Jacques Bailly

Jacques A. Bailly (born January 28, 1966) is an American professor. He was the 1980 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion and has served as the Scripps National Spelling Bee's official pronouncer since 2003.

Biography Bailly was born in 1966 and grew up in the Denver, Colorado, area. He began participating in spelling bees in sixth grade, training with a nun at his Catholic school. Bailly studied Ancient Greek and Latin, receiving his bachelor's degree from Brown University in classics and his Ph.D. from Cornell University. He learned German in Switzerland with the help of a Fulbright scholarship. Bailly became the Bee's chief pronouncer after Alex Cameron died in 2003. Bailly portrayed himself in the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee, which focuses on a girl who competes in the National Spelling Bee.