Kennedy Schultz

**Kennedy Helene Schultz** is an American television personality. She was a cast member on *The Real World: New York*, the first season of the reality television series *The Real World*.

Afterwards, Schultz competed in *The Challenge: Dynamic Duos*, where she placed second.

## Biography

Schultz was born on 11 February in Seattle, Washington to parents Fred and Annie Schultz. She is Jewish, with her paternal family originating in Germany and her maternal family originating in Hungary. Her maternal grandmother was the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust and fled to the United States as an 18 year old, while her paternal great-grandparents had immigrated to the United States prior to the Holocaust. Fred worked as a civil rights attorney, while Annie is an activist and charity organizer for women's and LGBTQ rights. Schultz grew up as an only child in Seattle's Broadview neighborhood.

Schultz attended public schooling growing up, graduating from Ingraham High School. While in high school, Schultz was captain of the school's debate team and active in the school's art and drama departments. After graduating, she enrolled in the University of Washington, where she received a degree in political science. After graduating, she enrolled in the University of Washington School of Law.

## Background

*Kennedy was born into a liberal, activist family in Seattle. Her father is a high-profile human rights attorney working throughout the Pacific Coast, while her mother is an activist and charity organizer for women's and LGBTQ rights. Being raised in the family she was raised in, Kennedy learned to always speak her mind and never back down when she believes justice is not being served. While she generally sees these qualities as a good thing, she still believes that they sometimes get in the way of relationships and can make herself come off as abrasive to other people at times. Kennedy graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in political science, and later began law school at the University of Washington School of Law, where she will graduate shortly and hopes to work as a civil rights attorney like her father. She is coming to New York in order to have a summer of fun before she is buried in work as an attorney.*

## *The Real World*

Schultz became a cast member on *The Real World: New York*, the first season of the reality television series *The Real World*. After arriving in the cast's New York residence, Schultz began developing a close friendship with her roommate Tasha Williams. They bonded over their similar career paths and a mutual interest in advocacy. Schultz additionally butted heads with Anthony Pirozzi, as she believed he was arrogant and full-of-himself. After Schultz and Williams went to a New York gay bar at Alec Taylor and Johnny Richmond's persistence, they kissed, which confused Williams. Already positive that she was heterosexual, Williams was forced to let Schultz know that their kiss didn't mean anything, which created tension in their friendship.

Williams and Schultz's friendship was further tested after Williams met Ezekiel, a New York local, at a nightclub. Williams began seeing Ezekiel frequently, which caused jealously in Schultz. One day, Ezekiel tasked Schultz with relaying a message to Williams about how he couldn't make it to their date, and Schultz purposefully failed to do so, leading Williams to believe that Ezekiel stood her up and no longer wanted to hang out with her. Williams took this opportunity to comfort her, but their friendship was further strained when Schultz tried to kiss her again. When Williams discovered through Ezekiel that Schultz had failed to relay his message to her, a huge fight erupted between her and Schultz. After ending her friendship with Williams, Schultz began to feel isolated in New York, and considered leaving early to go back to Seattle.

Eventually, Schultz was able to reconcile with Williams, as she did not want to lose the closest friend she made in New York. They agreed that boundaries between the two of them had to be set, and in order for Williams to respect that Schultz was bisexual, Schultz had to respect that Williams was heterosexual. While the friendship could never heal permanently after what had happened, they were both able to look into the future and move on.

### Reunion

After leaving New York and returning to Washington, Schultz remained in contact with most of her former cast members, however she stated that she does not talk to Pirozzi very often at all. She met a girl in Seattle, and is currently in a committed relationship. All the romantic feelings that she had for Williams have since faded away, and they are now able to have a completely platonic friendship, although distance has made that difficult. She is still in law school waiting to graduate with her law degree.

### *The Challenge*

#### *Dynamic Duos*

As an alumni of *The Real World: New York*, Schultz took part as one of the alumni in *The Challenge: Dynamic Duos*. She was impressed enough by Sam Jennings in the obstacle course for him to be selected as her partner for the duration of the show. Jennings and Schultz proved to be well-liked by many in the house, and avoided the elimination challenge for several episodes. They became the power couple in episode three, and sent Markus Black and Talia Peralta to the elimination challenge. The following week they won their first elimination after being chosen by Black and Peralta in retaliation.

In episode six, Jennings and Schultz became the final power couple of the season, advancing directly to the final challenge. In the final challenge, they struggled immensely due to Jennings's inability to run far distances. However, Schultz's mental prowess and strength with puzzles allowed them to catch up and place second, winning $12,500 each.