Former Child Kidnapping Victim Elizabeth Smart Makes Wild Pivot Into Competitive Bodybuilding

Elizabeth Smart reentered the zeitgeist earlier this year with the release of the Netflix docuseries Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, chronicling her 2002 kidnapping that sparked a nationwide media frenzy. Now, she's turning heads for an entirely different reason: she's entered the world of competitive bodybuilding.

On April 21, the child safety advocate shared a bikini-clad photo of herself from a recent bodybuilding competition on Instagram — revealing that this was actually the fourth competition she'd participated in.

"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 in the caption.

She noted that she had been afraid to post about her previous competitions, worried that her newfound interest may negatively impact her work as an advocate. But she then realized that sharing her new endeavor was a form of advocacy in itself.

"This was a big change for me, it was hard, it pushed me, challenged me not to give up," she wrote. "I am so proud of myself for doing this."

Followers in the comments agreed with Smart's take as an angle of empowerment. "Unexpected but all I see is a survivor who has taken her power back," one wrote. "I see a strong woman who wouldn’t be broken when the most evil tried to break you as a child."

"I always stand by the sentiment that there is something so amazingly healing about seeing what a body that has been abused is capable of when you make the choice," wrote another. "You have so much to be proud of this is just one thing to add to the list."

While smart virtually bore all in her latest post, she did the polar opposite in 2021 when she appeared on the first season of The Masked Dancer as Ms. Moth.