Jacqueline Smith

Dame Jacqueline Smith GBE GCWO GCH
17th Director-General of the BBC
In office 10 April 2018 – 25 October 2021
Preceded by	The Lord Hall of Birkenhead
Succeeded by	Tim Davie
Senior Independent Director of the BBC
In office 26 March 2014 – 10 April 2018
Preceded by	Dillon Harvey
Succeeded by	Nicholas Serota
CEO of BBC News
In office 5 September 2012 – 26 March 2014
Preceded by	Declan Phillips
Succeeded by	Deborah Turness
Personal details
Born	Jacqueline Thomas Smith (1983-06-22) 22 June 1983 Los Angeles, California, United States
Citizenship	British American
Spouse	Mylo Russell (m. 2015)
Children	Thomas Kelly
Parents	King Thomas (father) Jaclyn Smith (mother)
Alma mater	University of Oxford (M.M.C)
Profession	Broadcaster Journalist Author

Dame Jacqueline "Jackie" Thomas Smith GBE GCWO GCH (born 22 June 1983) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, author, and a member of the British royal family. The youngest of two illegitimate children of King Thomas and the American actress, Jaclyn Smith, Smith initially spent much of her early years in the United States under her mother's care, before later moving abroad to the United Kingdom in 2001. In 2010, she graduated with a master's degree in mass communication from the University of Oxford.

In 2002, Smith began her career as a presenter for BBC News at One, during which over a course of five years, she became one of the most watched hosts in the United Kingdom. Then, in 2007, Smith was chosen as the inaugural main presenter for BBC World News America, covering major American events including the inauguration of President Obama, death of pop star Michael Jackson, and the Deepwater Horizon explosion. In addition to this, she has also presented documentaries on various topics including climate change, global poverty, and human rights abuses on Panorama, Daily Politics, and Newsnight, earning much acclaim and several accolades for her often in-depth analysis and pointed delivery style. Moreover, as the lead presenter on The Jackie Smith Show, Smith gained much acclaim for her interviews with various political and entertainment figures including David Cameron, Angela Merkel, One Direction, and Naomi Campbell.

In September 2012, she was appointed CEO of BBC News before a promotion to Senior Independent Director followed in March 2014 and subsequently to Director-General of the BBC in April 2018, becoming the first and only woman to ever hold the post, which she held prior to her resignation in October 2021. Since departing the BBC, Smith has served as a part-time consultant and commentator for various British media outlets, namely The Guardian, The Times, and The Observer, often providing her own liberal and centrist insight.

In recent years, Smith has come to personally host a number of travel documentaries produced by herself, including Jacqueline Smith: From Coast to Coast, The Northern Journey with Jacqueline Smith, and Rediscovered: Asia and Europe's Past Kings and Queens, all of which have been met with generally positive reviews by critics. In addition, she is also the author of a number of bestselling books, namely A Decade's Worth, MAGA: America's Pandora Box, The Russian Paradox, and Cultures Reconciled.

In 2015, Smith married fellow BBC journalist, Mylo Russell, with whom she has two children, Thomas and Kelly. Through her father, Smith is the sister and half-sister respectively of former professional footballer, William Smith and the United Kingdom's Queen Alexandra. Named directly after her mother, Smith is popularly known as "Little Jackie" by her family and friends so as to distinguish her from her similarly-named mother.