Natalie Anderson and Nadiya Anderson are a team of Twins on The Amazing Race 21 and The Amazing Race: All-Stars.
In The Amazing Race 21, the twins brought their loud and manic energy into the race, alienating rivals Abbie & Ryan, but also gaining themselves allies in Jaymes & James and Trey & Lexi, with the alliance dubbing themselves the Dream Team. They propelled themselves to the final four with their physical prowess and cutthroat gameplay, making their mark on Race history. These tactics included their controversial decision to keep the money James & Abba misplaced and pioneering the strategy of wasting the second U-Turn in a Double U-Turn, getting their allies to take out Abbie & Ryan for them. The Dream Team dominated the second half of the race, though the nearly half day lead they had built up over the remaining outsiders, Josh & Brent, was erased by a long bunching point that allowed the goat farmers to catch up. Although Natalie & Nadiya would later incur a Speed Bump, they completed the road block ahead of Josh & Brent and seemed set to make it to the final three with their allies, but were given bad directions to the Pit Stop by a local, giving Josh & Brent an opening to pass the twins, who were eliminated in 4th place.
Returning in All-Stars, the twins' frenetic energy and explosive personalities proved to be their undoing. Despite being one of only four teams on the first flight to China, they wasted so much time arguing with each other while searching for two Route Markers, allowing teams on the second flight to catch up and pass them. By the time they had found the second of the two Route Markers, they were far behind the other teams. Although they managed to catch up to a few teams at the Canton Tower, they would end up getting on the wrong bubble tram, causing tempers to flare, and resulting in them being the first team eliminated.
Profile[]
Natalie[]
Age: 26
Hometown: Edgewater, N.J.
Connection to your teammate: Twin sister
Current occupation: Physical Therapy student
Describe what you do: I am studying to be a physical therapist and in the process of creating a bikini/swimwear line with my twinny!
3 words to describe you: Crazy, tomboy and spontaneous.
Favorite hobbies: Jet setting, surfing and CrossFit.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Fully recovering from two knee surgeries after tearing my ACL, MCL and Menisci playing Rugby.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Michelle Rodriquez
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Khloe Kardashian. Nadiya loves to cook and is the caretaker between us. She is always feeding or taking care of somebody.
What scares you most about traveling? Getting kidnapped or going missing.
What excites you most about traveling? Everything excites me about traveling. Exploring a new country and its culture is one of the most exhilarating experiences.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: We both have explosive personalities and no boundaries with one another which could work against us. Fighting with each other is super destructive and can often make us forget about what is important and could be a huge distraction.
Pet peeve about your teammate: Nadiya can be lazy and way too laid back at times. Also she never listens to me, even when she knows I'm right.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Hawaii is my dream destination to visit. I have been in love with the ocean since I was little. Surf, sun and sand is all I need!
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? To prove to myself that Nadiya and I can work together and complete every challenge on The Race. To be the most dominant team despite the fact that we are an all-girl team. Also, to get even closer with my best friend and twinny!
Nadiya[]
Age: 26
Hometown: Edgewater, N.J.
Connection to your teammate: Twin sister
Current occupation: Project Coordinator at Bridge2Peace
Describe what you do: I coordinate fundraising special events for Bridge2Peace both in Sri Lanka and the US. I also bake cupcakes for friends and family events.
3 words to describe you: Tough, crazy and reckless.
Favorite hobbies: Traveling, CrossFit, cooking and baking.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Staying true to myself and where I come from.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Khloe Kardashian
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Kim Kardashian
What scares you most about traveling? Shark attacks and snake bites. Yikes!
What excites you most about traveling? Everything! What's not exciting about traveling?
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: The ability to listen to one another without it turning into a screaming match.
Pet peeve about your teammate: Natalie is too pushy and always thinks she is right.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Ethiopia in Africa. With such rich culture, people and history, it would be awesome to experience such a diverse country.
Natalie[]
Name: Natalie Anderson
Age: 27
Hometown: Edgewater, N.J.
Previous Season: Season 21
Current occupation: Student
Describe what you do: I am in school to become an athletic trainer and Crossfit.
Biggest mistake you made in your previous season: Not double checking the Pit Stop location in France which caused our elimination.
Most memorable moment from your first Race: Coming in first place the second leg and winning the Express Pass.
Favorite place you visited on your first season: Bangladesh, because Nadiya and I raced really well and kicked butt those two legs.
Why do you want to run the Race again? To win and have a fun time!
How have you changed since the last time you competed? Not much has changed.
What are you passionate about? Travel, Crossfit and family.
People would be surprised to learn: We are still very close to most of the racers from season 21, especially Trey, Lexi and Jaymes.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: Staying calm and not getting too excited/crazy.
Pet peeve about your teammate: She screams a lot and never listens to me.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? I would like to visit Hawaii because I love the beach and ocean. It would be awesome to compete in some water/beach challenge and who wouldn't want to race in a warm, hot, sunny climate.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? Having a great time with my twin sister, see some cool new countries and meet more awesome people.
Any strategic changes you will make heading into this Race: We raced well the first season so I don't think we should change much but we want to remain focused and calm. When it comes to challenges and physical tasks, we have no issues. We need to focus on making smart racing decisions and working well as a team.
Nadiya[]
Name: Nadiya Anderson
Age: 27
Hometown: Edgewater, N.J.
Previous Season: Season 21
Current occupation: Planning/getting ready to open up the first Crossfit Box in Sri Lanka
Describe what you do: Travel, Crossfit, just trying to be a bad ass every day.
Biggest mistake you made in your previous season: Getting to the driving part in Spain and choking on driving stick shift.
Most memorable moment from your first Race: Meeting/ getting to race with people who have become lifelong friends and family.
Favorite place you visited on your first season: Bangladesh, we fit right in and kicked butt!
Why do you want to run the Race again? To win, because we know we can win.
How have you changed since the last time you competed? No, still a bad ass.
What are you passionate about? Traveling, Crossfit, my twinny and my family.
People would be surprised to learn: My favorite song ever is 'Chicken Fried' by The Zac Brown Band
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: Staying calm, cool and collected, which is pretty much impossible.
Pet peeve about your teammate: Natalie screams and yells for no reason which only makes everything a hot mess.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Jamaica. Natalie and I are Island Girls at heart and we are happiest by the beach.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? Having fun with my twinny and making more great memories!
The Amazing Race 21[]
Race History[]
| Natalie & Nadiya's Race History | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Leg | Destination(s) | Detour Choice (underlined) |
Roadblock Performer |
Placement | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | United States → China | No Detour | Natalie | 4 of 11 | [1] |
| Nadiya | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | China → Indonesia | Ice-by-the-Pound / Fish-by-the-Barrel | Nadiya | 1 of 10 | |
| 3 | 3 | Indonesia | Lion's Head / Egg Head | Nadiya | 6 of 9 | |
| 4 | 4 | Indonesia → Bangladesh | Pound the Metal / Pound the Cotton | Natalie | 3 of 8 | |
| 5 | 5 | Bangladesh | Straw Dogs / Bamboo Jungle | Nadiya | 3 of 7 | |
| 6 | 6 | Bangladesh → Turkey | Simit / Scrub It | Natalie | 4 of 7 | |
| 7 | 7 | Turkey → Russia | Alphabetized / Synchronized | Natalie | 3 of 6 | |
| 8 | 8 | Russia | Movers / Shakers | Natalie | 3 of 6ϵ | [2] |
| 9 | 9 | Russia → Netherlands | Used Fast Forward | 1 of 5► | ||
| 10 | 10 | Netherlands → Spain | Spin It / Bull It | Nadiya | 4 of 4 | |
| 11 | 11 | Spain → France | Chow / Plow | Natalie | 4 of 4 | |
| Average | 3.28 | |||||
Legend:
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Notes:
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The Amazing Race: All-Stars[]
Race History[]
| Natalie & Nadiya's Race History | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode | Leg | Destination(s) | Detour Choice (underlined) |
Roadblock Performer |
Placement | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | United States → China | No Detour | Natalie | 11 of 11 | |
| Average | 11.00 | |||||
Legend:
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Post-Race[]
- Natalie & Nadiya competed on the twenty-ninth season of Survivor, Survivor: San Juan del Sur. Nadiya was the first eliminated, while Natalie ultimately made it to Day 39 and won the title of Sole Survivor in a 5-2-1 vote.
- Natalie competed on a Survivor edition of The Price Is Right primetime special that aired on May 23, 2016.[3] Natalie and her partner, John, did not make it up on stage.[4]
- Nadiya announced that she was pregnant on September 5, 2018.[5] On November 29, 2018, her baby Trinity Noël Taylor was born.[6]
- Natalie competed on Survivor's fortieth season, Survivor: Winners at War. Natalie was the first person voted out and sent to the Edge of Extinction. She was able to win the second re-entry challenge and made to Day 39, losing the title of Sole Survivor to Tony Vlachos in a 12-4-0 jury vote. Nadiya and Trinity also appeared on Day 24 as Natalie's loved ones.
- Natalie is competed on MTV's The Challenge: Double Agents[7] After everyone was instructed to freely choose anyone of the opposite gender to be their partner at the start of the game, Natalie and Wes Bergmann chose each other. After Wes got eliminated by Devin Walker-Molaghan, Devin chose to steal the partner of Cory Wharton, leaving Cory to become Natalie's new partner. In the fifth episode, Natalie voluntarily left the game for unknown personal reasons, finishing in 25th place (13th out of the 15 female Challengers). After the episode aired, Natalie revealed that she discovered she was pregnant on the show and was medically disqualified.[8]
- Natalie also revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage after her departure.
Trivia[]
The Amazing Race[]
- Natalie & Nadiya are the only Family team to compete on The Amazing Race 21.
- First all-female team to be eliminated twice.
Other[]
- Natalie & Nadiya are the only two people to be voted out first on Survivor and eliminated first on The Amazing Race.
- Nadiya is the only person to finish in last place on both shows, as Natalie returned to the game after being voted out in Survivor: Winners at War.
- Natalie is the third person (after Rob & Amber) to compete on The Amazing Race and Survivor twice each, and the first to do so who debuted on the Race.
External links[]
Natalie & Nadiya's Wikipedia page: Natalie and Nadiya Anderson
Interviews[]
Season 21[]
- Daniel Fienberg at HitFix.com (12/11/2012): "The 4th place team discusses 'finding' money and being seen as villains"
- Sheldon Sherman at Yakkity Yaks (12/11/2012): "The Amazing Race: The Yak Chats with Natalie and Nadiya"
- Elimination Interviews at CBS.com (12/11/2012): "Elimination Interview: Natalie and Nadiya"
- Elizabeth Kwiatkowski at Reality TV World (12/11/2012): "Natalie and Nadiya Anderson talk about The Amazing Race" [Parts 1 & 2]
- Joyce Eng at TV Guide Online (12/13/2012): "We Don't Regret Keeping the Rockers' Money"
- Gina Scarpa at Reality Wanted (12/13/2012): "The Amazing Race 21: Exclusive Interview with Natalie and Nadiya Anderson"
- Sheri Block at CTV.ca (12/14/2012): "Natalie and Nadiya have 'no regrets' about keeping the rockers' money"
Season 24[]
- Rob Cesternino at RHAP (02/24/2014): "Talking with the Latest Eliminated Players from Amazing Race"
- Elizabeth Kwiatkowski at Reality TV World (02/25/2012): "The Amazing Race eliminees Natalie Anderson and Nadiya Anderson talk" [Parts 1 & 2]
- Elimination Interviews at CBS.com (02/26/2014): "Elimination Interview: Natalie and Nadiya"
- Sheri Block at CTV.ca (02/27/2014): "Natalie and Nadiya embarrassed to be eliminated first"
- Daniel Fienberg at HitFix.com (02/28/2014): "It was only a one-episode run for the Twinnies"
- Joyce Eng at TV Guide Online (02/28/2014): "We Were Just a Hot Mess
Social Media Profiles[]
- Natale and Nadiya's Facebook: /Natalie-and-Nadiya-Anderson-277005465747373
- Natalie's Facebook: /NatalieHAnderson
- Natalie's Instagram: /natalieeand
- Natalie's X profile (formerly Twitter): @NatalieeAnd
- Nadiya's Facebook: /10902829
- Nadiya's Instagram: /nadiya.anderson
- Nadiya's X profile (formerly Twitter): @NadiyaaAnd
References[]
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20230604181533/https://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/cast/183900/
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20230604140648/https://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/cast/214811/
- ↑ http://parade.com/472671/joshwigler/survivor-big-brother-amazing-race-the-price-is-right-photos/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enuGBP4dUJ0
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BnUvvB9hbkL/
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BqydnaejRmS/
- ↑ https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/the-challenge-season-36-cast-meet-the-double-agents/
- ↑ https://ew.com/tv/why-natalie-anderson-left-the-challenge-double-agents/
| The Amazing Race 21 Teams | ||||||||||||
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| The Amazing Race: All-Stars (2014) Teams | ||||||||||||
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