Who is Elizabeth Smart? Who kidnapped her? Her Bio: Kidnapping Story, Husband, Net Worth, Wedding, Family

• Elizabeth Smart-Gilmour is a child safety activist, ABC News contributor, and author of "My Story".
• She was abducted from her home at the age of 14 by fanatic Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Ileen Barzee.
• She established the Elizabeth Smart Foundation to help victims of abduction and collaborated with numerous organizations.
• She has written two books, appeared in a 2003 film about her abduction, and has a net worth of over $1.7 million.
• She is married with three children and active on social media.



Known for movies



Who is Elizabeth Smart?

Elizabeth Ann Smart-Gilmour was born on the 3^rd November 1987, in Salt Lake City, Utah USA, and is a child safety activist and advocate, but is probably still best recognized from spending nine months in captivity after being abducted from her home at the age of 14. She is also known as a special contributor for ABC News as well as an author of the book entitled “My Story”. Her career has been active since 2006.

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Thank you to everyone who came out last night! Today I’m headed on to Birmingham, Alabama. I will be at Books-A-Million tonight, located at 780 Brookwood Village from 7-8:30. Hope to see you there!!

A post shared by Elizabeth Smart (@elizabeth_smart_official) on Apr 3, 2018 at 6:29am PDT

Who kidnapped her?

Elizabeth was kidnapped by a fanatic named Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Ileen Barzee. Brian was a polygamist, who believed that he was a proclaimer of the will of God, who declared Elizabeth to be his wife, so he could rape her every day. His wife was also involved in the crime, as she supported Brian’s decisions, and helped him to realize everything he wanted.

Early Life and Education

To talk about her early life, Elizabeth Smart spent her childhood with five siblings in a Mormon family in her hometown, where she was raised by her father, Edward Smart, who works as a real estate developer, and her mother, Lois Smart, who is a homemaker. As a five-year-old girl, Elizabeth started playing the harp, which became her greatest passion, and from middle school, she performed at various events, including weddings and funerals as well as at the annual fall concert in Salt Lake City. She went to Bryant Middle School and later to East High School in Salt Lake City. Upon matriculation, she enrolled in Brigham Young University, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance.

Abduction

On the 4^th June of 2002, about an hour after midnight when Elizabeth was in the bedroom which she shared with her younger sister, Mary Katherine, she was abducted from her family house by Brian David Mitchell. She was forced to walk for hours through the forest with him until they arrived in a camp, where his wife, Wanda Ileen Barzee, was waiting for them. As already mentioned, Brian believed that he was a prophet, who realized a wedding ceremony and declared Elizabeth to be his wife, after which he raped her daily, along with his wife. They also drugged her and threatened her with death if she tried to escape. The abuse lasted for the next nine months, until her abductors were arrested.

Discovery and Rescue

At the time when Elizabeth was kidnapped, her younger sister, Mary Katherine, did not sleep and she saw the kidnapper’s face in the dark. Several months later, it suddenly came to Mary Katherine’s mind that her sister’s kidnapper looked like a man who once worked on their home as a utility man. She told the police who discovered that the man was actually Brian, so they gave his photograph to be shown in an episode of the popular crime detective series “America’s Most Wanted” in February of 2003, to find her and solve the case.

Subsequently, her kidnapper was recognized on a public street in Sandy, Utah, so she was rescued by the police on the 12^th March in the same year. Brian was subsequently sentenced to life in prison, while his wife was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for her involvement in the crime.

Elizabeth Smart Foundation

This traumatic experience led Elizabeth to become a child safety activist and advocate, after she was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey and Katie Couric. In 2008, she wrote a part of the US Department of Justice’s survivors guide entitled “You Are Not Alone: The Journey From Abduction To Empowerment”. Three years later, she established the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, which helps the victims of abduction, and started collaborating with other organizations including The Adam Walsh Child Protection & Safety Act, and The National AMBER Alert among many others. During the same year, she was rewarded with the Diane von Furstenberg Award, and was chosen to work as a special contributor for ABC News, which added a considerable amount to her net worth.

Books and Film Titles

Furthermore, the crime committed against her became the subject of the 2003 film entitled “The Elizabeth Smart Story”, which is based on her father’s book with the same title. Her father also wrote the book “Bringing Elizabeth Home”, while her uncle co-wrote, along with Lee Benson, the book entitled “In Plain Sight: The Startling Truth Behind The Elizabeth Smart Investigation”.

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So excited to be on the set of #IAmElizabethSmart !

A post shared by Elizabeth Smart (@elizabeth_smart_official) on Jun 23, 2017 at 10:08am PDT

Elizabeth published the memoir “My Story” in October of 2013, which she wrote to promote awareness about abduction. In 2017, on the 15^th anniversary of her abduction, the TV film “I Am Elizabeth Smart” was aired on the Lifetime channel, in which Alana Boden portrayed Elizabeth, while Brian David Mitchell was played by Skeet Ulrich. To speak further about her accomplishments, she published her second book entitled “Where There’s Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, And Never Giving Up” in 2018. Thus, her net worth is certainly rising.

Part 1 of 2 tonight on A&E at 9PM (EST). I tell the story of my kidnapping at 14-years-old and the nine months of captivity and sexual abuse I experienced. I also discuss, along with my family, and law enforcement officials, the efforts to rescue me. https://t.co/RzlUq5EKvm pic.twitter.com/4EGYha88PA

— Elizabeth Smart (@ElizSmart) November 12, 2017

Elizabeth Smart Net Worth

Her career started in 2006, and since then she has been working as a child safety activist, having come to notice nationwide as a kidnapping victim. She is also known as a journalist and author of two books. So, if you ever wondered how rich Elizabeth Smart is, it has been estimated by authoritative sources that the size of her net worth is over $1.7 million.

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This past week while I was speaking I was approached by a young woman who disclosed to me who she had been sexually abused by people who were biologically related to her. She asked me how after being raped and sexually violated for an extended period of time I had been able to trust again, eventually marry, and engage in intimacy. I wish I had a better answer. I’ve spent many hours contemplating her question and thinking about my own situation. I can only answer for myself and I suppose we all have to find our own answers but when I was a little girl my dream was to grow up, meet my Prince Charming, get married and have a family. When I was kidnapped I felt like that dream was stolen away forever. After I was rescued I felt like everything that had been taken away had been given back. If we lived in a different culture or society I think things may have turned out very differently for me. But I was able to return to High school and have many of the normal high school experiences. I dated, made friends, and enjoyed being a teenager. I was still wary and uncomfortable being left alone with middle aged men, but that was not a common occurrence. When I finally met Matthew (my husband) we were friends first, we were both serving Mormon missions in France, so for 2 years our relationship was platonic. He invited me to visit him in Scotland when he had completed his time in France and returned to his family in Scotland. When I walked off the plane in Aberdeen, Scotland and he was waiting for me I knew I had come home (not the country), I knew he was immediately my best friend, and everything I could ever want in a spouse. With him nothing was ever scary or uncomfortable, I never have felt pressured or dealt with flashbacks while being with him. I can’t say what will work for anyone else but for me it was allowing for time after I was rescued, making friends, growing up, figuring out who I was and what I wanted, and ultimately finding the right person. #truelove #happilyeverafter #dontgiveup #miracleshappen #happiness #love #bestfriend #triumphant #rape #sexualviolence

A post shared by Elizabeth Smart (@elizabeth_smart_official) on Jun 15, 2018 at 1:18pm PDT

Personal Info and Appearance

When it comes to speak about her personal life, Elizabeth Smart has been married to Matthew Gilmour since 2012. She met her future husband, a native of Aberdeen, Scotland, while she was serving at a Mormon mission in Paris, and they started dating. Their wedding ceremony was held in the Mormon Laie Hawaii Temple on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

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There is nothing so important in recovery as support. It’s finding the people who love you, care about you, and want the very best for you no matter what. Each of us will meet so many people in life, many of them will be kind, lovely people but at the end of the day you want to surround yourself with the ones who will stick by you. And you know you can lean on them, and they on you in return because we all experience pain in this life and we all deserve to be loved. For me these are the people that I care about most ❤️❤️❤️❤️ I am one of the lucky ones to have a kind and loving biological family. However not every family is made up of people who have similar DNA. Families can include friends, teachers, counselors, therapists, coworkers, basically anyone who you love, trust, and they have your back. #findyourfamily #whoreallycounts #support #supportiseverything #nevergiveup #miracleshappen #happiness #joy #love #safety #movingforward

A post shared by Elizabeth Smart (@elizabeth_smart_official) on Jun 19, 2018 at 9:22pm PDT

In 2015, Elizabeth gave birth to their first child, a daughter, and two years later, they welcomed their second child, a son. In June of 2018, the couple announced that they are expecting their third child. Regarding her appearance, she has long blonde hair and blue eyes. She also has a slim figure, with the average height of 5 feet 7 inches (168 cm), while her weight is reputed to be around 123 lbs (56 kg).

Social Media Presence

In addition to her career, Elizabeth is an active member across many of the most popular social media sites. She frequently posts photographs from her private life on her official Instagram account, having more than 96,000 followers, as well as on her Twitter accounts. Moreover, she also launched her own website, on which either you can find information about her upcoming projects, and you can buy her books.

Source: IMDb, Wikipedia