Cheslie Kryst was Miss USA 2019, but that title only tells part of her story. She was also a licensed attorney, a television correspondent, and a former college athlete. After her death in 2022, her family turned her private struggle with depression into public advocacy — work that is still active in 2026 through scholarships, a foundation, and a bestselling memoir. This article covers Cheslie Kryst’s early life, career, and the legacy her mother continues to build in her name.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Cheslie Corrinne Kryst |
| Born | April 28, 1991, Jackson, Michigan |
| Died | January 30, 2022, New York City (age 30) |
| Raised In | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Education | University of South Carolina (BS, marketing and human resources); Wake Forest University (JD and MBA) |
| Titles | Miss North Carolina USA 2019; Miss USA 2019 |
| Career | Civil litigation attorney; TV correspondent for Extra |
| Notable Recognition | Two Daytime Emmy nominations for entertainment reporting |
| Family | Mother, April Simpkins (former Mrs. North Carolina US); several siblings |
| Legacy Work | By the Time You Read This (2024 memoir); Cheslie C. Kryst Foundation; law school scholarships in her name |
Early Life and Family
Cheslie Kryst was born on April 28, 1991, in Jackson, Michigan. Her father, Rodney Kryst, was Polish American, and her mother, April Simpkins, is Black American. When Cheslie was young, the family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, where she grew up alongside several brothers and a sister in a household that valued music and the arts. She learned violin and later picked up piano, and she also wrote regularly from a young age.
Pageantry ran in the family. Her mother had won the Mrs. North Carolina US title, and that early exposure planted a seed. But Cheslie’s ambitions reached beyond the stage. She attended Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, before the family settled in Charlotte, and she competed in school-level pageants while also excelling academically and athletically.
Education and Early Career
Kryst enrolled at the University of South Carolina, where she earned a business degree in marketing and human resource management from the Darla Moore School of Business in 2013, graduating cum laude. While there, she competed as a Division I track and field athlete and later held school records. She also joined the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society and took part in mock trial.
She then went on to Wake Forest University School of Law, where she completed both a Juris Doctor and an MBA in 2017 — an unusually demanding dual program. After graduating, she joined the law firm Poyner Spruill LLP in North Carolina, where she practiced civil litigation. Much of her legal work was pro bono, focused on helping clients, particularly people of color, who she believed had received excessive sentences. She later became the firm’s first Diversity Advisor, helping shape its diversity, equity, and inclusion plan.
Miss USA 2019 and Miss Universe
Kryst had tried for a state pageant title more than once, placing in the top ten of Miss North Carolina USA in earlier attempts, before finally winning Miss North Carolina USA in 2019. That win sent her to the Miss USA pageant in Reno, Nevada, where she was crowned Miss USA 2019 — becoming the third woman from North Carolina to hold the title.
Her win came during a historic year: 2019 marked the first time that Black women held the Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, and Miss America titles at the same time. As Miss USA, Kryst represented the United States at Miss Universe 2019, where she placed in the top ten. For her national costume, she chose a design inspired by four American women: Rosie the Riveter, the Statue of Liberty, poet Maya Angelou, and the figure of Lady Justice — a nod to her legal career.
Because of delays tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kryst’s reign lasted 557 days, making her the longest-reigning Miss USA titleholder in the pageant’s history at that point. She crowned her successor, Asya Branch, in November 2020.
Television Career
Kryst paused her law career to serve as Miss USA full time, and the exposure opened a new path. In 2019, she joined the entertainment news show Extra, first as a special correspondent and then as a full New York correspondent starting that October. She interviewed celebrities and covered entertainment news, and one of her interviews with actor Terrence Howard broke the news of his plans to step away from acting after Empire ended.
Her reporting earned her two Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Entertainment News Program. Alongside her television work, she kept building her platform White Collar Glam, a blog she had started years earlier to help other women dress professionally for work on a budget.
Mental Health Struggles and Death
On January 30, 2022, Cheslie Kryst died by suicide in New York City at age 30. Her family later said she had privately battled depression for years, even while her public life looked like an unbroken string of achievements. In a statement at the time, her family described her as someone who cared deeply, loved fully, and brought light to the people around her.
Her death shocked many who only knew her public image — a successful attorney, a former Miss USA, an Emmy-nominated correspondent. That gap between how she appeared and what she was privately carrying became the central theme her family chose to speak about afterward, rather than staying silent.
If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text in the United States.
Her Legacy: A Memoir and a Mission
Two months before her death, Kryst had finished a manuscript about her life. In 2024, her mother, April Simpkins, completed and published it as By the Time You Read This: The Space Between Cheslie’s Smile and Mental Illness — Her Story in Her Own Words. The book combines Kryst’s own writing — covering her bar exams, her Miss USA win, and her private struggles with heartbreak and persistent depression — with a closing section written by her mother about life after the loss. The book became a New York Times bestseller.
Simpkins has said she published the book because Kryst asked her to, in a final message sent the day she died. Net proceeds support mental health causes connected to Cheslie’s name.
That mission has continued to grow. In 2023, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) launched the Cheslie C. Kryst Memorial Fund for Mental Health with her family’s support. Her law school, Wake Forest, and her former firm, Poyner Spruill, jointly created the Cheslie C. Kryst Advocacy and Social Justice Law Scholarship for students pursuing civil rights work. In May 2025, the North Carolina Bar Foundation dedicated the Cheslie C. Kryst Justice Fund, which supports a fellowship for first-year North Carolina law students from underrepresented backgrounds. The Cheslie C. Kryst Foundation, formally recognized in 2024, now funds programs that use creative expression — music, writing, art — to support the mental wellness of teens and young adults, an approach that reflects Cheslie’s own lifelong love of music and writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old was Cheslie Kryst when she died?
She was 30 years old. She was born on April 28, 1991, and died on January 30, 2022.
What did Cheslie Kryst do before becoming Miss USA?
She worked as a civil litigation attorney at Poyner Spruill LLP in North Carolina, focusing largely on pro bono cases, after earning a JD and MBA from Wake Forest University.
What was Cheslie Kryst’s net worth?
Public estimates of her net worth vary widely and are not confirmed by any official source, ranging from roughly the low hundreds of thousands to a few million dollars as of 2026. These figures should be treated as rough, unverified estimates rather than fact.
Did Cheslie Kryst write a book?
Yes. Her memoir, By the Time You Read This, was completed by her mother, April Simpkins, and published in 2024. It became a New York Times bestseller.
What is the Cheslie C. Kryst Foundation?
It is a nonprofit, formally recognized in 2024, that supports mental wellness in teens and young adults through creative expression, scholarships for mental health professionals, and safe spaces for young people.
How This Was Researched
I researched this biography using Cheslie Kryst’s Wikipedia entry, her official obituary, university and foundation pages connected to her scholarships, and verified news coverage from outlets including TODAY, CBS News, and the Florida Bar Journal covering her memoir and legacy work. Many existing articles about her repeat outdated or inconsistent details — especially around her birthplace, family, and net worth — so I cross-checked those specific points across multiple sources. Where numbers, like her net worth, could not be confirmed, I’ve labeled them as estimates rather than fact.
Accuracy Note
This biography is based on publicly available information, including her official obituary, university and foundation records, and verified news coverage. If you spot anything outdated or incorrect, please let us know so we can update it.
Written and researched by Hassan, contributor at ntx magazine.
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Written by Hassan, founder and editor of NTX Magazine — an independent news and biography publication. Every article is researched and cross-checked against multiple public sources before publishing; see our Sourcing Standards page for details.