Hannah Brown
Hannah Kelsey Brown (born September 24, 1994)[1][2] 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.[3]
This article is about the television personality. For the canoeist, see Hannah Brown (canoeist).
Hannah Brown
Early life and education[edit]
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.[4][5][6] 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.[1][7] In college, she was a member of the Alpha Upsilon chapter of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.[8] Brown then worked as an interior designer in Northport.[7]
Career[edit]
2009–2018: Pageantry[edit]
Brown began her pageantry career at age 15, competing in local Alabama teen pageants.[9] 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.[6][10][11][12] 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.[11]
As Miss Alabama USA 2018, Brown was given the opportunity to represent Alabama at the Miss USA 2018 competition, held in Shreveport, Louisiana.[13] 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.[14][6][7][9] 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.[15]
Personal life[edit]
Brown began dating Adam Woolard in early 2021. They got engaged in August 2023, and live together in Nashville, Tennessee.[32]
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".[33] Two weeks later, she made another, much longer apology on Instagram that was well received.[34]