Before she was trading barbs with Taylor Polidore Williams on Netflix’s “Beauty in Black,” Crystle Stewart was already a household name in America for a very different reason. She wore the Miss USA crown, ran the entire Miss USA organization, and survived a scandal that could have ended her public life. Here’s everything to know about her age, ethnicity, career, family, and how much she’s really worth.
| Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Crystle Danae Stewart |
| Date of Birth | September 20, 1981 |
| Age | 44 (as of 2026) |
| Birthplace | Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Ethnicity | African American |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5′ 8″ (1.73 m) |
| Education | University of Houston (B.S., Consumer Science and Merchandising, 2007); Barbizon Modeling and Acting School |
| Titles | Miss Texas USA 2008, Miss USA 2008 |
| Occupation | Actress, entrepreneur, former beauty pageant executive |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Ex-Husband | Max Sebrechts (married 2014, divorced November 2024) |
| Children | Two, reportedly a daughter and a son |
| Net Worth | Estimated between $1.5 million and $3 million |
Biography
Crystle Danae Stewart was born on September 20, 1981, in Houston, Texas. She’s African American, and her Texas roots run deep. She grew up in the Missouri City area, attended Missouri City Middle School, and graduated from Elkins High School before enrolling at the University of Houston, where she earned a degree in consumer science and merchandising in 2007. She also trained at the Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Houston, which set her up for a modeling career alongside her studies.
Stewart’s parents are Robert Stewart III and Cynthia Diane Franklin, and she grew up with two siblings: a brother, Robert Stewart IV, and a sister, Breana Renee. Family has stayed close to her throughout her adult life. She’s said her parents were a constant presence when she needed help balancing her career with raising her own kids.
Athletics played a role early on, too. As a teenager, Stewart won a silver medal in the 4×400 meter relay at the 1994 Junior Olympics, a detail that hints at the discipline she’d later bring to pageantry and acting.
Career
Stewart’s road to fame started in pageantry, and it wasn’t a smooth one. She competed in the Miss Texas USA pageant five separate times before finally winning in 2007, taking the crown as Miss Texas USA 2008. She’d placed first runner-up twice, third runner-up once, and made the semifinals in an earlier attempt, so when she finally won, it came after years of persistence rather than an overnight breakthrough.
That win sent her to the Miss USA 2008 pageant, where she became the ninth Texan to hold the national title. She went on to represent the United States at Miss Universe 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam, finishing in the top 10. Her national costume, shaped like a star in honor of Texas’ “Lone Star State” nickname, got plenty of attention that year. She also famously stumbled during the evening gown competition, recovered on her feet, and kept the audience cheering by clapping along.
After her reign, Stewart pivoted toward acting, a path that started as part of her Miss USA prize package, which included professional acting training. She debuted in 2011 with a guest role on the sitcom “House of Payne,” and that same year Tyler Perry cast her as Leslie Morris in the TBS/OWN comedy-drama “For Better or Worse,” a role she held for the show’s full six-season run through 2017. In 2012, Perry gave her a small role in the film “Good Deeds,” and in 2018, she took on a more dramatic part in his thriller “Acrimony,” starring opposite Taraji P. Henson.
In July 2020, Stewart made history by becoming president and national director of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, the first African American woman to hold the position, after the pageants split into an independent organization away from the Miss Universe Organization. The deal was finalized after more than a year of discussions and was publicly announced in December 2020. But her tenure grew controversial. In October 2022, she and her company, Miss Brand Corporation, were suspended following allegations of favoritism, results rigging at Miss USA 2022, and sexual harassment tied to Miss USA 2021, allegations that reportedly involved her then-husband, Max Sebrechts, who served as the organization’s vice president. Stewart officially stepped down from the role in August 2023. A 2023 documentary, “How to Fix a Pageant,” later revisited the allegations, though the investigation that followed the initial claims concluded they were unsubstantiated.
Between 2017 and 2025, Stewart also ran MISS Academy, a Houston-based training program she founded to teach pageantry skills alongside personal development and public speaking.
Her acting career found new momentum in 2024, when she landed the lead role of Mallory Bellarie in Tyler Perry’s Netflix drama “Beauty in Black.” The show became a hit for the streamer, and Stewart’s character, a hair care company heiress caught in a tangled family power struggle, quickly turned her into one of the most talked-about faces on the platform.
Stewart has described Perry as a genuine friend as much as a longtime collaborator. On “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” she shared a story about a trip to Italy with Perry and a group of friends that started badly. Her luggage never arrived, and she spent a week without her belongings before breaking down in tears in the car. Perry’s response was to hand her his black card and tell her to get whatever she needed. She used it to shop for essentials, then made a detour to the Rolex and Prada stores, a decision Perry has apparently never let her live down.
Season two of “Beauty in Black” pushed Mallory further into villain territory, something Stewart addressed on a later appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” alongside co-star Taylor Polidore Williams. She said Perry writes bold, often shocking dialogue for Mallory, and that she initially resisted one particular line because she doesn’t curse in her own life and found the line’s wording genuinely uncomfortable to say. She delivered it anyway, and it went on to become one of the season’s most memed moments. Despite playing a character who curses, schemes, and mistreats the people around her, Stewart said she hopes young women watching take away a message about strength, and about giving themselves permission to be both strong and vulnerable rather than getting labeled a villain for standing their ground.
In a 2026 interview on Dr. Jay Barnett’s podcast “Just Heal with Dr. Jay,” Stewart said she’s now setting her sights on producing. She pointed to her past experience producing the live Miss USA and Miss Teen USA broadcasts, each featuring 51 contestants, as proof she already understands the mechanics of pulling a large production together. She said she has a drama series concept she’s excited about and wants to move from performing in front of the camera to building projects from behind it.
Speaking with Galore magazine that same year, Stewart said she’s drawn to emotionally layered characters and would love to eventually play a superhero, calling out the combination of action and emotional depth those roles offer. She also looked back on what she took from her pageant years, saying beauty might open a door but character determines how long someone stays in the room, and that the contestants who stood out were the ones who fully embraced who they were instead of comparing themselves to others.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Days of Our Lives | Herself | Cameo, one episode |
| 2011 | House of Payne | Vanessa | Episode “Payneful Visit” |
| 2011–2017 | For Better or Worse | Leslie Morris-Jetson | Main cast |
| 2012 | Good Deeds | Secretary | |
| 2014 | The Exes | Donna | Episode “Nothing in Common” |
| 2017 | Too Close to Home | Frankie | Main cast |
| 2018 | Acrimony | Diana Wells | |
| 2024–present | Beauty in Black | Mallory Bellarie | Main cast, Netflix |
Social Media
Stewart is active across the major platforms, and she uses them to promote “Beauty in Black” as much as she shares glimpses of her personal life. Her Instagram, @crystlestewart, has crossed 800,000 followers. She’s also active on TikTok as @therealcrystlestewart, where she’s built a following of over 200,000 people who tune in for behind-the-scenes clips and interviews about her role as Mallory. Her X (formerly Twitter) handle is @CrystleStewart, a holdover from her Miss USA days that she still uses.
Personal Life
Stewart married Belgian-born model Max Sebrechts on August 9, 2014, after the two met through the pageant world, where he later worked alongside her at Miss USA. The couple went on to have two children together. Multiple entertainment outlets report their names as a daughter, Anne-Jolie, born in 2017, and a son, Max Jr., born around 2020, though Stewart has kept detailed information about her kids largely private.
The marriage did not survive the fallout from the Miss USA scandal. Rolling Stone reported in 2023 that the couple had separated amid the sexual harassment allegations against Sebrechts. Stewart later confirmed on the podcast “Chattin’ with Chelsea” in September 2025 that she and Sebrechts had officially divorced in November 2024. She’s kept her public commentary on the split minimal, choosing not to air details of the breakup on social media.
These days, Stewart splits her time between California, where her acting work is based, and Texas, where her family remains rooted. She’s previously described leaning on her parents to help care for her children while she balances her acting schedule.
Financial Setback and Recovery
Stewart has been open about a difficult stretch around 2024, when her marriage, her business, and her housing situation all fell apart at once. Speaking on “Just Heal with Dr. Jay” in 2026, she said she lost the home she’d built over 20-plus years in the industry and was left with negative $300 in her bank account. She described sitting outside the house after it was gone, having to make do with only her car.
Stewart said the weight of that period brought her to a frightening moment of suicidal thinking while she was on her way to pick up her son. She didn’t act on it, and she credited her faith and thoughts of her children with pulling her back. She’s since spoken about the experience publicly to help destigmatize mental health struggles, framing her recovery, which includes owning two homes again within about two years, as proof of what she calls staying patient, persistent, and prayerful through hard seasons. She also said she attends regular therapy sessions as part of maintaining her mental health.
Net Worth
Aggregator sites list Crystle Stewart’s net worth anywhere from $1 million to $5 million, but those figures come with no real breakdown of where the money comes from. A more grounded estimate puts her net worth somewhere between $1.5 million and $3 million, built from a few identifiable income streams.
Her biggest and most consistent paycheck for years came from her six-season run on “For Better or Worse,” a steady, main-cast salary on a TBS and OWN series that aired well over 100 episodes between 2011 and 2017. Her current role as Mallory in “Beauty in Black” is likely her highest-paying acting job yet, given the show’s status as one of Netflix’s biggest recent hits and her position as a lead rather than a supporting player. Add in her earlier film work in “Good Deeds” and “Acrimony,” plus her modeling contracts through the Neal Hamil Agency in Houston, and her income from pure entertainment work builds a solid base.
Beyond acting, Stewart ran MISS Academy from 2017 to 2025, a business that would have generated its own separate revenue through training fees and coaching. Her three years as president and national director of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA (2020 to 2023) also came with an executive-level salary, though that ended when she was suspended and later stepped down in 2023.
Given all these combined sources, an estimated range of $1.5 million to $3 million feels like a realistic picture of where Stewart stands financially, with her earnings likely trending upward given her current lead role on one of Netflix’s most-watched shows.
FAQ
Is Crystle Stewart still married? No. Stewart was married to Belgian model Max Sebrechts from 2014 until their divorce, which was finalized in November 2024. She confirmed the split publicly on the podcast “Chattin’ with Chelsea” in September 2025.
Does Crystle Stewart have any children? Yes, she has two children with her ex-husband, Max Sebrechts. She’s kept most details about them private, though entertainment outlets have reported their names as daughter Anne-Jolie and son Max Jr.
What is Crystle Stewart famous for? She’s best known for winning Miss USA 2008 and for her acting work in Tyler Perry productions, particularly her six-season run on “For Better or Worse” and her current lead role as Mallory Bellarie in Netflix’s “Beauty in Black.” She also made history as the first African American president and national director of the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA organizations.
What is Crystle Stewart’s ethnicity? Stewart is African American.
