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Jessica Graf

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jessica Graf
Born
Jessica Furtado Graf

(1990-12-11)December 11, 1990(age 33)
Occupations
  • Television personality
  • actress
  • model
Television
Spouse
(m.2018)
Children4 + 1 step daughter

Jessica Furtado Nickson(néeGraf;born December 11, 1990) is an American reality television personality, actress, and model. She first came to national prominence after competing inBig Brother 19,where she placed twelfth.[1]AfterBig Brother,she went on to winThe Amazing Race 30with her fellowBig Brothercompetitor and then boyfriend (now husband)Cody Nickson.[2]

Early life

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Graf was born inHollywood, Floridato aBrazilianmother Teressa Graf and a father ofItalianandGermandescent Herbert Graf Jr. The family left Florida afterHurricane Andrewin 1992, moving toNew York City.After living in New York City for two years, they settled inCranston, Rhode Island,where Graf and her brother Christopher were raised.[3]

Reality shows

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Big Brother

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Graf appeared on the19th seasonofBig Brother.She began a showmance with contestantCody Nickson.On Day 1, she received a "friendship" bracelet fromPaul Abrahamianresulting in being safe from the first eviction. During the first week of the competition, she began a showmance with fellow contestant,Cody Nicksonand voted to evict Christmas Abbott after Nickson, Head-of-Household at the time, nominated her for eviction. In week 2, Graf was named as a recipient of the Ve-toad curse after Abbott accepted a temptation offer voted by America, meaning she was required to wear atoadcostume and jump betweenlily padsdrawn on the floor of the house. After the pair were isolated from the house by an alliance led by Abrahamian, Nickson was voted out. In week 3 Alex Ow nominated Graf for eviction alongside Dominique Cooper, but she was spared from being voted out after Cooper started to get into fights with the other houseguests. In Week 4, Graf won the third and final temptation from America. She chose to accept the Halting Hex, allowing her to cancel any of the four subsequent evictions, resetting that week. She won the Head-of-Household in week 4 after Nickson, her showmance partner, won the Battle Back Showdown and reentered the house. She chose to nominate Ramses Soto and eventual winner Josh Martinez for eviction, expecting for Martinez to be evicted. She won the veto competition and chose the keep the nominations the same, but was blindsided when the remaining houseguests chose to evict Soto over Martinez. In week 5 Abrahamian nominated both Graf and Nickson for eviction, but Graf ended up using the Halting Hex that same week, sparing the duo from eviction. In week 6, Martinez won the Head-of-Household competition and while his initial target was Nickson, he managed to win the Temptation Competition, gaining immunity for the week. Graf purposely lost the same Temptation Competition to automatically become the third nominee, providing her with a chance to win the Power of Veto later in the week, saving her from eviction. She was unable to do so, ultimately being evicted by a vote of 7-1-0 to Raven Walton and Elena Davies, respectively.

Throughout Graf's stint onBig Brother 19,she had many feuds with the other contestants, most notably Abrahamian, Abbott, Martinez, Walton and Ow. She eventually became a fan favourite after being one of the few to recognise Abrahamian's dominance early on in the competition. After Nickson reentered the house, the duo were infamously bullied by many other contestants led by Abrahamian. On the night of the finale, after Martinez was crowned the winner, hostJulie Chenasked Graf who she would have voted for in the Final Two (Martinez or Abrahamian). Graf said that she would have voted for Abrahamian as she felt he orchestrated nearly every move throughout the game. The vote was revealed to be 5-4 in favour of Martinez, with Graf's showmance partner, Nickson, casting the deciding vote in favour of Martinez. In post-game interviews, Graf has appreciated the irony that Abrahamian sought to eliminate her before Nickson, when it would have benefited him to eliminate Nickson first as he would have won.

Celebrity Big Brother 1

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Graf appeared in the series premiere of the Big Brother spin-offCelebrity Big Brotherfor a special appearance during the first Head of Household competition.[4]

Big Brother 20

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Graf, alongside Cody Nickson then appeared onBig Brother 20of to host a Power of Veto Competition.

The Amazing Race

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Graf and her fellow competitor fromBig Brother 19(and then boyfriend)Cody Nicksonwere sought out to compete on the30th seasonofThe Amazing RacewhileBig Brother 19was still airing.[2]The season began filming on the 1st of October, just eleven days after filming forBig Brotherwrapped up. The duo quickly bonded with fellow competitorsKristi LeskinenandJen Hudak,andAlex RossiandConor Daly.After placing 2nd to Kristi and Jen in the first leg, Jess and Cody managed to win the 2nd leg and a $5,000 cash prize. The pair conflicted with Lucas Bocanegra and Brittany Austin and considered targeting them in the 6th leg but when they discovered that they were second-to-last, decided to U-Turn Trevor Wadleigh and Chris Marchant, the only team behind them, resulting in the latter's elimination. In the 8th leg, Lucas and Brittany chose to U-Turn Cody and Jessica, but they were able to still make it to the Pit Stop before Eric and Daniel Guiffreda, narrowly avoiding elimination. Despite coming in 2nd place for most of the final leg, Graf was able to finish the final task before the two other remaining teams, ultimately taking out the entire season and winning the $1,000,000 grand prize.[5][6]Throughout the entire race, they managed to never place below 6th, achieving the 2nd highest average placement, behind Kristi and Jen. Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson are the first Amazing Race team from another CBS franchise to winThe Amazing Race.[7]

Other television appearances

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Graf had a role on the soap opera showThe Bold and the Beautifulplaying the part of Jody the Giardino Waitress. She is set to return with a cameo role in two episodes ofThe Bold and the Beautifulalong withCody Nickson.[8]

Personal life

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Graf began a relationship withCody Nicksonduring their time together onBig Brother 19.They continued their relationship outside of the house, and competed inThe Amazing Race 30together. They later became engaged on February 13, 2018.[9][10][11]Graf and Nickson were married on October 14, 2018.[12]They have 4 daughters.[13][14][15][16]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2017 Big Brother 19 Herself/Contestant 12th Place
2017–18 The Bold and the Beautiful[17] Jody, Il Giardino Waitress 4 episodes
2018 The Amazing Race 30 Herself/Contestant Winner
Celebrity Big Brother 1 Herself Cameo
Big Brother 20 Host

References

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  1. ^"Big Brother cast: Jessica Graf".CBS.RetrievedMay 5,2018.
  2. ^ab"The Amazing Race Cast: Cody Nickson & Jessica Graf".CBS.RetrievedMarch 10,2018.
  3. ^@thejessicagraf (19 September 2017)."I'm half Italian and half Brazilian"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  4. ^Longretta, Emily (February 7, 2017)."'Celebrity Big Brother' Becomes Battle of the Sexes: 6 Key Moments from the Premiere ".US Weekly.RetrievedJuly 11,2018.
  5. ^Walker, Jodi (February 22, 2018)."The Amazing Race winners on how they turned their Big Brother eviction into a Happily Ever After".Entertainment Weekly.RetrievedMarch 10,2018.
  6. ^Smithers Peckham, Tina (February 22, 2018)."Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson Talk Winning 'Amazing Race' and Moving to Dallas (Exclusive)".Entertainment Tonight.RetrievedMarch 10,2018.
  7. ^Peckham, Tina (May 5, 2018)."Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson Talk Winning 'Amazing Race' and Moving to Dallas (Exclusive)".Entertainment Tonight.RetrievedFebruary 22,2018.
  8. ^"'Big Brother' Spoilers: Jessica And Cody Extend Their 15 Minutes Of Fame With 'Bold And The Beautiful' Cameos ".Inquisitr.May 5, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 18,2018.
  9. ^Longretta, Emily (February 15, 2018)."Big Brother's Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson Engaged: Watch His Proposal".US Weekly.RetrievedMarch 10,2018.
  10. ^Vulpo, Mike (February 15, 2018)."Big Brother's Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson Get Engaged Ahead of The Amazing Race Finale".E! Online.RetrievedMarch 10,2018.
  11. ^Vick, Megan (February 15, 2018)."Big Brother's Cody and Jess Are Engaged!".TV Guide.RetrievedMarch 10,2018.
  12. ^"Big Brother's Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson Are Married!".People.com.October 15, 2020.
  13. ^"Big Brother's Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson Welcome Daughter Maverick via Emergency C-Section".People.com.March 20, 2019.
  14. ^"Big Brother's Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson Welcome Daughter Carter York".People.com.October 6, 2020.
  15. ^"Big Brother Stars Jessica Graf and Husband Cody Nickson Welcome Third Baby".People.com.July 18, 2022.
  16. ^"Big Brother's Jessica Graf, Cody Nickson Welcome Baby No. 4".Us Weekly.December 13, 2023.
  17. ^Rice, Lynette (April 5, 2018)."Big Brother's Jessica Graf is headed to Bold and the Beautiful".Entertainment Weekly.RetrievedSeptember 1,2017.
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