Hannah Kelsey Brown (born September 24, 1994)
is an American television personality and former beauty pageant titleholder. She starred as the lead in
season 15 of ''
The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions:
** ''The Bachelorette'' (American TV ser ...
''. Brown had previously placed in the top seven in
season 23
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
of ''
The Bachelor''. As a beauty pageant titleholder, Brown was crowned
Miss Alabama USA 2018, and competed in
Miss USA 2018
Miss USA 2018 was the 67th Miss USA pageant. It was held on May 21, 2018 at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana. Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey hosted for the first time, while Carson Kressley and Lu Sierra served as commentat ...
. Following ''The Bachelorette'', she competed on
season 28
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
of ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
'' with partner,
Alan Bersten
Alan Bersten (born 26 May 1994) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer. He was a contestant on the tenth season of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' and is currently a professional dancer and choreographer on ''Dancing with the Stars ...
, and was declared the winner on November 25, 2019.
Early life and education
Brown was born in
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population of 1 ...
to parents Robert Walker Brown and Susanne Brown. She was raised both in Tuscaloosa and in nearby
Northport, Alabama
Northport is a city in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in the west central part of the U.S. state, State of Alabama. Located on the Black Warrior River across from downtown Tuscaloosa, it is currently the 21st largest city in Alabam ...
.
She graduated from
Tuscaloosa County High School
Tuscaloosa County High School serves grades 9– 12 and is located in Northport, Alabama, America, forming part of the Tuscaloosa County Schools.
History
The original Tuscaloosa County High was opened near downtown Northport in 1926. In 2000, ...
, and later from the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...
in 2017, receiving a degree ''
magna cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...
'' from the university's College of Communication and Information Sciences.
In college, she was a member of the Alpha Upsilon chapter of the
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Chi Omega (, also known as Alpha Chi or A Chi O) is a national women's Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded on October 15, 1885.
As of 2018, there are 132 collegiate and 279 alumnae chapters represented across ...
sorority. Brown then worked as an
interior design
Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...
er in Northport.
Career
Pageantry
Brown began her pageantry career at age 15, competing in local Alabama teen pageants.
As a teenager, she had placed first runner-up in
Miss Alabama's Outstanding Teen 2010 and second runner-up in
Miss Alabama Teen USA 2011. Brown later competed in
Miss Alabama 2013, representing Tuscaloosa, however she did not place in the competition.
After a brief hiatus from pageantry, Brown returned to compete in
Miss Alabama USA 2017, but did not place in the competition. She returned the following year, representing West Alabama, and was crowned Miss Alabama USA 2018.
As Miss Alabama USA 2018, Brown was given the opportunity to represent Alabama at the
Miss USA 2018
Miss USA 2018 was the 67th Miss USA pageant. It was held on May 21, 2018 at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana. Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey hosted for the first time, while Carson Kressley and Lu Sierra served as commentat ...
competition, held in
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...
. While at Miss USA, Brown was roommates with future ''The Bachelor'' castmate
Caelynn Miller-Keyes
Caelynn Marie Miller-Keyes (born June 15, 1995) is an American television personality, model, and beauty pageant titleholder. Miller-Keyes received national recognition after appearing as a contestant on season 23 of '' The Bachelor''.
While ...
, who had been crowned
Miss North Carolina USA 2018. For the pageant, Brown adopted a platform of
mental health
Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...
awareness, as she had previously suffered from
anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
and
depression which caused her to leave pageantry for several years.
Brown ultimately did not place in the competition and the pageant was won by
Sarah Rose Summers of
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
. She resumed her reign after filming of ''
The Bachelor'' had completed and crowned Hannah McMurphy as her successor in November 2018.
Reality television
''The Bachelor''
![Hannah Brown, Hannah Godwin, Demi Burnett on yacht 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Hannah_Brown%2C_Hannah_Godwin%2C_Demi_Burnett_on_yacht_1.jpg)
In 2018, Brown was cast in
season 23
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
of ''
The Bachelor'', starring former professional football player
Colton Underwood
Colton Scott Brown-Underwood (born January 26, 1992) is an American reality television personality and former professional football player. He played defensive end at Illinois State and was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free ...
. Filming for the season took place throughout fall 2018, and Brown was later revealed by
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
to be a contestant on December 6, 2018.
Brown went on to place seventh in the competition, being eliminated by Underwood during the episode airing February 18, 2019 and filmed in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. During the second part of the season finale, aired on March 12, 2019, Brown was announced by host
Chris Harrison
Christopher Bryan Harrison (born July 26, 1971) is an American television and game show host, best known for his role as the host of the ABC reality television dating show '' The Bachelor'' from 2002 to 2021. He also hosted its spin-offs ''The ...
as the lead for the upcoming
fifteenth season of ''
The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions:
** ''The Bachelorette'' (American TV ser ...
''. Brown is the first Bachelorette cast to not have placed in the top four of a season of ''The Bachelor''.
''The Bachelorette''
In the season finale of ''
The Bachelorette A bachelorette is an unmarried woman. Bachelorette may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Bachelorette'', a reality television dating show part of ''The Bachelor'' franchise with numerous versions:
** ''The Bachelorette'' (American TV ser ...
'', Brown chose Jed Wyatt as her fiancé, although they later broke up after filming after it emerged through ''
People
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' that Wyatt had been in a relationship with another woman prior to and during his stint on the show. Brown later asked runner-up
Tyler Cameron
Tyler Cameron (born January 31, 1993) is an American television personality, model and general contractor. Cameron received national attention as a contestant on season fifteen of '' The Bachelorette'', starring Hannah Brown, in which Cameron wa ...
out on a date during the finale, although their relationship did not progress.
''Dancing with the Stars''
In August 2019, Brown was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on
season 28
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...
of ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
''. Her appearance makes her the second woman in the show's history to participate from ''The Bachelorette'', following
Trista Sutter
Trista Nicole Sutter (née Rehn, born October 28, 1972) is an American television personality, physical therapist, and dancer who was the runner-up on season 1 of '' The Bachelor'' before becoming the star of the first season of its companion sh ...
in the
first season. She was partnered with professional dancer
Alan Bersten
Alan Bersten (born 26 May 1994) is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer. He was a contestant on the tenth season of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' and is currently a professional dancer and choreographer on ''Dancing with the Stars ...
during her tenure on the show. In the finale, which aired on November 25, Brown and Bersten were announced as the winners.
Dancing with the Stars (Season 28 Performances)
1 Score given by guest judge
Leah Remini.
2 Score given by guest judge
Joey Fatone
Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. (born January 28, 1977) is an American singer, dancer, actor, and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband NSYNC, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC realit ...
.
''People's Choice Award''
On November 10, 2019, Brown won "The Competition Contestant of 2019" at the
45th People's Choice Awards for her time as lead on ''The Bachelorette''.
Controversy
On May 16, 2020, Brown used a racial slur while singing along to the lyrics of "Rockstar," a song by rapper
DaBaby
Jonathan Lyndale Kirk (born December 22, 1991), known professionally as DaBaby (formerly known as Baby Jesus), is an American rapper. After releasing several mixtapes between 2014 and 2018, he rose to mainstream prominence with his debut albu ...
, on Instagram Live. She was criticized by numerous media outlets, as well as other well-known cast members of ''The Bachelor'', including former Bachelorette
Rachel Lindsay Rachel Lindsay may refer to:
* a pseudonym of Roberta Leigh, British author, artist, composer and television producer
* Rachel Lindsay (television personality)
Rachel Lynn Lindsay-Abasolo (born April 21, 1985) is an American media personality ...
. After initially denying that she used the slur, Brown issued a written apology on Instagram the next day promising "to do better". Two weeks later, she made another, much longer apology on Instagram that was well received.
Personal life
Brown began dating Adam Woolard in early 2021. The pair made their relationship official in February 2021 with a Valentine's Day tribute.
[ ]
Brown wrote an autobiographical book titled ''God Bless This Mess: Learning to Live and Love Through Life’s Best (and Worst) Moments''. She opens up about her struggles with depression, body image and more in the book, and details the joys and frustrations that have accompanied her newfound celebrity.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Hannah
1994 births
American beauty pageant winners
Bachelor Nation contestants
Living people
Miss Alabama USA winners
Miss USA 2018 delegates
Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) winners
People from Northport, Alabama
People from Tuscaloosa, Alabama
University of Alabama alumni