“I can be more than just one thing.”

Elizabeth Smart says she can feel ‘sexy’ as a bodybuilder —and still advocate against sexual violence

"I can be more than just one thing."

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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May 4, 2026 12:01 p.m. ET

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Elizabeth Smart in 2024. Credit:

Aaron J. Thornton/Getty

- Elizabeth Smart is defending her right to pursue an interest in bodybuilding.

- The child safety advocate, who recently debuted a bikini shot from a competition, argues that she "can be more than just one thing."

- Smart told Gayle King that she can feel "sexy" at her competitions and still advocate against sexual violence.

Elizabeth Smart is feeling "liberated" after entering a new era.

The 38-year-old child safety advocate, who survived abduction and sexual abuse as a teenager, recently entered the world of competitive bodybuilding — an exploration that has been both gratifying and "terrifying" for her.

"I grew up always just being so modest. I don't think I wore a bikini until I was on my honeymoon," Smart told* **CBS Mornings* co-host Gayle King in a Monday sit-down. "So stepping up on stage in a bikini [for my first competition] felt like the most vulnerable thing I could possibly do. I was shaking."

Smart has come a long way since then. At her fourth competition, she placed first in her category and celebrated by sharing a photo of herself competing on social media.

Elizabeth Smart poses for bodybuilding competition.

Robyn Maher/Instagram

Smart said she now feels "almost liberated to a degree, because I think for so long I wanted to be taken seriously, I wanted whatever I had to say [to] matter, I wanted to feel like I was respected."

She continued, "And I also feel like through doing this and putting this post out there, I feel liberated because I can be more than just one thing."

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Smart explained that while she's pursuing this new passion, she plans to continue her work as an advocate against sexual violence.

"I can be a bod builder," she explained. "I can feel beautiful or sexy, and I can still be an advocate for women and children against sexual violence."

She added that she sees her pivot to bodybuilding as "a celebration" of her body, which has carried her "through every worst day, every bad experience."

Smart similarly expressed concerns over not being taken seriously when she first shared photos before the body building competition last month. She wrote that it took her so long to speak publicly about her interest in bodybuilding because she feared that doing so would make people perceive her as "unworthy to continue work as an advocate for all survivors."

Elizabeth Smart in 2018.

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty

But her success in the competition, in which she also ranked third in the Fit Model Masters 35+ category, prompted Smart to reclaim her narrative as a survivor.

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In 2002, a 14-year-old Smart was kidnapped from her bedroom and held captive by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, who subjected her to daily sexual assault. Smart was found nine months later, about 18 miles away from her home, with her abductors. Smart previously explained that bodybuilding has provided a unique method of healing from the traumatic experience.

"My body has risen to every single challenge life has presented it with, and carried me through so I refuse to be ashamed of it," she captioned the photo. "I refuse to feel embarrassed about trying something new and am embracing my chance at life to the absolute fullest I can."

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