Candiace Dillard

Background

Candiace Dillard was born on December 14, 1986, in Biloxi, Mississippi. When she was born, her parents, Walter and Dorothy Dillard, were both Air Force physicians. Her two other siblings, Chris and Crystal, grew up with her in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Howard University and served as a liaison between the White House and the African American community while working for President Barack Obama in the White House Offices of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. She took a job as a campaign aide for President Barack Obama’s reelection in 2012.

In 2013, Dillard won the title of Miss United States, at the age of 27, and hasn’t looked back since: She has competed in the Sunburst, National American Miss, National Miss American Coed, Georgia Miss American Coed, Miss Maryland U.S.A., Miss District of Columbia U.S.A., and Miss United States pageant systems for many years.

She is proud of her public service experience, but she considers herself an artist at heart and is no stranger to performance. She is best known for her role as a cast member on Bravo T.V.’s reality show “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” which premiered on January 17, 2016. She made her acting debut in the award-winning indie film “Water in a Broken Glass” (2018) and has since appeared as the lively Sunita Chanel in the sitcom “Family Reunion,” alongside Tia Mowry.

Dillard has also ventured into singing. Her R&B single ‘I See You’ was a commercial success. She followed it with an album, “Deep Space,” which was released on September 24, 2021. And in its first week, it received over half a million streams. It also became one of the country’s Top 25 R&B albums, charting at Number 24 on the Billboard Current R&B album list. Dillard is the founder and C.E.O. of Candiace Dillard Pageant Consulting. She is also co-founder of Prima Hair Collection by Candiace Dillard and Chateau Salon Suites. She started My Sister’s Keeper in 2009, a mentoring and women empowerment organization aimed at providing young girls with opportunities to meet with women in their communities.

Dillard is married to restaurateur Chris Bassett, whom she met at a restaurant in downtown Washington, D.C., where they both worked. Bassett proposed to her in May 2017. They had been friends for several years before the courtship grew into an undeniable love. The following year, on August 18, 2018, the couple married.

When she’s not running her various businesses, Dillard may be found studying for her master’s degree in business administration at Howard University, or snuggled up with a good book, as reading is one of her favorite pastimes.