EXCLUSIVE: Smart and Shredded — How Helpless Kidnap Victim Elizabeth Smart Has Literally Transformed Herself Into Bodybuilding Powerhouse
Elizabeth Smart has evolved from a kidnap victim into a bodybuilding powerhouse, redefining strength and resilience.
May 7 2026, Published 7:00 a.m. ET
Former helpless kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart has transformed herself into a powerful figure of strength and inspiration, as a competitive bodybuilder, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The 38-year-old Salt Lake City mom was just a petite, meek 14-year-old girl when she was seized from her childhood bedroom in the middle of the night by nutjob Brian David Mitchell.
Elizabeth Smart Stuns With Bodybuilding Transformation
Elizabeth Smart won first in novice and placed third in Masters 35+ at 'Wasatch Warrior' bodybuilding event in Salt Lake City.
After being held captive for nine months by Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, Smart was finally rescued on March 12, 2003, in Sandy, Utah.
Until recently, the advocate for sexual violence survivors looked like any other mom of three.
Then she posted bombshell photos on Instagram showing off her sculpted, oiled-up body, clad only in a bikini and clear stilettos as she competed in the Wasatch Warrior event in Salt Lake City.
And the muscle-bound mom clearly impressed the judges – she came in first in the novice category and third in the Masters 35+ category.
"Had you asked me if I would ever compete in a bodybuilding show a couple of years ago I would have said, absolutely not! Never in 100 years!" she wrote on Instagram.
Elizabeth Smart Refuses to Feel Shame
Smart admitted she once thought she would 'absolutely not' compete in bodybuilding 'in 100 years.'
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"[I was] worried that I would be judged, not taken seriously, somehow perceived as less than or now unworthy to continue work as an advocate for all survivors," she continued.
But she said she overcame her reluctance when she realized "my body has carried me through every worst day, every hellish grueling experience, it's created and nurtured three beautiful children, 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."
