Candace Smith was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio where she began performing at a young age at the Dayton Playhouse. She is an actress known for My Father Die (2016), End of Watch (2012) and Gimme Shelter (2013). Throughout high school and college, she participated in Drama as well as athletics. While attending the University of Dayton on a full academic scholarship, Candace studied media and communications for a summer at the University of London, where her love for theatre grew on the West End. She returned from London and graduated from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Communications. Candace went on to attend Northwestern University School of Law. While studying in Chicago, Candace immersed herself in the experience by volunteering for an outreach program at the juvenile detention center and traveling to Cuba as a group leader for a research project. Upon graduating, Candace returned to Ohio to be close to her family. She was admitted to the Ohio Supreme Court and began practicing commercial real estate. While practicing, Candace won the prestigious title of Miss Ohio USA 2003. Once she concluded her duties as Miss Ohio USA 2003, she made the move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in entertainment while continuing to coach clients in life & love. Most recently, Candace appears in ABC's Same Time, Next Christmas (2019) starring Lea Michele, as the sister to Charles Michael Davis. In the soon to be released Netflix comedy, The Wrong Missy (2020) Candace shares the screen with David Spade as the wife to Joe Anoa'i. In the feature action film My Father Die (2016) produced by Pierce Brosnan, Candace stars as Nana, the heroine of this gritty action thriller set in the South, alongside Joe Anderson. Candace appeared as a West African social worker in the independent film Gimme Shelter (2013) alongside Rosario Dawson and Vanessa Hudgens. In David Ayer's film End of Watch (2012), Candace plays a distraught mother opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, which debuted No. 1 opening weekend. Candace's lifelong passion for comedy led her to perform stand-up at the world famous Comedy Store on Sunset Blvd. She studied at Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles as a member of their diversity class. She has appeared in three of the comedy troupe, Broken Lizard's films; including her film debut as Naomi in Warner Brothers' Beerfest (2006), The Slammin' Salmon (2009) as Michael Clarke Duncan's sister and the The Babymakers (2012). In television, Candace has appeared on CBS's Hawaii Five-0 (2010), NBC's Heroes (2006), TBS's Conan (2010), and Joey (2004), HBO's Entourage (2004) and Fox's Method & Red (2004). As a TV Personality specializing as a lifestyle expert & love expert, Candace has appeared on Bravo's The Millionaire Matchmaker (2008), E!'s The Platinum Life (2017), the Hallmark Channel's Home & Family (2012) and WE TV's Million Dollar Matchmaker (2016). As a producer, Candace has worked as an associate producer on several network shows. She is developing both unscripted and scripted projects.