# Hannah Brown

Hannah Kelsey Brown (born September 24, 1994) is an American television personality, model, author and beauty pageant titleholder. Brown first gained recognition after placing in the top seven in season 23 of The Bachelor (2019). She subsequently starred as The Bachelorette in season 15 of The Bachelorette (2019). She competed on season 28 of Dancing with the Stars with Alan Bersten, and was declared the winner on November 25, 2019.

## Early life and education

Brown was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to parents Robert Walker Brown and Susanne Brown. She was raised both in Tuscaloosa and in nearby Northport, Alabama. She graduated from Tuscaloosa County High School, and later from the University of Alabama in 2017, receiving a degree magna cum laude 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 sorority. Brown then worked as an interior designer in Northport.

## Career
### 2009–2018: 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 competition, held in Shreveport, Louisiana. While at Miss USA, Brown was roommates with future The Bachelor castmate Caelynn Miller-Keyes, who had been crowned Miss North Carolina USA 2018. For the pageant, Brown adopted a platform of mental health awareness, as she had previously suffered from anxiety 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. She resumed her reign after filming of The Bachelor had completed and crowned Hannah McMurphy as her successor in November 2018.

### 2018–2020: The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Dancing with the Stars

In 2018, Brown was cast in season 23 of The Bachelor, starring former professional football player Colton Underwood. Filming for the season took place throughout fall 2018, and Brown was later revealed by ABC 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. During the second part of the season finale, aired on March 12, 2019, Brown was announced by host Chris Harrison as the lead for the upcoming fifteenth season of The Bachelorette. Brown is the first Bachelorette cast to not have placed in the top four of a season of The Bachelor.
In the season finale of The Bachelorette, Brown chose Jed Wyatt as her fiancé, although they later broke up after filming after it emerged through People 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 out on a date during the finale, although their relationship did not progress. 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.
In August 2019, Brown was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on season 28 of Dancing with the Stars. Her appearance makes her the second woman in the show's history to participate from The Bachelorette, following Trista Sutter in the first season. She was partnered with professional dancer Alan Bersten 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)

| Week | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Result |
| Week | Dance / Song | Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | Result |
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha / "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" | 7 | 7 | 6 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Viennese Waltz / "Lover" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 3 | Rumba / "Hold On" | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 4 | Paso Doble / "I Love It" | 8 | 8$^1$/8 | 8 | Safe |
| 5 | Foxtrot / "A Whole New World" | 9 | 7 | 9 | No Elimination |
| 6 | Samba / "Southbound" | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 7 | Jazz / "Bad Girls" Team Freestyle / "Somebody's Watching Me" | 8 9 | 9 9 | 8 9 | Safe |
| 8 | Quickstep / "American Girl" Salsa Dance-Off / "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" | 10 Awarded | 9 2 | 10 Points | Safe |
| 9 | Salsa / "No Scrubs" Tango / "Boy with Luv" | 8 10 | 8/8$^2$ 9/10$^2$ | 8 10 | Safe |
| 10 (Semifinals) | Rumba / "Dancing with a Stranger" Contemporary / "Lose You to Love Me" | 9 9 | 9 9 | 9 9 | Safe |
| 11 (Finals) | Viennese Waltz / "Lover" Freestyle / "Girl on Fire" & "Hollaback Girl" | 10 10 | 9 10 | 9 10 | Winners |
$^1$ Score given by guest judge Leah Remini.
$^2$ Score given by guest judge Joey Fatone.

### 2021–present: Books

On November 11, 2021, her memoir titled God Bless This Mess: Learning to Live and Love Through Life's Best (and Worst) Moment was published by HarperCollins. The book debuted at number 13 on The New York Times best seller list in the Hardcover Nonfiction section.
She released "a companion journal" to her memoir called God Bless This Messy Journal: A Guide to Embracing the Beautiful, Messy You, published on April 12, 2022. It included quotes, photos, excerpts from Brown's personal journals, Bible verses and lyrics.
In 2023, Brown appeared on the first season of Fox's quasi-military training series Special Forces: World's Toughest Test. She was one of two contestants, alongside Carli Lloyd, to survive all 10 days of selection and was also the last non-athlete standing.
In September 2023, Variety reported that Brown signed a two-book deal with Grand Central Publishing's imprint Forever. Brown's first romance novel written with Emily Larrabee, Mistakes We Never Made was published on May 7, 2024 and her second book scheduled for summer 2025. Mistakes We Never Made follows the story of interior designer Emma Townsend, who embarks on a road trip with her childhood crush. Brown described the book and main character Emma by saying: "Emma is not fully me, but she is a part of me. There's a core group of best friends in this book, and that's really where it all started for me. I think some of the best love stories in our life can be those that we have with our friends. And that's a real big foundation in this book that I hope that people really can see." The book debuted at number 15 on The New York Times Best Seller list on May 26, 2024.

## Personal life

Brown began dating Adam Woolard in early 2021. They got engaged in August 2023, and live together in Nashville, Tennessee.
On May 16, 2020, Brown sang the lyrics of "Rockstar", a song by rapper DaBaby that included a racial slur, 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. 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.

## Filmography

Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2018 | Miss USA 2018 | Herself | Television special; Miss Alabama USA; unplaced |
| 2019–2020 | The Bachelor | Herself | Contestant; season 23; seventh place Guest appearance; season 24 |
| 2019 | The Bachelorette | Herself | The Bachelorette; season 15 |
| 2019, 2023 | Bachelor in Paradise | Herself | Guest appearance; season 6 and season 9 |
| 2019, 2023 | Dancing with the Stars | Herself | Contestant and winner; season 28Guest performer; season 32 |
| 2021 | The Celebrity Dating Game | Herself | Mystery Celebrity |
| 2023 | Special Forces: World's Toughest Test | Herself | Contestant and winner on season 1; 10 episodes |
Music videos :
| Year | Title | Artist | Role |
| 2021 | "Almost Maybes" | Jordan Davis | Love interest |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| 2019 | People's Choice Awards | The Competition Contestant of 2019 | The Bachelorette | Won | |

## Published works

* Brown, Hannah. God Bless This Mess: Learning to Live and Love Through Life's Best (and Worst) Moment (November 11, 2021). HarperCollins.
* Brown, Hannah; Larrabee, Emily. Mistakes We Never Made (May 7, 2024). Forever.