Challenge Dirty 30: Thirty Hottest Women of the Challenge
With Season 30 of the Challenge upon us, I decided to deep dive through the past thirty seasons and find the thirty hottest girls to ever show up. And here’s the problem, finding thirty girls is nail-bitingly difficult because there are going to be at least one hundred girls who people will think also deserve to be on this list. Nany Gonzalez, Jonna Mannion, Amanda Garcia, Camila Nakagawa, Irulan Wilson, Emilee Fitzpatrick, Heather Marter, Lori Trespicio, Genesis Moss, Tonya Cooley, Ibis Nieves, Briana LaCuesta, Colie Edison, and many other girls didn’t make the list and are all beautiful girls. It pains me more about who makes the list versus who doesn’t.
When picking the thirty girls, I went from back to front, I started with girls who premiered early on around season 3, then I would jump back to the present, then back and forth in order to attempt an equal representation between eras. I also did not rank them from 1–30, because that would create an even bigger divide, and make every decision on who makes the list that much tougher.
Alright, here we go:
Veronica Portillo, Challenges: 9, 3x Challenge Champion, 4 finals, Debut: Season 3 Challenge 2000, Origin Show: Road Rules Semester at Sea
For a lot of reality television fans, Veronica was their first crush, or the girl that made them consistently want to tune in to watch the Challenge. Today, she’s on season 30 as one of the oldest competitors ever, and still looks fine!
Jenna Compono, Challenges: 5, 3 Finals, Debut: Season 26 Exes 2 Origin Show: Real World Ex-Plosion
Known as the Barbie Beast, Jenna made it to the final of her first ever Challenge somewhat on the basis of her hotness. Riding the showmance of her and Challenge Chamion, Zach Nichols, Jenna and her partner Jay floated their way to the final of Exes 2, a classic season.
Susie Meister, Challenges: 4, 2x Challenge Champion, 4 Finals, Debut: Season 4 Extreme Challenge, Origin Season: Road Rules Down Under
If you watch Susie on her debut season (Season 4), and then about a decade later on her last season, the Ruins (Season 18), she still looked like a 22 year old with her silky blonde hair and polarizing blue eyes. A sweetheart look mixed perfectly with her cunning and cutthroat gameplay. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Emily Schromm, Challenges: 3, 1x Challenge Champion, 3 Finals, Debut: Season 20 Cutthroat, Origin Season: Real World DC
While she is more known for being a fitness guru, Emily is just as much of a beauty for her unique eyes and lips. Add in she keeps herself in crazy shape, Emily is a flat out dime and Challenge legend.
Cara Zavaleta, Challenges: 3, 1x Challenge Champion, 2 Finals, Debut: Season 7 Gauntlet 1, Origin Season: Road Rules South Pacific
Before Cara Maria ever appeared on a Challenge, Cara Zavaleta was the real Cara on the Challenge. She is a bonafide babe who appeared in playboy, and even won a Challenge. Even Mr. Beautiful couldn’t gain the affection of Cara.
Theresa Gonzalez, Challenges: 6, 1 Final, Debut: Season 19 Fresh Meat 2, Origin Show: Fresh Meat 2
Theresa was a beauty on the Challenges, however, there is sometimes beauty that cannot be accounted for on camera or television, and only in person. From accounts of most of the male competitors, Theresa is breath-taking in person. Zach, LeRoy, and many other guys were in awe of Theresa’s beauty. Her long legs were her signature feature.
Coral Smith, Challenges: 6, 1x Challenge Champion, 4 Finals, Debut: Season 5 Battle of the Seasons, Origin Show: Real World Back to New York
When it comes to dynamic personalities, Coral is one of the most important figures in MTV Challenge history. Like Veronica, Coral was one of the original dominant females who were able to run the games with their mouths, and then back it up physically. According to everyone at the time, her dominant personality and looks would scare people.
Cara Maria Sorbello, Challenges: 10, 1x Challenge Champion, 4 Finals, Debut: Season 19 Fresh Meat 2, Origin Show: Fresh Meat 2
Over the years, Cara has aged like a fine wine. Maybe it’s her hair, her eyes, or her lips, but Cara has this magnetic draw to her. People either love her or hate her, and has a look that is uniquely her.
Rachel Robinson, Challenges: 7, 2x Challenge Champion, 3 Finals, Debut: Season 6 Battle of the Sexes, Origin Show: Road Rules Campus Crawl
Every few years there’s a guy on the Challenge who is threat to ruin relationships and steal girls. That was Rachel Robinson, instead of Mr. Steal Your Girl, she was Ms. Steal Your Girl.
KellyAnne Judd, Challenges: 4, 1 Final, Debut: Season 16 the Island, Origin Show: Real World Sydney
One of the biggest flirts in the franchise history had people going crazy when she appeared on the Real World Sydney, and then followed it with surprise performances on the Island and the Ruins.
Trishelle Cannatella, Challenges: 3, 1 Final, Debut: Season 7 Gauntlet 1, Origin Show: Real World Las Vegas
Trishelle used the Challenge and MTV to pivot her small fame into something bigger. She did Playboy, played in the lingerie football league, and appeared on a ton of different reality shows. Her relationship with Mike the Miz helped, and being on the famous RW Las Vegas also helped.
Jenn Grijalva, Challenges: 6, 4 Finals, Debut: Season 14 Inferno 3, Origin Season: Real World Denver
A former NFL cheerleader, Jenn was known for her big mouth. Yet, she had beautiful hair, an incredible body, and looks that could kill. Dance parties on bus drives were made way better by Jenn.
Mallory Snyder, Challenges: 1, Debut: Season 8 Inferno 1, Origin Show: Real World Paris
Seriously, just wow. It is a damn shame that Mallory only did one Challenge. People salivate over Jenna today when Mallory could have filled the role and more!
Svetlana Shusterman, Challenges: 1, 1 Final, Debut: Season 13 Duel 1, Origin Show: Real World Key West
Svetlana did two MTV shows in the mid 2000’s, Real World Key West and the Duel. She did them back to back, and had almost no break in-between. On these shows she was a bratty pain in the ass, and an underdog who surprised people physically. Her looks are what gained her a massive following. The small Russian girl with big natural boobs had fans and MTV hooked. They’ve famously asked her to do basically every single season of the Challenge since the Duel, and she has said no every time.
Kendal Sheppard, Challenges: 1, 1x Challenge Champion, 1 Final, Debut: Season 8 Inferno 1, Origin Show: Road Rules Campus Crawl
There is a disappointingly long history of female competitors who did one season, made us fall in love with them, and then left us forever. Kendal was cuteness multiplied by 1000. Even today, she recently showed up on social media for the first time still looking young and beautiful!
Casey Cooper, Challenges: 4, 1 Final, Debut: Season 12 Fresh Meat 1, Origin Show: Fresh Meat 1
Despite being one of the worst female competitors all time, Casey gained a cult following on this show for her looks and bubbly personality. Wes famously carried Casey through Fresh Meat 1 to make it to the final. She took her winnings and invested in some implants.
Arissa Hill, Challenges: 1, 1 Final, Debut: Season 9 Battle of the Sexes 2, Origin Season: Real World Las Vegas
Real World Las Vegas is one of the gifts that keeps on giving. Arissa is another female competitor who stunned people on her first challenge, then never returned. The word is that most of the Real World Vegas people were making so much money from the appearances at clubs that the Challenges were pennies instead.
Melinda Stolp, Challenges: 4, Debut: Season 12 Fresh Meat, Origin Show: Real World Austin
Melinda’s story-line when she entered the Real World Austin house was that she was a sexual girl who needed a guy to cuddle up with. From there, she latched onto Danny Jamieson, and became the famous Austin blonde who sucked at Challenges, and looked great while doing it.
Robin Hibbard, Challenges: 9, 2 Finals, Debut: Season 9 Battle of the Sexes 2, Origin Season: Real World San Diego
Before Johnny Bananas went on to do eight hundred seasons, Robin was one of the originals to be a consistent mainstay on the show. She was once in the lead for most seasons ever done by a competitor. Robin was a bit unstable some seasons, and super chill on others. Regardless, she always looked great, and some seasons better.
Johanna Botta, Challenges: 4, 1x Challenge Champion, 1 Final, Debut: Season 12 Fresh Meat 1, Origin Season: Real World Austin
Johanna was known for her beauty, and often leveraging it in the game to further herself. She may have liked Kenny, but she used him to get near the end of the Ruins and the Island. Real World Austin had both Johanna and Melinda, a bit of a crazy concept considering many think both are two of the ten hottest girls in Real World history.
Kina Dean, Challenges: 3, 1x Challenge Champion, 1 Final, Debut: Season 9 Battle of the Sexes 2, Origin show: Road Rules X-Treme
Maybe it was the hair, maybe the smile, it didn’t matter, Kina Dean had a glowing presence on these shows. She did three seasons in a short span, and then stopped doing any shows after the debacle that was Road Rules Viewers Revenge. Fun fact, she’s younger than Johnny Bananas by more than two years!
Cameran Eubanks, Challenges: 2, Debut: Season 11 Gauntlet 2, Origin Show: Real World San Diego
Maybe because the beauty of San Diego as a beach town, MTV felt it necessary to stock the RW SD cast with unimaginably beautiful women. Cameran went on to do some acting and used her reality tv platform to further her career.
Averey Tressler, Challenges: 2, Debut: Season 26 Exes 2, Origin Show: Real World Portland
Similar to Melinda, Averey’s attractiveness was amplified once people found out that she was such a sexual person. Introducing herself as a hooters girls and a girl who loves sex, she made a point of it with an early season hookup with Johnny Reilly that bloomed into a real relationship.
Jamie Chung, Challenges: 1, 1x Challenge Champion, 1 Final, Debut: Season 11 Inferno 2, Origin Show: Real World San Diego
Jamie did one Challenge, won it while being part of the most stacked team ever to run a final (her, Landon, the Miz, and Darrell). And then she went to get legitimate roles in television to the point where’s she getting network and feature film work these days.
Kailah Casillas, Challenges: 2, Debut: Season 29 Challenge Invasion, Origin Show: Real World Go Big Or Go Home
One of the newest Challenge babes that has proven to catch some attention with her smokey looks, awesome booty, and more than anything being a beast of a physical competitor. Kailah might become the next elite Challenge competitor, and she’s absolutely stunning.
Janelle Casanave, Challenges: 2, 1x Challenge Champion, 1 Final, Debut: Season 14 Inferno 3, Origin Show: Real World Key West
The biggest negative about Janelle is that she always carried a pretentious and sometimes negative air about herself. At the same time, she knew her worth, she knew she deserved the best, and she was an absolutely mesmerizing girl.
Ashley Kelsey, Challenges: 2, 1x Challenge Champion, 1 Final, Debut: Season 23 Battle of the Seasons, Origin Show: Real World Back to San Diego
The pretty girl with the booty is known as Ashley K. Since the last two show’s she’s done have been with the polarizing Ashley Mitchell, she is now Ashley K instead of Ashley. Arguably one of the more boring Challenge competitors, Ashley always has people wondering why she isn’t on more once they see her looking great on their screens.
Laurel Stucky, Challenges: 5, 1x Challenge Champion, 4 Finals, Debut: Season 19 Fresh Meat 2, Orgin Show: Fresh Meat 2
When you use the phrase: “tall drink of water”, that perfectly describes Laurel. At almost 6' tall, Laurel is a terrifying competitor who is a great beauty. She is attractive and can kick your ass, a terrifying combination.
Ayiiia Elizarraras, Challenges: 1, Debut: Season 20 Cutthroat, Origin Show: Real World Cancun
She only did one season, but Ayiiia went on to accept multiple invites to Challenges, and get barely left off. She accepted the invite for Rivals, Dirty 30, and Seasons, yet she hasn’t gotten the final call. Tragic.
Diem Brown, Challenges: 8, 2 Finals, Debut: Season 12 Fresh Meat 1, Origin Show: Fresh Meat 1
To end this list, let’s end with a girl whose smile could light up a room. Easily the most infectious smile in Challenge history from the biggest fighter in the show’s history. Whether she’s her regular self or Diem in the PM, she always portrayed true inner and outer beauty.
