(I got this info from many different interviews and some from my own conversations with Lance and his father)
David Lance Smith was born in Birmingham, AL on September 27, 1978 to Jim and Leona Smith. He has a younger brother, Taylor, who is now 14. Taylor has Angelman's disease. He's a sweet kid. Lance and Taylor are extremely close, and if you've ever seen them together, you can definitely tell.
Lance spent most of his childhood movnig around due to his father's job. He lived in Hawaii at one point in his life, and spent a lot of time in Erin, TN. Yes, there is an Erin, TN. He graduated from high school in Franklin, TN in 1996.
During high school, he played in the "Passion Play," where he got his passion (no pun intended) for acting. He realized that the stage was where he wanted to be. So, he told his parents his new dream, and he moved to LA to audition for different parts. While in LA, he worked in fast food restaurants, sold shoes to many celebrities, and "did anything to pay the bills, within my moral boundaries." He was an extra in many television episodes of various sitcoms filmed in LA.
After spending a couple years in LA with no real luck, he moved back to TN and got a gig as crowd entertainer on tour with The Dixie Chicks, where he spent 6 months on the road with them. During the tour, he got to meet President Clinton at the White House, and told him to put a coaster under his coke.
Meanwhile, he got gigs acting in a few music videos. You can see him in The Wilkinsons "Fly (The Angel Song), " Julie Reeves "It's About Time," and Meredith Edwards "A Rose is a Rose." (btw Meredith is one of my fellow Belmont students!!) He was also in a video very recently. If you watch closely to Brad Paisley's video, "Celebrity," you can spot him out in a couple different spots. But, I hear that if you see Brad in concert, he plays a longer version of the video where you can see Lance in more.
After the tour with The Dixie Chicks, Lance was about to move back to LA when he found out he got the spot as host on CMT Most Wanted Live. So, of course he stayed in Nashville and took the job. The first airing of MWL was on May 28, 2001. He stayed on as host of MWL until Dec. 2001, when the format changed. CMT needed to use him on other areas and MWL was taking up all his time. So, he became host of the Top 20 Countdown, CMT Got Me In With The Band, and many other various things for the station, including "Stranded, With Kenny Chesney," many red carpet events, and touring with the MWL tour as the host of the concert.
This past summer, he was guest host of MWL while Cledus T. Judd was on tour with Brooks & Dunn. And, beginning later this month, he will be going on tour again with the MWL tour, featuring Rascal Flatts.
He has been engaged to Carrie (whose last name is a mystery to me) since November 2002, and they plan on marrying sometime in the next decade. Sorry Ladies! Lance and Carrie currently live in Franklin, TN with their two dogs.
Watch for an independent film, featuring Lance as a rookie cop coming out sometime in late fall or December. This is Lance's first movie, and he's so excited to have it done is ready to see how it turned out.