[5] As a genealogist, she is best known for unearthing celebrity roots,[6] conducting forensic research[7] for coroners, police departments, NCIS and the FBI, and championing the use of DNA testing to learn about one’s ancestry.

[8] She researched Michelle Obama's family tree,[9] researched Annie Moore, the first immigrant through Ellis Island,[1] traced Barack Obama's roots to Moneygall, Ireland,[10][3][11] and discovered that Al Sharpton’s great-grandfather had been owned by relatives of Strom Thurmond.

[13] She, herself, is of Irish and Rusyn heritage with roots in Ireland, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine.

[16] Smolenyak has also consulted for and appeared on CBS's The Early Show, Good Morning America, the Today Show, Top Chef (Bravo), CNN, ESPN, BBC Breakfast, African American Lives, PBS's Ancestors, TimeWatch, They Came to America, Who Do You Think You Are?, Faces of America, Finding Your Roots, NuvoTV, NPR,[17][18] BBC Radio, and local television and radio shows, and has spoken at the National Genealogical Society, Federation of Genealogical Societies, Who Do You Think You Are Live?, Australasian Federation of Family History Organizations, and other historical, military, ethnic and literary events.

[19][20] She was the winner of writing awards from the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors and the Bo Peep Award, given by the International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists.