Danni Boatwright Wiegmann (born Danielle E. Boatwright; July 13, 1975) is an American actress, TV host, sports journalist, model and beauty queen who won $1,000,000 on ''
Survivor: Guatemala'', the eleventh season of the reality television show ''
Survivor'', and finished in 19th place in the show's 40th season ''
Survivor: Winners at War''.
Boatwright was born in
Tonganoxie, Kansas
Tonganoxie (pronounced ) is a city in Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,573.
History
Tonganoxie was platted in 1866. It was named ...
. She represented
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
at the nationally televised
Miss Teen USA
Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the Mis ...
and
Miss USA
Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...
pageants,
and is one of the most successful delegates to compete in both competitions.
Pageantry
Boatwright is an accomplished model, having worked internationally, and is also an athlete: in 2003, she ran the Country Music Marathon in
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. Boatwright's first major pageant title came in late 1991 when she won the
Miss Kansas Teen USA
The Miss Kansas Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Kansas in the Miss Teen USA pageant. This pageant has been part of the Vanbros organisation since 1992, and in 2006, they celebrated their ...
title and became the first representative of the Vanbros pageant group. Boatwright represented
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
at the 1992
Miss Teen USA
Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the Mis ...
pageant in
Biloxi
Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
and placed second behind
Miss North Carolina Teen USA
The Miss North Carolina Teen USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of North Carolina in the Miss Teen USA pageant and is part of the RPM Productions group.
North Carolina has been moderately successful ...
Rachel Adcocks in the preliminary competition. During the final competition, Boatwright placed second in the interview and swimsuit rounds and fourth in the swimsuit portion. Overall, she was ranked second going into the final stage of the competition, but dropped a place and so became the second runner-up to the eventual winner
Jamie Solinger
Jamie Grimes ( née Solinger formerly Patterson, born c. 1975) is an American model and beauty queen who became the first and so far only woman from Iowa to capture the Miss Teen USA crown and placed third runner-up to Mrs America 2005.
Modeli ...
of
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
.
Four years later Boatwright won the
Miss Kansas USA
The Miss Kansas USA pageant is a competition that selects the representative for the state of Kansas in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant is directed by Vanbros and Associates, headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas. In 1992, the state joined the Va ...
1996 crown, and represented her state in the national
Miss USA
Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...
competition, broadcast live from
South Padre Island, Texas
South Padre Island is a resort town in Cameron County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Brownsville– Harlingen Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,066 at the 2020 census. The town is located on South Padre Island, a bar ...
. In that pageant, Boatwright won the preliminary competition and also the interview and swimsuit competitions on finals night. She finished first runner-up to
Ali Landry
Ali Germaine Landry (born July 21, 1973) is an American actress, model, and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss USA 1996. She played Rita Lefleur on the UPN sitcom '' Eve'' and was the Doritos Girl in a 1998 Super Bowl commercial. In 1998, ...
of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, making her one of the most successful delegates to compete in both competitions.
Modeling
During the
Miss Teen USA
Miss Teen USA is a beauty pageant formerly run, since 1983, by the Miss Universe Organization for girls aged 14–19. Unlike its sister pageants Miss Universe, which currently broadcasts on Fox and Miss USA, this pageant is webcast on the Mis ...
pageant, Boatwright was introduced to an international modeling scout and started a career as a model. She has traveled as an international model in different countries including
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
. She appeared on ''
Star Search
''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...
'' at the age of 17 as a spokesmodel and contestant, the youngest ever to appear in this category. She has also appeared in numerous television and print advertisements, most recently in ads for BioSilk.
''Survivor''
''Guatemala''
In 2005, Boatwright competed in ''
Survivor: Guatemala'', the 11th season of
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
show ''
Survivor''. She was initially placed on the Nakúm tribe. On Day 9, a tribe switch landed her on the Yaxha tribe. At the post-merge Survivor Auction, she bought herself an advantage at the next immunity challenge. After the challenge, she made connections with
Rafe Judkins
Rafe Lee Judkins (born January 8, 1983) is an American television writer, television producer, and screenwriter. He is the showrunner for the Amazon Prime Video television series ''The Wheel of Time'' and appeared as a contestant on the 11th ...
and Lydia Morales, even forming a Final Two deal with Judkins. At the Final Four immunity challenge, Boatwright failed to win immunity, losing to Judkins. However, she convinced him that it was in his best interest to keep her over the much physically weaker Morales. Judkins agreed and Morales was unanimously voted out. Boatwright then won the final immunity challenge and, after Judkins released her from their earlier Final Two agreement, she chose Stephenie LaGrossa to bring to the final Tribal Council because she viewed LaGrossa as easier to beat and as equally deserving as Judkins. At the final Tribal Council, the jury was very angry with LaGrossa for her devious gameplay. Boatwright won the title of Sole Survivor in a 6–1 vote, only losing Judkins's vote.
''Winners at War''
After a 15-year and 29-season hiatus from the series, Boatwright returned to compete on ''
Survivor: Winners at War''. She quickly aligned with
Rob Mariano
Robert Carlo Mariano (born December 25, 1975), known by the nickname Boston Rob, is an American television personality, known for appearing in the CBS reality show '' Survivor''. He placed 10th in the show's 4th season '' Survivor: Marquesas'' ...
,
Parvati Shallow
Parvati Shallow ( ; born September 21, 1982) is an American television personality and was the $1 million winner of the reality television series '' Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites''. She had previously competed in '' Survivor: Cook I ...
and
Ethan Zohn
Ethan Zohn (born November 12, 1973) is an American motivational speaker, former professional soccer player, and reality television series contestant who won '' Survivor: Africa'', the third season of the reality TV series '' Survivor''. He went ...
as a member of an "Old-School" alliance on the Sele tribe. However, after accidentally revealing the existence of the alliance in a conversation with Zohn and
Ben Driebergen
Benjamin Russell Driebergen (born January 1, 1983) is an American Marine Corps veteran and reality television personality, best known for competing on and winning '' Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers''. In 2020, he returned to compete i ...
, Mariano felt she couldn't be trusted, and she became the third person voted out of the game. On day 35, Boatwright became a permanent member of the jury after failing to return to the game from the Edge of Extinction. She voted for
Tony Vlachos
Anthony Vlachos (born September 10, 1973) is an American police officer, best known for competing on the reality television competition series '' Survivor'', of which he is the second person to win two seasons. He won the show's 28th season, '' Su ...
to win the title of Sole Survivor, which he accomplished in a 12-4-0 vote.
Professional and personal life
Boatwright lives in
Tonganoxie, Kansas
Tonganoxie (pronounced ) is a city in Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 5,573.
History
Tonganoxie was platted in 1866. It was named ...
and is an on-air personality for
KCSP, also known as ''610 Sports'', in Kansas City. She is the co-host of "Sports Rap" every Sunday from 10:00 to noon. She also appeared on ''
The Fantasy Show
''The Fantasy Show'' is a fantasy football talk and debate show on ESPN2. The show was supposed to air for 18 weeks a year during the National Football League season every Thursday at 6:30pm ET on ESPN2. However, the debut season of the show onl ...
'' on ESPN2. Boatwright was the first host of CelebTV.com, an entertainment news website. In 2006, she became a spokeswoman for
Coleman products. She can also be seen in online promotional videos for the
Trackstick GPS tracking device. She also started a sports clothing label called Sideline Chic.
Boatwright was once married to
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
singer
Wade Hayes
Tony Wade Hayes (born April 20, 1969) is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Records in 1994, he made his debut that year with his gold-certified album '' Old Enough to Know Better''. Its title track, which served as his debut ...
, and appeared in the music video for his 1998 single "Tore Up from the Floor Up." She is now married to
Casey Wiegmann
Casey Peter Wiegmann (born July 20, 1973) is a former American football Center (American football), center who played sixteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Iowa. He was signed by ...
, a former NFL
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
. They have two sons, Bo, born on October 8, 2007, and Stone, born on November 1, 2010.
[http://www.kansascity.com/sports/story/241749.html ]
References
External links
*
Danni Boatwright biographyfor ''
Survivor: Guatemala'' at
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boatwright, Danni
1975 births
Living people
People from Tonganoxie, Kansas
20th-century Miss Teen USA delegates
Survivor (American TV series) winners
Miss USA 1996 delegates
Participants in American reality television series
20th-century American people