Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Elizabeth Smart gained nationwide attention after getting abducted at the age of 14. Over the years, her rescue has been chronicled in several movies, TV shows, and documentaries. Smart was kidnapped at knifepoint by Brian David Mitchell from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah, in June 2002. She was then held captive for nine months by Mitchell and his accomplice, Wanda Barzee.
During the time, as portrayed in Lifetime’s I Am Elizabeth Smart movie, she was “starved, drugged, raped and subjected to bizarre religious rituals.” Smart was then rescued in March 2003. More than two decades later, she continues to empower and be a voice for fellow survivors.
What is Elizabeth Smart doing now?
Per People Magazine, Elizabeth Smart, 36, an author and speaker, is now a married woman and a mother to three children. She is also a domestic violence and child safety advocate and an executive producer. Smart has continued to share her story and raised awareness over the years. She published the books My Story in 2013 and Where There’s Hope in 2018. Smart also produced Lifetime’s I Am Elizabeth Smart in 2017. To combat sexual violence, she founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation in 2011.
Smart also told People Magazine that “sharing stories is such a powerful tool for creating education.” She wishes to “empower” the survivors so “they don’t feel like it’s a part of their life that they have to hide.”
Per NBC News, Brian David Mitchell was convicted of kidnapping and raping Smart and is now serving a life sentence. Meanwhile, Barzee received 15 years in federal prison for her role in the kidnapping. Following her release in 2018, Barzee was ordered to remain under federal supervision for five years. The conditions also included not contacting Smart’s family and receiving mental health treatment.
I Am Elizabeth Smart is available to stream on Prime Video. She also opened up the ordeal in A&E’s Elizabeth Smart: Autobiography.
