Jacques Bailly

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.[2] He reached the National Spelling Bee as an eighth grader and won with the word elucubrate.[3]

Bailly studied Ancient Greek and Latin, receiving his bachelor's degree from Brown University and his PhD from Cornell University.[4] He learned German in Switzerland with the help of a Fulbright scholarship.[2] In 1990, he wrote a letter to the National Spelling Bee organizers offering his services and was hired as an associate pronouncer.[5] Bailly became the Bee's chief pronouncer after Alex Cameron's death in 2003.[2]

Bailly works full-time as an associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont, specializing in Greek and Roman philosophy, particularly Plato.[2][6]

Bailly portrayed himself in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee, which tells the story of a girl who competes in the National Spelling Bee.[2]

Bailly is married to Leslyn Hall. They have two children, Isidora (b. 2001) and Jean-Pierre (b. 2003).[7]

• List of Scripps National Spelling Bee champions

• The Believer - Interview with Jacques Bailly June/July 2006
• The Man Who Pronounced It All
• Jacques Bailly at IMDb
• The Kids Are A-L-R-I-G-H-T