Amanda Lee Kimmel is an American beauty queen, actress, and model who has competed in the Miss USA and Miss Earth pageants. Kimmel was the runner-up contestant on ', runner-up on ', and later returned for where she placed ninth. Kimmel set several Survivor records during her three seasons on the show.
Pageantry
Kimmel won the Miss Montana USA 2005 title after placing first runner-up in both the 2003 and 2004 pageants. She competed at the Miss USA 2005 pageant held in Baltimore, Maryland in April 2005, but failed to place. The pageant was won by Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina. After passing on her Montana crown to Jill McLain in late August 2005, Kimmel traveled to Quezon City, Philippines, to participate in the Miss Earth 2005 pageant. Kimmel was selected to represent the United States in this pageant from a group of applicants, and did not compete in a live competition for the title. She made the top eight in the international pageant, the highest placement by a delegate of the United States in the pageant's five-year history. In early August 2006, Kimmel crowned fellow former Miss USA competitor Amanda Pennekamp as Miss Earth USA, in the second live pageant held in the United States to choose a delegate for the Miss Earth competition. Pennekamp, Miss South Carolina USA 2004, had placed first runner-up in the Miss USA 2004 pageant. Kimmel has also competed in the Miss World Kite competition held in China, an honor offered to winners of the Miss Montana USA pageant.
''Survivor''
''China''
In 2007, Kimmel competed on , the 15th season of the reality television showSurvivor. She is one of several Miss USA delegates to have competed on Survivor. During the season, Kimmel made an alliance with Courtney Yates and Todd Herzog. In the end Kimmel finished third, behind winner Herzog and second-place finisher Yates, garnering only one jury vote from sixth-place finisher Erik Huffmann.
''Micronesia''
Kimmel appeared the very next season on ', which began airing on February 7, 2008. She was one of ten returning Favorites on the Malakal tribe. Survivor host Jeff Probst commented on Kimmel, "Amanda knows how to play Survivor. She knows how to build an alliance, how long to keep it, when to get rid of it. She's very good at looking at odds, she's very good at assessing if better off against this person, or with this person. " Kimmel found the Hidden Immunity Idol after Jason Siska was voted out in possession of one, and she played it during Episode 12, negating four votes against her and ensuring the elimination of Fan Alexis Jones. Kimmel ended the season in second place, losing to Parvati Shallow in a 5–3 vote. During the season, Kimmel began a relationship with Ozzy Lusth, formerly from ', but they subsequently separated.
''Heroes vs. Villains''
Kimmel returned for as one of the Heroes. This was Kimmel's third season competing on Survivor. She was an early target in the game, receiving one vote from Jessica "Sugar" Kiper in the first Tribal Council and three votes from Colby Donaldson, Tom Westman and Stephenie LaGrossa in the second Tribal Council. Kimmel eventually made it to the merge, and on Day 30, and became the 12th person voted out and the fourth member of the jury, finishing in ninth place. Kimmel ultimately cast her jury vote for Sandra Diaz-Twine to win the season. Diaz-Twine received six of the jury votes from Kimmel, Courtney Yates, J.T. Thomas, Candice Woodcock, Rupert Boneham and Donaldson securing her to win the season by a 6–3–0 margin.
Accomplishments
During Kimmel's time on Micronesia, she set the record for the most days spent on Survivor, with 78 days, and also became the first player to make it to the Final Tribal Council twice. She was later matched for this record by "Boston Rob" Mariano, Parvati Shallow, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Russell Hantz, Tony Vlachos, Michele Fitzgerald and Natalie Anderson. Of these eight, only Kimmel and Hantz made it to the finals twice without winning. During the airing of Heroes vs. Villains, Jeff Probst announced on the season's 22nd day that Kimmel was the first contestant to spend a cumulative 100 days competing on Survivor. Upon getting voted out, Kimmel had spent a cumulative 108 days on the show, which extended her own record. This group, as of ', now also includes: Mariano at 152 days, Shallow at 149 days, Ozzy Lusth at 128 days, Cirie Fields at 121 days, Tyson Apostol at 116 days, Diaz-Twine at 110 days, Amber "Brkich" Mariano at 107 days, Rupert Boneham at 104 days, and Andrea Boehlke at 103 days. In 2012, Kimmel was inducted into Xfinity's "Survivor Hall of Fame," alongside ' winner Ethan Zohn and Rob Has a Podcast host Rob Cesternino. In the official issue of CBS Watch magazine commemorating the 15th anniversary of Survivor in 2015, Kimmel was voted by viewers as the fourth most attractive female contestant in the history of the series.
Acting
In 2009, Kimmel began her acting career, appearing in the film alongside fellow Survivor tribemate Parvati Shallow. In 2010, she appeared in an ad campaign for Scope mouthwash alongside Ryan Seacrest. Later that year, she starred alongside Lou Taylor Pucci in the punk-rock film All Together Now.
Personal life
On August 1, 2015, Kimmel married Matt Cooper. They have a son born in 2016. In 2019, she and Cooper had their second child, Logan.
