Jody-Anne Maxwell
Jody-Anne Maxwell from Kingston, Jamaica, was the winner of the 1998 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the age of 12.[1] She made history as the first non-American to win the competition.
According to Ebony magazine, she was viewed as a celebrity on her return to Jamaica.[2] Maxwell also attained significant fame in Jamaican communities within the United States.[3]
Maxwell qualified for the Scripps competition by winning Jamaica's National Spelling Bee Championship, which her sister Janice had also won in 1990.[2] Her prizes for winning the national[clarification needed] bee included $10,000 cash,[1] and an education trust fund of $11,000 (U.S).[4]
She later went on to host the local Jamaican program The KFC Quiz Show with various co-hosts, (the first two being Dominique Lyew and Damar Pessoa) up until 2004 when the post was handed off to Samantha Strachan and Raine Manley Robertson.[citation needed]
Maxwell was also a contestant on Nickelodeon's game show Figure it Out in 1998. She successfully stumped the panel of judges for all three rounds.[citation needed]
In 2012 she attended the Norman Manley Law School at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.[5]
Maxwell is also a past student of the prestigious Ardenne High School in Kingston, Jamaica.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Jamaican girl crowned national spelling champ: Wins $10,000 by correctly spelling 'chiaroscurist'". CNN. 28 May 1998. Archived from the original on 16 March 2006. Retrieved 20 June 2006.
- ^ a b "Spelling her way to success: first black winner of championship is celebrity in Jamaica - Judy-Anne Maxwell wins 1998 National Spelling Bee". Ebony. FindArticles.com. October 1998. Archived from the original on 24 April 2006. Retrieved 20 June 2006.
- ^ "City's Caribbeans Share W-I-N Apple Under Spell Of Champ From Jamaica". Daily News. New York. 31 May 1998.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Hoffman, Lise (September–October 1998). "Spelling's queen bee - Jody Anne Maxwell of Kingston, Jamaica is winner of Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee". The Saturday Evening Post. FindArticles.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2006.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- New York Times article
- James Maguire's book American Bee
- Jamaica Trade Point page
- Choices magazine article
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