Jacques Bailly

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Dr. Jacques Bailly (born 1966) was the 1980 national champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee and now serves as the official pronouncer of the Bee, a position he has held since 2003. Before that, he served twelve years as the associate pronouncer.

He grew up in the Denver, Colorado area and earned his undergraduate degree in classics in 1988 from Brown University and Ph.D. in ancient philosophy from Cornell University. Dr. Bailly is currently an associate professor of Classics at the University of Vermont.

He plays himself in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee which tells the story of a girl who competes in the national spelling Bee.

Preceded by Katie Kerwin

Scripps National Spelling Bee winner 1980

Succeeded by Paige Pipkin

[edit] External links

• The Final Word The Burlington Free Press, May 7, 2006
• The Believer - Interview with Jacques Bailly June/July 2006
• [1] Jacques Bailly at the Internet Movie Database