Chelsi Smith, 1995 Miss Universe from Texas, dies at age 45

Chelsi Smith, the first and only Texan to wear the Miss Universe crown, died Saturday after a year-long battle with liver cancer, according to her family. She was 45. The beauty queen from Deer Park began her 1994 victory streak at the Miss Galveston and Miss Texas pageants, where she celebrated her biracial heritage and vowed to take on racism. She snagged the coveted Miss USA title in 1995. She was 22 and attending San Jacinto College when judges at the Miss Universe competition in Namibia, Af