Milinda Smith: From Miss Jamaica World to Entrepreneurship and American Television

From the pageant stage in Jamaica to entrepreneurship in South Florida and a growing presence on American television, Milinda Smith has built a career defined by reinvention, ambition, and an unwavering connection to her Jamaican roots.

The former Miss Jamaica World 2016 2nd Runner-Up has expanded far beyond pageantry. Today, Smith is an entrepreneur, beauty and wellness professional, realtor, security company owner, and MBA holder whose career has also included appearances in music videos, commercials, film, and television.

Her latest chapter brings her into the reality television spotlight with an appearance on OWN’s Put a Ring on It: Cheathab. For Smith, however, television is not a departure from everything she has built—it is another extension of a journey that has taken her from St. Mary, Jamaica, to New York and ultimately South Florida, while creating opportunities across business, beauty, wellness, and entertainment.

In this Caribbean EMagazine Q&A, Smith opens up about her pageant years, the influence of her mother, building businesses in South Florida, stepping into reality television, navigating cultural differences on screen, and why she believes her Jamaican identity remains one of her greatest strengths.

CEM: For readers who may be discovering you for the first time, who is Milinda Smith today, and how would you describe the journey that has brought you to this point?

Milinda Smith is a strong, poised go-getter who is living her life her way, despite what anyone says or thinks. I’m a Jamaican-born businesswoman with an MBA, a BSHA, three professional licenses, and additional certifications, but my journey to this point has been anything but linear.

I have a tendency to get on my soapbox and fight for myself and, just as importantly, for the voiceless. I am comfortable standing alone when I believe in something. That part of me has been there for a very long time.

Before the degrees, licenses, businesses, and television, I was a music video model, and years before that, I was a purely Patois-chatting country girl growing up in St. Mary, Jamaica. I eventually left Jamaica and matured in the fast-paced environment of New York, where I really honed my competitive edge. Going from the countryside of Jamaica to New York exposed me to a completely different pace of life and taught me how to adapt, compete, and hold my own.

My journey and my success are not mine alone. I watched my mother fight extremely hard and play whatever role she needed to play to help me along the way. She taught me strength, resilience, and the importance of standing on my own two feet, and so much of who I am today is rooted in what I watched her do for me.

My journey has been one of pivoting, fighting, standing my ground, and figuring things out along the way. It has also been a journey of alignment. Time and time again, I’ve found myself being led toward opportunities and experiences that make sense for the woman I am becoming, even when I couldn’t see the full picture at the time.

Today, I’m building businesses, pursuing new opportunities in entertainment, and continuing to create a life that is aligned with who I am. I’m proud of how far I’ve come, but I’m also very aware that I’m still becoming.

At the core of it all, though, I’m still that Jamaican girl. Everything I’ve become is rooted in the strength of where I came from, the lessons I learned along the way, and everything I’ve had to overcome. I think that’s the beauty of my journey. I didn’t have to become someone else to get here. I simply kept evolving into more of myself.

CEM: Take us back to your time as Miss Jamaica World 2016 2nd Runner-Up. What was that experience like, and how did it shape your path toward the woman and entrepreneur you are today?

My time as Miss Jamaica World 2016 2nd Runner-Up was truly a defining chapter in my life. At the time, I was focused on the competition and the outcome, but as I grew, I realized that the experience was preparing me for something much bigger than a pageant title.

It taught me resilience. It taught me that sometimes things don't happen exactly the way you expect them to, but that doesn't mean your journey or your potential has been diminished. I learned not to allow a title, a position, or someone else's decision to determine my value.

That experience actually pushed me to become more intentional about building my own identity and creating my own opportunities. I went on to earn my MBA in Project Management, and today I'm a realtor, a businesswoman, a beauty spa and beauty-product-line owner, a security company owner, and a notary public.

When I look back at the young woman who stood on that stage in 2016, I'm proud of her because she didn't allow one moment to define the rest of her life. She took the lessons from that experience and kept moving forward.

For me, the biggest lesson was that the crown is not the destination. It's what you do with the confidence, exposure, discipline, and resilience that you gain along the way. Today, I'm building businesses, creating opportunities, and continuing to evolve as a woman. And in many ways, I believe the woman I am today is the woman that experience was preparing me to become.

CEM: Since your pageant days, you have transitioned into entrepreneurship, beauty, and wellness. What sparked your passion for these fields, and when did you realize you wanted to build a career beyond pageantry?

I’ve always loved science, beauty, and helping people ever since I was a little girl. I spent a lot of time doing charity work, through which I received the United States Presidential Volunteer Gold Service Award and the United States Presidential Volunteer Service Lifetime Achievement Award. My bachelor’s degree is also in Healthcare Administration.

While clinical healthcare is important, I believe it’s equally important to have an administrative team that is just as concerned with positive patient outcomes as the clinical providers. Utilizing my degrees in conjunction with my practical licenses, I’ve been able to create an atmosphere and grow Epidermasters Beauty & Wellness Center into a space that is not only safe for clients to receive beauty and wellness treatments at a baseline, but one that also focuses on mind, body, and spiritual care.

I do believe there is a correlation between how we look and how we feel. The better we look and the better our body performs, the better we feel overall, both in and about life.

I’ve always had a vision for my life that involved leading a team, but not simply to be “the boss.” I’ve always wanted to lead a team that is striving for the betterment of humanity in some capacity. I’m grateful to have found my lane in beauty and wellness and to be able to work toward that goal through Epidermasters Beauty & Wellness Center.

CEM: You are now based in South Florida. How has living and doing business there influenced your growth, your entrepreneurial journey, and your perspective on your career?

Being in South Florida has been fun so far! We often joke that being in South Florida is simply “the Caribbean extended” because of the heavy presence of Caribbean people and culture.

In my personal life, having my people so close has been great. It keeps me extremely close to the culture in so many different ways—for instance, food, music, events, and friends—which I really enjoy.

Business-wise, coming from a beauty background and being influenced by a Caribbean culture that is so glitzy, especially through dancehall and even carnival, being in South Florida, where there is such a heavy emphasis on appearance, still feels like “home” in a lot of ways. It’s no secret that South Florida is an aesthetic capital where “looks are everything,” so being here has pushed me to continue expanding my knowledge and service offerings at Epidermasters Beauty & Wellness Center so that I can remain competitive while still providing safe, modern, and efficacious services.

CEM: Your television debut on OWN’s Put a Ring on It marks a major new chapter. How did the opportunity come about, and what made you decide to say yes?

A friend of mine, Lashawnna Stanley, CEO of Ethnicity Models, an OG agency from the early 2000s, sent me the casting notice and suggested that I submit. I’ve been involved in other projects, including music videos for Beenie Man, Shaggy, and Christopher Martin, commercials for Quest, and even a role in Bad Boys for Life, so this felt like a natural progression into more mainstream features.

I’ve always been open to the idea of reality television, so when this opportunity came about, it was an easy “yes” for me to submit and see how it goes. I went through the interview process, which actually lasted a few weeks, and when they said “yes,” it was still a “yes” for me!

CEM: What was the experience of filming Put a Ring on It like, and how did it differ from your previous experiences in pageantry and media?

When it comes to production, the name of the game is “hurry up and wait” [laughs]. Filming Put a Ring on It: Cheathab was no different. I only filmed for a few days, but they were long days, and it was pretty hot at the time. I’m unsure how the show will ultimately be edited, but we spent quite a bit of time outdoors.

The only real difference between this production and the others I’ve worked on was that this was more so impromptu. Of course, there were a few things that required reshooting, such as walk-ups and things like that, but for the most part, the responses were very raw across the board.

For example, I actually met my date when I arrived at the door to pick him up. Neither of us had seen each other prior to me stepping inside the house to bring him on a date, while he left his girlfriend at home. So there really wasn’t much opportunity to rehearse or prepare for what was about to happen.

CEM: What was going through your mind when you saw yourself on American television for the first time?

This actually wasn’t my first time on American television, as I had a Quest commercial that aired in the U.S. and internationally for a little over two years. However, this was my first appearance on reality television.

The funny thing is, I never see myself on television first. For whatever reason, I am NEVER told when a project I’ve worked on is going to air, and someone always reaches out and tells me they saw me somewhere. That’s exactly how Put a Ring on It: Cheathab went as well. I had just left another set where I was running the Hair & Makeup department, and I started receiving Instagram DMs from people saying they saw me on Put a Ring on It: Cheathab! A few days later is when I finally watched it myself.

Honestly, I always have the same first thought. I’m always excited to have been a part of the project, but I’m also nervous to see how things are edited because that part is completely outside of my control. I’m a micromanager, so it always puts me a little on edge to see how other people view and edit me.

What I can say is that after watching my initial segment, I am incredibly pleased with how I was depicted and with the elements of “me” that OWN chose to highlight. I’m always up to something and living my life as I choose, but I do try to use any major platform that I’m given to spread positivity.

I felt that a positive message was shared at the table, and I hope it resonated with viewers, particularly around the importance of thinking before we speak and understanding how deeply our words can impact others. You never know when a conversation might be your last with someone you love. Imagine having to live the rest of your life knowing that the last words you ever said to that person were something hurtful, hateful, or “evil.” That is a weight that someone could carry for the rest of their life. I think there is something powerful about being intentional with our words because we may not always get the opportunity to take them back.

So again, for me, using bigger platforms to spread positivity is always important to me anytime I am given the opportunity to speak to an audience.

CEM: Reality television can require a level of vulnerability that audiences may not always appreciate. What was the most challenging part of sharing such a personal experience in front of the cameras?

Reality television, while being a controlled environment, is still very real in a lot of ways. Prior to going on the show, I thought to myself about how far I would allow myself to be pushed and how authentic I wanted to be. Ultimately, I decided that I was going to be my truest self and speak from the heart, which is why I think it was easy for me to be pleased with the way I was depicted.

I’m very much Jamaican, and we are confident people, so my introduction definitely demonstrated that [laughs]. As the segment progressed, though, the conversation became more grounded and reflective of the woman I am.

As with anything in the arts, the most challenging part is always, “What if people don’t like it?” At this stage in my life and with my experience in entertainment, I truly don’t fixate on that much. There will always be someone who doesn’t like something that you’re saying or doing, but at the end of the day, I know that I live my life for me.

No one else can jump in my skin and do my work, cry my tears, or feel my pain, so they shouldn’t have the liberty to dictate the things that bring me joy either.

The only caveat with reality television is the lack of editing power, but if I’m being true to myself and how I maneuver, it can only ever be edited but so “bad,” you know?

CEM: Was there anything about your experience on Put a Ring on It that viewers may not fully understand from what they see in the final edited episodes?

I’ve read a few comments on social media, and the majority of them have been great, but there are some pockets of comments where people found some of my actions “rude.” For example, how I greeted Travis with an air kiss. To me, it was honestly nothing because I greet most people that way. It’s friendly, and to me, outside of the U.S., it doesn’t necessarily have a romantic connotation attached to it.

However, I noticed a lot of American women in the comments saying that they felt it was excessively rude. I laughed and moved on. This is American television, and I actually had to put in one comment section that I am a “well-traveled immigrant.”

With that comes cultural differences, so some of my actions may not necessarily align with the cultural norms here but can be perfectly normal elsewhere. I think it’s important for viewers to keep that in mind and remember that I did introduce myself as a Jamaican woman. My culture and the way I naturally interact with people are part of who I am, so not everything I do is going to translate the exact same way to every audience.

CEM: Did your experience on the show teach you anything new about yourself, relationships, boundaries, or what you want moving forward?

The show didn’t teach me anything new about relationships or boundaries. What it did was actually reinforce things that I already knew about relationships and ensured that I continue to practice them in my own.

How I ended up on those dates with Travis was because he and his girlfriend were at a crossroads in their relationship and couldn’t figure out how or if to continue, or at what capacity. Personally, I could never be involved in any relationship that required dating other people to “realize” if I love my person enough to stay.

Also, this was the first installment of the Cheathab series. I have never cheated on anyone, and I don’t stay with men if I find out they have cheated on me. In all aspects of life, including my relationships with friends, I value nothing more than discipline, respect, and loyalty. Cheating breaks all three.

I would’ve left.

CEM: Pageantry, entrepreneurship, and television can seem like very different worlds. How have you learned to navigate those spaces while remaining grounded in who you are as a Jamaican-born woman?

From the outside looking in, it may seem like these are very different worlds, and maybe even “scattered” to some. On the inside, though, they really aren’t that different. It takes strength, discipline, and determination to even get your foot into these arenas, let alone find success, and those qualities carry over into everything I do.

Pageantry and television have both taught me how to present myself publicly, communicate effectively, and understand how to connect with different audiences. You’re expected to put your best foot forward, but you also have to understand that moments of vulnerability will happen, and the public may see those moments too. Learning how to navigate that has helped me tremendously in business.

As an entrepreneur, I’m responsible for leading teams at both Epidermasters Beauty & Wellness Center and Superior Protection Security & Services. Whether I’m dealing with clients, negotiating contracts, managing employees, or handling difficult situations, communication, diplomacy, and knowing how to work with different personalities are all extremely important. Those are skills I developed long before I became an entrepreneur, and I continue to use them every day.

Through all of it, I remain grounded in who I am because, as a Jamaican woman, I am “tallawah.” It is the motto of my people and the Jamaican proverb that I shared with the diaspora as my introduction during the Miss Jamaica World 2016 competition. It is a personal motto that I live by: “We’re a strong, fighting, and fearless people who are able to succeed no matter the circumstances,” and I meant every word of it.

CEM: How important is your Jamaican and Caribbean identity to the brand and career you are building, particularly as you expand within the U.S. entertainment industry?

While I am entering a new sphere in the U.S. entertainment industry, especially in front of the camera, I never leave my roots behind. I could have opted to introduce myself simply as a South Florida-based businesswoman, but instead, I chose to use that moment to big up my people so viewers knew exactly who they were getting.

While people are able to see the beauty and success that I have today, which is nice, it is also very important to me that they understand what built me into the woman I am. I want younger viewers, especially, to know that anything is possible regardless of where you come from.

I was born in the countryside of Jamaica and came to the States, where my mom worked extremely hard and taught me to stand strong and chase my dreams because they are never too big. She has called me her “star” since I was born, and the strength of that Jamaican woman gave me the strength, opportunity, and courage to become who I am today.

So when you look at my journey, from being born in the country in Jamaica to becoming a multi-licensed MBA holder with employees on payroll, that is the Tallawah strength of my people. I carry that with me everywhere I go.

CEM: What do you hope Caribbean EMagazine readers, particularly Caribbean women with ambitions beyond the region, take away from your journey from Jamaica to entrepreneurship and American television?

I want Caribbean women to see my journey and know that anything is possible. I am a firm believer that as long as we have breath in our bodies, we can fight to become bigger and better than we were yesterday.

I also want Caribbean women to take ownership and pride in their accomplishments and to always remember to celebrate the small victories along the way. I emphasize taking ownership because that is something I didn’t always do. For example, I was modeling for Nike as a teenager, and to this day, in my 30s, I’ve never really referred to myself as a model, even though everyone else does. I’m still learning to give myself the same credit for my accomplishments that other people have always given me.

I also emphasize celebrating the small victories because they make life so much sweeter. Life becomes more enjoyable when you actually stop to appreciate what you’ve accomplished along the way. Life itself is a journey, and we can’t wait until we reach “the end” to celebrate everything we’ve achieved. That’s literally when it’s over and we’re in the ground. You have to celebrate yourself while you’re here.

I want people to look at me and know that anything is possible, because it is. When you have a big dream, even if no one understands it or thinks you’re worthy of it, go ahead and dream bigger. And most importantly, remember that it is NEVER too late.

I’m in my 30s now, and I remember crying on my mother’s lap a few years ago because I didn’t know “how to” or “what’s next.” Since then, I’ve obtained additional degrees and licenses and continued to build the life I envisioned for myself.

It’s never too late, and NOTHING is too big for me to achieve. The same goes for you.

CEM: If a young Jamaican or Caribbean woman reading your story wants to break into the international entertainment or business space, what advice would you give her based on what you have learned?

In general business, unfortunately, it is still true that women often have to fight harder, work harder, be smarter, and have a strong network just to get their foot in the door, especially when entering corporate and traditionally male-dominated spaces. We may experience a bit more familiarity in “pink collar” industries such as beauty, health, and wellness because these are traditionally women-dominated spaces, but please do not mistake “pink collar” for easy.

Building a successful business in any industry requires marketing, budgeting, planning, networking, strategy, discipline, and the ability to constantly evolve. Being in an industry where you may be surrounded by other women does not eliminate the challenges of entrepreneurship.

For the young Jamaican or Caribbean woman who wants to enter international entertainment or business, my biggest advice is to learn as much as you possibly can and never allow where you come from to make you feel like you belong anywhere less. Your accent, your culture, your background, and the experiences that shaped you are not things you need to hide to be successful internationally. They are part of what makes you different.

Also, build your network, but don’t build relationships simply because you think someone can “do something” for you. Be genuine. Be willing to learn, be willing to start somewhere, and understand that sometimes you will have to create your own opportunity instead of waiting for someone to give you one.

Most importantly, take ownership of yourself and your accomplishments. Don’t wait for someone else to validate you before you recognize your own value. There will always be people who don’t understand your vision or think your dreams are too big. Dream anyway.

I’ve learned that you can come from a small country, enter unfamiliar spaces, and still make yourself a place at the table. You just have to be willing to walk through the door when it opens, build one when it doesn’t, and keep going when people tell you that you can’t.

CEM: With your television debut now adding another dimension to your career, what’s next for Milinda Smith? Are there particular areas of entertainment, media, or business that you are hoping to explore next?

For now, I have a firm plan for the next few years that involves expanding my current businesses, Epidermasters Beauty & Wellness Center and Superior Protection Security & Services, both of which are doing well.

In the entertainment sphere, Epidermasters is already spearheading the glam departments for some upcoming film projects, and I’ve also already been cast in a role for an upcoming project.

I’m not sure when I’ll make my next appearance on reality television, but I am absolutely not finished with American television. Either this or another show will bring me back, or I’ll EP an amazing idea that I’ve been quietly developing in my mind for the past few years.

Either way, this is definitely just the beginning of an amazing new chapter in my life, and I couldn’t be more excited to see where it leads.

Caribbean EMagazine Closing

For Milinda Smith, there is no single title that fully captures the path she is building. Pageant alumna, entrepreneur, beauty and wellness professional, business owner, and television personality are all parts of a much larger story—one that continues to evolve.

What remains constant is the foundation she repeatedly returns to: Jamaica, her mother’s example, and the belief that where you begin does not have to determine how far you can go.

Her appearance on Put a Ring on It: Cheathab may introduce Smith to a new audience, but she sees it as another step rather than a destination. With plans to expand her businesses, work on upcoming film projects, pursue additional on-camera opportunities, and potentially develop a television concept of her own, Smith is already looking beyond this moment.

And perhaps her own words best capture the philosophy behind what comes next: “Dream anyway.”

For this Jamaican-born entrepreneur, the next chapter is already being written.