Danni Boatwright Biography

Danni Boatwright Wiegmann (born July 13, 1975) is an American actress, TV Host, model and beauty queen who won $1,000,000 on Survivor: Guatemala, the eleventh season of the reality television show Survivor.

Boatwright was born in Tonganoxie, Kansas. She represented Kansas at the nationally televised Miss Teen USA and Miss USA pageants, and is one of the most successful delegates to compete in both competitions.

Pageantry

Boatwright is an accomplished model, having worked internationally, and is also an athlete: in 2003, she ran the Country Music Marathon in Tennessee. Boatwright's first major pageant title came in late 1991 when she won the Miss Kansas Teen USA title and became the first representative of the Vanbros pageant group. Boatwright represented Kansas at the 1992 Miss Teen USA pageant in Biloxi, Mississippi and placed second behind Miss North Carolina Teen USA Rachel Adcocks in the preliminary competition. During the final competition, Boatwright placed second in the interview and swimsuit rounds and fourth in swimsuit. Overall, she was ranked second going into the final stage of competition, but dropped a place and so became second runner up to the eventual winner Jamie Solinger of Iowa.

Four years later Boatwright won the Miss Kansas USA 1996 crown, and represented her state in the national Miss USA competition, broadcast live from South Padre Island, Texas. In that pageant, Boatwright won the preliminary competition and also the interview and swimsuit competitions on finals night. She finished first runner-up to Ali Landry of Louisiana, making her one of the most successful delegates to compete in both competitions.

Modeling

During the Miss Teen USA pageant, Boatwright was introduced to an international modeling scout, and started a career as a model. She has traveled as an international model in different countries including Italy, England, Germany, France, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, and Tunisia. She appeared on Star Search at the age of 17 as a spokesmodel and contestant, the youngest ever to appear in this category. She has also appeared in numerous television and print advertisements, most recently in ads for BioSilk.

Survivor

In 2005, Boatwright competed in Survivor: Guatemala, the 11th season of reality television show Survivor. She was initially placed on the Nakm tribe. On Day 9, a tribe switch landed her on the Yaxha tribe. At the post-merge Survivor Auction, she brought herself an advantage at the next immunity challenge. After the challenge, she made connections with Rafe Judkins and Lydia Morales, even forming a Final Two deal with Judkins. At the Final Four immunity challenge, Boatwright failed to win immunity, losing to Judkins. However, she convinced him that it was in his best interest to keep her over the much physically weaker Morales. Judkins agreed and Morales was unanimously voted out. Boatwright then won the final immunity challenge and, after Judkins released her from their earlier Final Two agreement, she chose Stephenie LaGrossa to bring to the final Tribal Council because she viewed LaGrossa as easier to beat and as equally deserving as Judkins. At the final Tribal Council, the jury was very angry with LaGrossa for her devious gameplay. Boatwright won the title of Sole Survivor in a 6-1 vote, only losing Judkins's vote.

Professional and personal life

Boatwright lives in Tonganoxie, Kansas and is an on-air personality for KCSP, also known as 610 Sports, in Kansas City. She is the co-host of "Sports Rap" every Sunday from 10:00 to noon. She also appeared on The Fantasy Show on ESPN2. Boatwright was the first host of CelebTV.com, an entertainment news website. In 2006, she became a spokeswoman for Coleman products. She can also be seen in online promotional videos for the Trackstick GPS tracking device. She also started a sports clothing label called Sideline Chic.

Boatwright was once married to country music singer Wade Hayes, and appeared in the music video for his 1998 single "Tore Up from the Floor Up." She is now married to Casey Wiegmann, a former NFL center. They have two sons, Bo, born on October 8, 2007, and Stone, born on November 1, 2010.