Elizabeth Smart is adding a new title to her resume: bodybuilder.
The 38-year-old Smart — whose terrifying abduction story is told in the 2025 Netflix documentary, “Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart”— revealed the career pivot with a picture of herself posted on Instagram from a recent bodybuilding competition. In it, she flexes her toned muscles while posing in a bikini and heels.
Alongside the picture, she shared an empowering message about “celebrating” her body in light of everything she’s been through.
“When I posted the pictures in my (Instagram story) of me standing on stage in a bikini, it probably shocked many of you, and I understand the shock because 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.
Smart explained that bodybuilding has been a positive experience, both physically and mentally, for her.
“This was a big change for me, it was hard, it pushed me, challenged me not to give up. I am so proud of myself for doing this. I am so proud of my body, and I want to celebrate it,” she wrote.
Smart was just 14 when she was abducted her from her bedroom in Salt Lake City in 2002. She was repeatedly raped and assaulted until police rescued her nine months later.
Smart, now a married mom of three, has worked as an advocate for missing persons and sex abuse victims.
Bodybuilding, she said, has helped her appreciate her body’s strength and resilience.
“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,” she wrote.
She also said hesitated for a while to share photos of her new muscular physique because she was “too afraid” she would be “judged” and “not taken seriously” or “somehow perceived as less than or now unworthy to continue work as an advocate for all survivors.”
After realizing she was experiencing shameful thoughts that are “eerily familiar” to survivors, Smart decided to go public with her bodybuilding experience.
“I refuse to feel embarrassed about trying something new and am embracing my chance at life to the absolute fullest I can,” she wrote.
“I am interested in many things, and as I get older I realize more and more how important it is to make the most of today, we don’t know what tomorrow brings,” she continued.
“And I don’t want to reach the end of my life and look back and feel regret for only living a half-life, not going after all the things I want to do and try,” she added.
Smart concluded her post by thanking her coach and others who helped her prepare for the competition.
She also shared her “hope” that “we all find the courage to chase new experiences, goals, bettering ourselves, and most importantly happiness.”
Smart’s fans cheered her on in the comments of her post.
“Unexpected but all I see is a survivor who has taken her power back,” one wrote.
Another added: “Now your strength is visible on the outside, too.”
