Background
Bailly grew up in the Denver, Colorado, area.
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Jacques Bailly
Edit ProfileEducation
Bailly studied Ancient Greek and Latin, receiving his bachelor"s degree from Brown University and his Doctor of Philosophy from Cornell University.
Career
He began participating in spelling bees in sixth grade, training with a nun at his Catholic school. He learned German in Switzerland with the help of a Fulbright scholarship. In 1990, he wrote a letter to the National Spelling Bee organizers to offer his services and was hired as an associated pronouncer.
Bailly became the Bee"s chief pronouncer after the death of Alex Cameron in 2003.
Besides his duties with the spelling bee, Bailly works full-time as an associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont, specializing in Greek and Roman philosophy, particularly Plato. Bailly plays himself in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee, which tells the story of a girl who competes in the National Spelling Bee.
Achievements
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Born
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Died
2003 (aged 37) -
Nationality
United States