By Samantha Baize

 

"I love color. It brings out my personality. I just feel stronger when I wear brighter colors."

 

Pat Smith is beautiful inside and out, with or without makeup (she cleanses with Noxema, by the way). She's a woman of grace, a woman of faith, a woman of fun. And if you've ever been in the same room with her, you know that it's impossible to stop staring at her. Pat Smith is one of those women that you wish you could hate because she's just so gorgeous. Spend five minutes with her and you'll see how her overwhelmingly kind and humble heart exudes into the room and you'll realize that you can't hate her, you just want to be best friends with her.

 

When I went to Mrs. Smith's home for an introduction and an interview, she greeted me not with a handshake but with a warm hug. We walked into the dining room to talk as she delicately swept cracker crumbs off the table into her hand. "The kids," she explained. The Smith's have four of them: Skylar, 5, Emmitt Jr. (E.J.), 6, Rheagen, 10 and Jasmin, 13. The next day at the La Mode photo shoot, she wooed us with her charm and her Beyonce dance moves. "Most people don't know this about me, but I love hip-hop. I love it!" It didn't take long for us to fall in love with Pat and realize that she is so much more than the wife of a superstar. To us, Pat Smith is a superstar.

 

"Treasure You" (treasureyou.org) is an organization founded by Smith and "dedicated to renewing the spirits of women by providing them with a community to share their purpose, passion, and power." She hosts retreats in luxurious locations to bring women together in order for them to learn how to treasure themselves along with other women who face similar circumstances. Most of them incur the joys and challenges of being married to high-profile men and for a few days, Mrs. Smith makes it all about them in a decompressing sanctuary. Recently, she began hosting a "Treasure You" segment on Good Morning Texas, WFAA-TV Channel 8 on Monday mornings from 9:00am - 10:00am. During her time on air she meets with women who have persevered through difficult hardships and found purpose through their setbacks. 

 

She is also the president of the Pat and Emmitt Smith Charities. "We focus on disadvantaged children and offer opportunities for them that they wouldn't otherwise have. Wherever we feel a need and our heart connects to a cause, we raise and donate money to help," she explains. They've taken kids to New York to allow them to experience the New York Stock Exchange, donated scholarships to the Shelton School and helped Russell Simmons build a school in Africa.

 

So how does one woman balance being a mother of four, the wife of a celebrity and still manage to find time to fulfill her passions? "I think it's important to prioritize. For me, it's my faith first. Then my husband. Then my children," she says. And she has had to learn to decline, "My husband has really helped me with learning to say no. You're not going to be good for anybody if you're not taking care of yourself." When when I asked her for her beauty secrets, she said without hesitation, "First of all, true beauty's from the inside out. My mother was really big about that."