Jody-Anne Maxwell

{{Short description|Spelling bee champion}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Jody-Anne Maxwell

| birth_date = {{bya|1986}}

| birth_place = Kingston, Jamaica

| education = University of the West Indies
Norman Manley Law School

| known_for = First non-American to win the National Spelling Bee

}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}{{Use Jamaican English|date=March 2019}}Jody-Anne Maxwell (born 1986) is from Kingston, Jamaica and was the winner of the 1998 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the age of 12.{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9805/28/spelling.bee |title=Jamaican girl crowned national spelling champ: Wins $10,000 by correctly spelling 'chiaroscurist' |work=CNN |date=1998-05-28 |accessdate=2006-06-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060316065610/http://www.cnn.com/US/9805/28/spelling.bee/ |archivedate=16 March 2006 }} She made history as the first non-American to win the competition.{{Cite news|last=Archibold|first=Randal C.|date=1998-05-30|title=A Spelling Champion for All Jamaicans; 12-Year-Old From Kingston Is a Hero for Winning in Washington (Published 1998)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/30/nyregion/spelling-champion-for-all-jamaicans-12-year-old-kingston-hero-for-winning.html|access-date=2020-11-23|issn=0362-4331}}

According to Ebony magazine, Maxwell, who was also the competition's first Black winner, was viewed as a celebrity on her return to Jamaica.{{cite news|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n12_v53/ai_21225423 |title=Spelling her way to success: first black winner of championship is celebrity in Jamaica - Judy-Anne Maxwell wins 1998 National Spelling Bee |work=Ebony |publisher=FindArticles.com |date=October 1998 |accessdate=2006-06-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060424134404/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n12_v53/ai_21225423 |archivedate=2006-04-24 }} Maxwell also attained significant fame in Jamaican communities within the United States.{{cite news | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/1998/05/31/1998-05-31_city_s_caribbeans_share_w-i-.html | location=New York | work=Daily News | title=City's Caribbeans Share W-I-N Apple Under Spell Of Champ From Jamaica | date=1998-05-31 }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Maxwell qualified for the Scripps competition by winning Jamaica's National Spelling Bee Championship, which her sister Janice had also won in 1990. Her prizes for winning the national bee included $10,000 cash, and an education trust fund of $11,000 (U.S).{{cite news|first=Lise |last=Hoffman |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1189/is_n5_v270/ai_21066371 |title=Spelling's queen bee - Jody Anne Maxwell of Kingston, Jamaica is winner of Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee |work=The Saturday Evening Post |publisher=FindArticles.com |date=September–October 1998 |accessdate=2006-06-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080607060541/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1189/is_n5_v270/ai_21066371 |archivedate=2008-06-07 }}

She later went on to host the local Jamaican program The KFC Quiz Show with various co-hosts, (the first two being Dominique Lyew and Damar Pessoa) up until 2004 when the post was handed off to Samantha Strachan and Raine Manley Robertson.{{Cite web|title=Jody-Anne Maxwell|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5442128/|access-date=2020-11-23|website=IMDb}}

Maxwell was also a contestant on Nickelodeon's game show Figure it Out in 1998. She successfully stumped the panel of judges for all three rounds.

In 2012 she attended the Norman Manley Law School at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090405/lead/lead8.html |title=Jamaica Gleaner News - All grown up! - Lead Stories - Sunday | April 5, 2009 |accessdate=2012-04-18 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606191831/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090405/lead/lead8.html |archivedate=2012-06-06 }}

Maxwell is also a past student of the prestigious Ardenne High School in Kingston, Jamaica.