The character arc of Elizabeth Smart

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born on 3 November 1987 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Between then and now sit an abduction on 5 June 2002, a recovery on 12 March 2003, testimony before Congress in 2006, a degree in harp performance at Brigham Young University, the Elizabeth Smart Foundation in 2011, My Story in 2013 and Where There's Hope in 2018. The line below draws the story so far, in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who is Elizabeth Smart?

She turned it into other people's safety.

She was born in Salt Lake City in 1987. She was abducted on 5 June 2002, at fourteen, and recovered on 12 March 2003. Those two dates are in the public record and this page does not go further into them, because the line worth drawing is the one that starts afterwards and has now run for more than twenty years.

In 2006, at eighteen, she testified before Congress on legislation concerning sexual predators. She took a degree in music at Brigham Young University, in harp performance, which is a demanding instrument and a reminder that she had a life she intended to go back to. The two people responsible were dealt with by the courts, one pleading guilty in November 2009 and the other sentenced to life in May 2011.

In 2011 she founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, which works on prevention and on recovery, and began appearing as an ABC News commentator on missing persons cases. My Story, written with Chris Stewart, was published in 2013 and Where There's Hope: Healing, Moving Forward, and Never Giving Up in 2018. She married in February 2012 and has three children. The whole shape of the line is one decision made early and held: that what happened would be used, and would not be the last thing anybody said about her.

The moments

Elizabeth Smart's timeline.

The 2000s

5 Jun 2002

She was taken

Setback, and it changed everything. Fourteen years old. This page records the date and goes no further into it.

12 Mar 2003

She came home

Milestone, and it changed everything. Home, at fifteen. Everything worth drawing on this line starts here.

1 Jun 2005

Live privately, or speak

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: speak in public, taken, or keep it private. A foundation, two books and twenty years of prevention and recovery work followed from the first path.

13 Sep 2006

She testified to Congress

Milestone, and it changed everything. Eighteen years old, in front of a congressional committee, on purpose.

Nov 2009

The first guilty plea

Milestone, and it changed her direction. The courts, doing their part, six years later.

The 2010s

25 May 2011

The second sentence

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A life sentence, and the legal chapter closed.

Jun 2011

The foundation

Milestone, and it changed everything. Her own organisation at twenty three, and a broadcast platform in the same year.

18 Feb 2012

She married

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A life, continued, which is the whole point of the line.

7 Oct 2013

My Story

Milestone, and it changed everything. Her own account, in her own words, at her own choosing.

Jun 2014

A degree in harp

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A demanding instrument, and a reminder of the life she intended to go back to.

27 Mar 2018

Where There's Hope

Milestone, and it changed her direction. A second book, and this one about other people as much as herself.

The 2020s

Jun 2023

Still at the work

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Twenty years on, and still doing it.

The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is prevention work, recovery work and law, built by somebody who decided that the worst year would be a chapter rather than the whole book.

What she wrote

Books by Elizabeth Smart

2013
My Story
Her own account, written with Chris Stewart, published in her own words at her own choosing.
2018
Where There's Hope
Healing, moving forward, and never giving up. This one is about other people as much as about her.

Your turn

Every line draws a unique story.

Hers has run for more than twenty years past the part everybody remembers. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.

Step through

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Elizabeth Smart: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What is Elizabeth Smart's character arc?

She was abducted on 5 June 2002 at fourteen and recovered on 12 March 2003, testified before Congress at eighteen, took a degree in harp performance, founded a foundation at twenty three, and has spent more than twenty years on other people's safety.

What is the Elizabeth Smart Foundation?

The organisation she founded in 2011, which works on prevention and on recovery. She began appearing as an ABC News commentator on missing persons cases in the same year, and has continued with both since.

What is My Story by Elizabeth Smart?

Her own account, written with Chris Stewart and published in 2013. It is the first time she set out the whole of it herself, in her own words and at a time of her own choosing.

What did Elizabeth Smart study?

Music at Brigham Young University, taking a Bachelor of Music in harp performance. It is a demanding instrument and a plain reminder that she had a life she fully intended to go back to.

Did Elizabeth Smart testify before Congress?

Yes, in 2006, at the age of eighteen, on legislation concerning sexual predators. It is the point on her line where a private recovery became twenty years of public work on other people's safety.

What is Where There's Hope by Elizabeth Smart?

Her second book, published in 2018 and subtitled healing, moving forward, and never giving up. It draws on conversations with other people who have come through difficult things, as much as on her own.

What does Elizabeth Smart do now?

As of 2023 she lives in Utah with her husband and three children and continues her work as a child safety activist and as a commentator. She married in February 2012.

Where does this timeline of Elizabeth Smart's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Elizabeth Smart isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

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Sources

Elizabeth Smart, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
United States Congress, 2006 testimony on sexual predator legislation.
Publisher records for My Story and Where There's Hope.