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==Background==

==Background==

The youngest of three daughters, Smith was born in Greenville in Augusta County in western [[Virginia]], to William Herman Smith (1880-1930), a distributor of [[newspaper]]s and [[magazine]]s, and the former Charlotte "Lottie" Yarnell Hanby (1885-1962).<ref name=findagrave/> She was reared in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=nyt>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/18/obituaries/kate-smith-all-american-singer-dies-at-79.html|title=Kate Smith, All-American Singer, dies at 79|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|author=Frank G. Prial|date=June 18, 1986|accessdate=June 17, 2020}}</ref> Smith did not talk until she was four years of age, but by the time she was five she had begun singing at church socials. She never had a singing lesson; her father sang in the choir at a [[Roman Catholic]] church, and her mother played the [[piano]] at a [[Presbyterian]] church. As early as the age of eight, she began performing  for military personnel at [[United States Army]] camps in the Washington area during [[World War I]] and in [[vaudeville]] theaters and on [[Broadway]] in [[New York City]].<ref name=nyt/>

The youngest of three daughters, Smith was born in Greenville in Augusta County in western [[Virginia]], to William Herman Smith (1880-1930), a distributor of [[newspaper]]s and [[magazine]]s, and the former Charlotte "Lottie" Yarnell Hanby (1885-1962).<ref name=findagrave/> She was reared in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name=nyt>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/18/obituaries/kate-smith-all-american-singer-dies-at-79.html|title=Kate Smith, All-American Singer, dies at 79|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|author=Frank G. Prial|date=June 18, 1986|accessdate=June 17, 2020}}</ref> Smith did not talk until she was four years of age, but by the time she was five she had begun singing at church socials. She never had a singing lesson; her father sang in the choir at a [[Roman Catholic]] church, and her mother played the [[piano]] at a [[Presbyterian]] church. As early as the age of eight, she began performing  for military personnel at [[United States Army]] camps in the Washington area during [[World War I]] and in [[vaudeville]] theaters and on [[Broadway]] in [[New York City]].<ref name=nyt/>

==Career==

==Career==

Smith, who never married, rented several apartments in Manhattan, had a home in Arlington, Virginia, and a summer home on a small island in Lake Placid, [[New York]]. After attending services at a Catholic parish for twenty-five years, Smith converted to Catholicism in 1965, a year after the passing of her manager. She lived modestly though her estate topped $35 million, making her one of the wealthiest singer for her time. While at the summer home in Lake Placid, she regularly attended mass at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church.​<ref name=nyt/>  

Smith, who never married, rented several apartments in Manhattan, had a home in Arlington, Virginia, and a summer home on a small island in Lake Placid, [[New York]]. After attending services at a Catholic parish for twenty-five years, Smith converted to Catholicism in 1965, a year after the passing of her manager. She lived modestly though her estate topped $35 million, making her one of the wealthiest singer for her time. While at the summer home in Lake Placid, she regularly attended mass at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church.​<ref name=nyt/>  

In 1976, she was the grand marshal for the Rose Parade in Pasadena, [[California]], and she sang "God Bless America" before the Rose Bowl in which the [[University of California at Los Angeles]]. defeated [[Ohio State University]].

In 1976, she was the grand marshal for the Rose Parade in Pasadena, [[California]], and she sang "God Bless America" before the Rose Bowl in which the [[University of California, Los Angeles]] defeated [[Ohio State University]].

==Presidential Medal of Freedom==

==Presidential Medal of Freedom==