of] it’s better to be smart [or] better to be kind, it’s better to be this, this and this, than beautiful or sexy. That’s true, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not OK to be those things as well.
What does owning your body mean to you today?
Embracing all aspects of it. Recognizing that I can still be an advocate for survivors, for women, for children and be a bodybuilder. One does not negate the other.
What does strength mean to you now compared to earlier in your life?
I think true strength means doing what you want without the fear of judgment from others. Whether that’s speaking up for something or entering a bodybuilding competition where it’s scary and some people might look down on you for it, it’s staying true to what your dreams are, what you see for your life and following through with it despite anything else.
You’ve had such an overwhelmingly positive response.
That has meant a lot because I was so scared about posting. It’s just so reassuring, so heartwarming to have so many people say such lovely things.
Have you seen negative reactions?
I mean, yeah, and I try not to dwell on them. It’s a pretty big reason why I don’t go through every comment. I’m human, and I remember the mean comments a lot easier than the nice [ones]. I sit there thinking, Why do people need to be mean in a world of chaos and sadness and pain?
How do you block out that noise?
[Bodybuilding] is what I want to do, and so I’m going to do it. And if they disagree with me, they can unfollow me. They can think whatever they want about me, just keep it to yourself. None of us know how long we’ll live, and I don’t know what tomorrow brings, but I also know how quickly your life can change and how quickly everything can be taken away from you. So in my elderly years, I want to look back and be like, You know what? I did everything that I wanted to do.
What does it mean to be seen in such a different context today?
It comes back to that idea of labels. I’m more than any one label, but I think it’s easy to feel labeled by just one thing. All of us are multidimensional, complex beings. You’re more than just your job [or] sexual orientation, you’re more than a survivor [or] victim. For me, it’s been liberating to be like, I’m more than just the Elizabeth Smart that everyone’s perceived for the last 20-plus years.
How has your faith evolved?
In the spiritual sense, I’d say, before my kidnapping, it was very rigid: This is what was said, so this is what I’m going to believe. And then [when] I had my captors constantly being, like, “God commanded us to do this,” that was the beginning of me being like, No, he didn’t. God wouldn’t tell you to hurt someone else. That’s not the God I know. That was me recognizing that just because somebody says something does not mean it’s necessarily true. Now it’s evolved to more like, “This makes sense to me. This resounds in my heart. I believe in this.”
So much has happened since your kidnapping. Can you find any meaning in what you went through?
I feel like my most recent book, Detours, answers that question. Yes, my life changed completely. It was not the life I ever imagined for myself, but I look back now, and I’m not sorry that it happened to me. I would never go out and be like, “Oh yeah, kidnap me.” But I’m grateful for the person that it helped me become, because I do have such a passion for speaking out for victims and for being involved in this work. It’s really led me to that, because otherwise, would I be [here]? There’s a good chance I might look at this cause and be like, “Yeah, that’s important. Here’s $100. I’ve done my part.” It would have been easy to have that kind of mindset, but it’s really given me a passion and a purpose in life.
Your life would be very different.
Yeah. Who’s to say if I hadn’t been kidnapped, I would have met my husband or had the children that I have, or I would have the life I have today? It was a major detour from what I imagined for my life, but it’s also brought me down a wonderful road.
What’s next for you?
I see myself continuing to compete in bodybuilding and I’ve been working on a new podcast with iHeartRadio. It’s going to be about survivor stories, not just kidnapping and sexual assault. That will be great, because survivor stories are amazing and inspirational, and they’re important to hear, because everybody, to some degree, has experienced some form of trauma. And when you look at these other survivors, you’re like, Wow, [if] they can go through that, I can go through this.
You’ve said that the only good that came out of your situation was the good that came from inside you. What have you learned about yourself?
That I am stronger than I ever thought I was, and that other people can’t destroy me unless I let them. I’m a kind person, and I have deep emotion for other people who I see struggling, particularly the way that I’ve struggled, and I want to let them know that they’re not alone.
How do you want to be defined in this next phase of your life?
I’m not sure if I do want to be defined. I like the idea of having the ability to try lots of things and not just have one thing define me.
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