Rebecca Jill Kufrin (born April 3, 1990) is an American television personality, best known for her role as the winner on the 22nd season of ABC's '' The Bachelor'' and the lead of the 14th season of '' The Bachelorette''.

Early life and education

Kufrin was born in

Benson, Minnesota Benson is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, United States, along the Chippewa River. The population was 3,240 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat. History Benson was platted in 1870 when the railroad was extended to that point. As the ...

, and raised in

Prior Lake, Minnesota Prior Lake is an exurban city southwest of Minneapolis seated next to Savage and Shakopee in Scott County in the state of Minnesota. Surrounding the shores of Lower and Upper Prior Lake, the city lies south of the Minnesota River in an area k ...

, the daughter of Jill and Steve Kufrin. She has an older sister named Emily. Kufrin graduated from

Prior Lake High School Prior Lake High School (PLHS) is located in Savage, Minnesota, United States and enrolls students in grades 912. The school is part of the South Suburban Conference. It has approximately 2,900 students currently enrolled, along with a teaching an ...

in 2008, and obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications from

Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 123,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

in 2012. Her father died of brain cancer when Kufrin was 19 years old and her mother is a breast cancer survivor.

Career

Before appearing on ''The Bachelor'', she was working at Skyya Communications, a technology public relations agency based in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...

Television shows

''The Bachelor''

Kufrin was a contestant on Arie Luyendyk Jr.'s season of ''The Bachelor''. After making it to the final 3, her ex-boyfriend Ross Jirgl showed up in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

and proposed; Kufrin declined. She was initially chosen by Luyendyk as the winner and accepted his proposal at the end of the season. However, Luyendyk dumped Kufrin for the runner-up Lauren Burnham before the season finished airing. The break-up was filmed and the raw, unedited footage was shown on the first night of the two-night finale, a first for ''The Bachelor''.

Response

After Luyendyk ended his engagement with Kufrin on air, Minnesota State Representative

Drew Christensen Drew Christensen (born May 21, 1993) is an American politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A Republican, he represented District 56A, which included portions of Dakota County and Scott County in the southweste ...

fans raised over $6,000 for Kufrin through the Venmo app, which Kufrin in turn donated to

Stand Up to Cancer Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). SU2C aims to raise significant funds for translational cancer research through online and televised efforts. Central to the program is a telethon tha ...

. Her donation was matched by ABC and later matched again by

Katie Couric Katherine Anne Couric ( ; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia news and production company. She also publishes a daily newsletter, ''Wake Up Call''. From 2013 to 2017, ...

. ''The Bachelor'' season 20 lead,

Ben Higgins Benjamin Edward Higgins (born March 23, 1989), is an American television personality and entrepreneur who starred on the 20th season of ABC's ''The Bachelor'', after appearing on the 11th season of '' The Bachelorette''. Early life Higgins wa ...

, also pledged to donate the profits from each bag of coffee sold from his company for a 24-hour period. The day after the breakup aired, 12

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

s went up in Kufrin's hometown of

, as well as 4 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and 1 in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

, all showing their support for Kufrin and disgust at Luyendyk's actions. During the March 10, 2018 episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves ...

'',

Cecily Strong Cecily Legler Strong (born February 8, 1984) is an American actress, comedian, and producer. Strong is most notable for being a cast member of '' Saturday Night Live'' from 2012 to 2022. She is also the longest-tenured female cast member in the ...

portrayed Kufrin in the cold-open, parodying the break-up.

''The Bachelorette''

Kufrin was announced as the Bachelorette on March 6, 2018, on ABC's ''After the Final Rose'' special. The season premiered on May 28, 2018. In the end, Kufrin chose Garrett Yrigoyen over runner-up Blake Horstmann. During the finale, she and Yrigoyen were given a minivan from ABC as a gift. The couple were engaged and moved to Carlsbad, California, where they lived with their adopted corgi, Minno. On September 1, 2020, Kufrin and Yrigoyen announced the end of their engagement.

''Bachelor in Paradise''

Kufrin made a brief appearance during season five of '' Bachelor in Paradise'' to give advice to the girls and give closure to

Colton Underwood Colton Scott Brown-Underwood (born January 26, 1992) is an American reality television personality and former professional football player. He played defensive end at Illinois State and was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted fre ...

. On August 9, 2021, Becca was confirmed to be a contestant on season seven. She split from her partner Thomas Jacobs in week 6. They have gotten back together after filming wrapped. They got engaged in May 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kufrin, Becca Living people People from Prior Lake, Minnesota Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni American publicists Bachelor Nation contestants 1990 births