Jacques Bailly
Encyclopedia
Jacques A. Bailly was the 1980 champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee
and now serves as the official pronouncer of the Bee, a position he has held since 2003.
Bailly grew up in the Denver, Colorado
area. He began participating in spelling bees in sixth grade, training with a nun at his Catholic school. He reached the National Spelling Bee as an eighth grader, and won with the word elucubrate.
In college, Bailly studied Ancient Greek and Latin, then learned German in Switzerland with the help of a Fulbright scholarship. In 1990, he wrote a letter to the National Spelling Bee organizers to offer his services, and was hired as an associated pronouncer. Bailly became the head pronouncer after the death of Alex Cameron
in 2003.
Besides his duties with the spelling bee, Bailly works full-time as an associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont
.
Bailly plays himself in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee
, which tells the story of a girl who competes in the National Spelling Bee.
Scripps National Spelling Bee
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a highly competitive annual spelling bee in the United States, with participants from other countries as well. It is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W...
and now serves as the official pronouncer of the Bee, a position he has held since 2003.
Bailly grew up in the Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
area. He began participating in spelling bees in sixth grade, training with a nun at his Catholic school. He reached the National Spelling Bee as an eighth grader, and won with the word elucubrate.
In college, Bailly studied Ancient Greek and Latin, then learned German in Switzerland with the help of a Fulbright scholarship. In 1990, he wrote a letter to the National Spelling Bee organizers to offer his services, and was hired as an associated pronouncer. Bailly became the head pronouncer after the death of Alex Cameron
Alex Cameron
Alex J. Cameron was an English professor at the University of Dayton and the official pronouncer of the Scripps National Spelling Bee from 1980 to 2002.Cameron grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, and attended the University of Notre Dame...
in 2003.
Besides his duties with the spelling bee, Bailly works full-time as an associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
.
Bailly plays himself in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee
Akeelah and the Bee
Akeelah and the Bee is a 2006 American drama film written and directed by Doug Atchison. It tells the story of Akeelah Anderson, portrayed by Keke Palmer, an 11-year-old girl who participates in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, her mother, portrayed by Angela Bassett, schoolmates, and also her...
, which tells the story of a girl who competes in the National Spelling Bee.
External links
- The Believer - Interview with Jacques Bailly June/July 2006
- Jacques Bailly at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...