Who Is Kenzie Petty? She Seems to Have a Leg Up During 'Survivor' Season 46
Kenzie Petty, from Charlotte, NC is a contestant competing on 'Survivor' Season 46. Here's everything we know about her.
Published March 21 2024, 7:06 p.m. ET
CBS's Survivor is a reality competition series that follows a group of strangers placed in a remote location. These castaways must learn to provide for themselves by finding food, making fires, and building shelter, all while competing in challenges to win rewards and gain immunity from elimination. At the end of each episode, there is a tribal council where contestants vote for each other until only one remains, who will then take home a cool $1 million prize. Hosted by Jeff Probst, the show premiered in 2000 and is now in its 46th season.
Season 46 of Survivor features 18 castaways, who were divided into three groups upon arrival: Yanu (purple), Sega (green), and Nami (orange). This installment is set in the remote Mamanuca Islands of Fiji in the South Pacific Ocean, which has been serving as the show's filming location since Season 33. One contestant that fans can't get enough of is Kenzie Petty. So, who is Kenzie Petty? Keep reading for everything we know about her.
Kenzie's obsession with 'Survivor' started just a few years ago — and she has something in common with last season's winner.
Born in Gibraltar, Mich., Kenzie now lives in Charlotte, NC. She is a hairdresser salon owner — just like last season's winner, Yam Yam — and is currently manifesting the same fate. The fiery redhead can be found on Instagram at @kenziethehappyfairy, where she often posts photos with her husband, photojournalist Jackson Petty.
In an interview with Parade, Kenzie explained that she opened her hair salon four years ago, and the pandemic hit shortly after, but luckily her business stayed afloat. Kenzie knew doing hair was her passion. "I started doing hair when I was 15. When I got my first salon job, I was either going to do hair, or I was going to marry an old, rich, dying man. Those were my life plans. But now I get to be my own old rich man," she told the outlet.
She started watching Survivor for the first time during lockdown and managed to watch all 40 seasons. "I got obsessed with the game, obsessed with the human connections and breaking those connections, the backstabbing, and the friendships. We all love it. It's magical. There's nothing else like it in the world," she said.
In preparation for her season, Kenzie started going to the American Ninja Warrior gym, doing a lot of puzzles, and watching a lot of Survivor.
Well, fingers crossed Kenzie makes it far in the competition. New episodes of Survivor 46 air every Wednesday at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
